Vieler Herren Häuser Staffel II (Austria's Noble Mansions Season II)

01 Beauty at the Danube beach | Palais Augarten

From one of the most beautiful palaces in the heart of Vienna, many only know the corresponding park: the Augarten Palace, now the place of residence of the Vienna Boys' Choir and the porcelain manufactory of the same name, looking back at the history that lasts almost as long as that of the Augarten, which the father of Maria Theresia, Charles VI, established. Already under Maria Theresia's son Joseph II the palace played an important role for the imperial family. Until the end of the monarchy it served as a scene of great festivals and encounters, including the Vienna's World Fair in 1873, when Franz Joseph received his Russian counterpart Tsar Alexander II.

02 The Albertina | A Freemason's lodge with history

At Albertina, one immediately thinks of Dürer's hare. But before this house became the seat of the world's most important graphic arts collection, it had no equal in size and splendor. When Albert von Sachsen-Teschen, who was married to a daughter of Maria Theresa, had to leave his governor's post in the Austrian Netherlands, Emperor Franz II gave him this palace as a representative residence. Being already a member of Masonic Lodge in his home town of Dresden, Prince Albert became an influential figure in the Masonic scene of several European capitals, including the one in Vienna. With the contacts of his lodge brothers and the money of his wife, he laid the foundation for today's graphic arts collection of the Albertina museum.

03 Belvedere Palace

There is no other barock landmark in Vienna more stunning and as harmonic as Belvedere ensemble. It was no coincidence that Maria Theresa chose it as the venue for the wedding celebration of her daughter Marie Antoinette, and it was certainly on purpose that the new Austria was born here, too. Nobility admirer Karl Hohenlohe introduces this house and also goes into the unknown parts of its changeable history. For example, the heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, inhabited this castle, preparing himself for the takeover of power, which never happened.

04 Parkhotel Schönbrunn

Being the guest house of the emperor once, nowadays the Parkhotel Schönbrunn opened his doors for tourists looking to stay at the proximity to the Schönbrunn Palace. The legendary Casino Dommayer stood here once, the hotel, as we know it today, was established at the beginning of the 20th century. Surrounded by the Schönbrunn Palace Parks and the Schratt-Villa it was considered to be part of Hietzing's Nobelmeile from the very beginning. Celebrity guests such as Thomas Edison, Adele's Sandrock and Richard Tauber valued the hotel, which became the epitome of elegance and glamour.

A film by Gigga Neunteufel

05 The Ring's splendor | The Palais at Schwarzenberg place

It is one of the most prominent squares in Vienna, a typical product of the Ringstrasse era: Schwarzenberg Place is adorned with a number of first-class palaces, the Hochstrahlbrunnen and the monument to General Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg, the victor of the Battle of Leipzig against Napoleon. Behind it are the Palais Schwarzenberg and the Belvedere. Hardly anywhere else but Vienna has much more to offer in terms of high nobility. The new season of Austria's Noble Mansions has a very successful continuation on ORF III and is dedicated to the beginning of the Ludwig-Viktor Palace, the Wertheim Palace and the House of the Federation of Industrialists.

A film by Burkhard Stanzer