Hofburg

The huge Hofburg (Imperial Palace) is an awesome repository of culture and heritage. The Habsburgs set up house here for more than six centuries, periodically adding new sections to create the current jumble of styles and massive dimensions.

The oldest part is the Schweizerhof (Swiss Courtyard), dating from the 13th century and named after the Swiss guards who used to protect its precincts. The most active phase of building was carried out from the second half of the 19th century to WWI. The curvaceous Neue Burg, from which Hitler addressed a rally during his triumphant 1938 visit to Vienna, dates from this time.

The 22 rooms in the Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments) are packed with all the fine furniture, tapestries and bulbous crystal chandeliers you’d expect. The sheer wealth exhibited in the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) collection of crown jewels is staggering: one room contains a 2860-carat Colombian emerald, a 416-carat balas ruby and a 492-carat aquamarine. The religious relics include supposed fragments of the Cross, a nail from the Crucifixion and a thorn from Christ’s crown.

The complex is rich in museums: the Sammlung Alter Musikinstrumente (Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments), exhibiting instruments of all shapes and sizes; the Museum für Völkerkunde (Ethnological Museum), with displays on non-European cultures; and the Albertina, a famous and extensive collection of graphic arts. The Gothic Burgkapelle (Royal Chapel) is where the Vienna Boys’ Choir sings at Sunday Mass.