it's dedicated to charles borromeo, one of the great counter reformation saints. 's not a coincidence that the austrian emperor at the time was also named charles. for in the lands where absolute monarchs ruled, architecture was part of the vocabulary of royal power. the belvedere palace in vienna was built in 1721 for prince eugene of savoy, the general who led the austrians to their victory over the turks. the architect was lucas von hildebrandt. the belvedere actually consists of two palaces set at opposite ends of an enormous formal garden in which nature has been completely subdued. the design is based on a simple program. the two palaces and the garden present the visitor with an allegory of life's journey. at one end, where prince eugene lived, is the lower belvedere and its gardens representing the earth. at the other end, where visitors were received, the upper belvedere, are the heavens. at first, you think you can go directly to the palace, but you find that you cannot. the grand staircase in the center of the garden reveals itself to be a cascade, water

it's dedicated to charles borromeo, one of the great counter reformation saints. coincidence that the austrian emperor at the time was also named charles. for in the lands where absolute monarchs ruled, architecture was part of the vocabulary of royal power. the belvedere palace in vienna was built in 1721 for prince eugene of savoy, the general who led the austrians to their victory over the turks. the architect was lucas von hildebrandt. the belvedere actually consists of two palaces set at opposite ends of an enormous formal garden in which nature has been completely subdued. the design is based on a simple program. the two palaces and the garden present the visitor with an allegory of life's journey. at one end, where prince eugene lived, is the lower belvedere and its gardens representing the earth. at the other end, where visitors were received, the upper belvedere, are the heavens. at first, you think you can go directly to the palace, but you find that you cannot. the grand staircase in the center of the garden reveals itself to be a cascade, water. you mu