Final Vienna Posts: National Library, Globe Museum, Crypts, Scroll Museum, Silver Collection
Here is a smorgasbord of different places that I wanted to get to that are all largely administered under the auspices of either the National Library or the Imperial palace. Some of them, like the Library, Globe Museum, and Crypts I had the fun of visiting with Catherine. Others I checked off the list right at the end of my time in Vienna, like the Scroll Museum and Silver Collection.
The library is as good a place to start as any, however. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit a library in the style of the one I dream of owning. Let me be clear - I don't think any private citizen could really own a library like the National Library. The grand, immensely vaulted ceiling, two stories of shelving, gilt, and large frescoes are beyond anything imaginable in a private home. Still, the dark wood, the windows, the books with fine leather covers, and the tall shelves were beautiful, and in the style that I love to think of as what a classic library "should" look like. We didn't really read too many books there, but did take a look at some of the manuscripts on display. The particular exhibit, in this case, was books about early taxonomy. It was cool to see what early scientists from over a century ago presumed about the way animals were related and their characteristics. They also had skeletons, etc. on loan from other places. It reminded me, with both the atmosphere and the display, of what a library really would have looked like displaying all the glory of modern science in, say, 1910.
One of the things most everyone finds amusing and most everyone loves is bookshelves that function as doors. The National Library had many of these. It was fun to see, and if I ever have the luck to own a library, I would love to include one of those, too!
Globe Museum:
The Globe museum was not particularly large, but it was neat to see. Globes hold the same kind of "old world coming of age" appeal of the taxonomy exhibit in the library. I never knew there were so many different kinds of globes with different purposes. There were myriad globes describing just the earth's surface, as well as ones describing the night sky, the moon, etc. They also ranged in size, greatly, and it was fun to see the tiny ones and the huge ones. The majority of the globes were exhibited in low, warm light. Some, however, were highlighted with spotlights in a dark room. I'm not sure whether there was a purpose to this other than that it made those globes really pop against their surroundings and was impressive as a museum technique. There were also some other, unusual instruments such as orreries. It was a kind of unusual thing to make a trip to see, but I figured, "where else can someone see a globe museum?!"
National Library:
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| WHOA! |
The library is as good a place to start as any, however. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit a library in the style of the one I dream of owning. Let me be clear - I don't think any private citizen could really own a library like the National Library. The grand, immensely vaulted ceiling, two stories of shelving, gilt, and large frescoes are beyond anything imaginable in a private home. Still, the dark wood, the windows, the books with fine leather covers, and the tall shelves were beautiful, and in the style that I love to think of as what a classic library "should" look like. We didn't really read too many books there, but did take a look at some of the manuscripts on display. The particular exhibit, in this case, was books about early taxonomy. It was cool to see what early scientists from over a century ago presumed about the way animals were related and their characteristics. They also had skeletons, etc. on loan from other places. It reminded me, with both the atmosphere and the display, of what a library really would have looked like displaying all the glory of modern science in, say, 1910.
One of the things most everyone finds amusing and most everyone loves is bookshelves that function as doors. The National Library had many of these. It was fun to see, and if I ever have the luck to own a library, I would love to include one of those, too!
Globe Museum:
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| Look! The World (and Other Places Too) |
The Globe museum was not particularly large, but it was neat to see. Globes hold the same kind of "old world coming of age" appeal of the taxonomy exhibit in the library. I never knew there were so many different kinds of globes with different purposes. There were myriad globes describing just the earth's surface, as well as ones describing the night sky, the moon, etc. They also ranged in size, greatly, and it was fun to see the tiny ones and the huge ones. The majority of the globes were exhibited in low, warm light. Some, however, were highlighted with spotlights in a dark room. I'm not sure whether there was a purpose to this other than that it made those globes really pop against their surroundings and was impressive as a museum technique. There were also some other, unusual instruments such as orreries. It was a kind of unusual thing to make a trip to see, but I figured, "where else can someone see a globe museum?!"
National Crypts:
The Crypts were the last part of this tour of national museums that I made with Catherine. I was supposed to be meeting my House of Habsburg history class there in order to learn things about important members of the Habsburg house first hand, so to speak. Somehow that got mixed up, however, and I was unable to find the group. It didn't matter so much, though, the history was somewhat self-explanatory and I already knew who the main players were. It was interesting, however, to see the differences in the various coffins - some incredibly ornate and others more simple. There was also a fascinating dichotomy between the imagery of death and the imagery of Christianity and salvation. Of course the rank and wealth of the family members made a difference in the adornment, as well. Certain things, like children's coffins, were surprising to see; they were simultaneously sweet and morbid.
Three parts were of especial interest. The first was the coffin of Maria Theresia, raised on a high pedestal in a central part of the crypt. It was relatively simple, but extremely regal and elegant, which seems a fair portrait of the woman herself. I was impressed with the presentation because it was not overwrought, but the position of the coffin and the crown atop it made it clear that this woman was one of the most influential rulers in history.
Franz Joseph was also one of the great rulers of history, and his love for his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria, Sisi, was also legendary. Fittingly, he is buried with her by his side and his son, Rudolf, on his other side. This marble crypt was more permanent, but maintained a basic line. Intriguingly, the crypt really did seem to emphasize the soft, familial side of the man rather than his rulership.
After Catherine had left there were a few things I was still missing on the checklist for my final two weeks or so in Vienna, so I headed over to the Imperial Silver Collection. It's hard with just a handful of assorted photos to do justice to this place. The sheer amount of silver, in plates, serving dishes, silverware, etc. was astounding. Almost certainly it was used at many different locations over long periods of times, seasonally, etc. because no matter how large a given party might have been, that party could never have required this many full services. The neat thing, of course, was to see and compare the different sets, think about who they might have belonged to, what there purposes were, etc. There were notations, of course, but it became overwhelming - the main experience was just seeing the items themselves.
Many of the plates were painted, which added an additional element of interest to them. This made both the meaning of the plates deeper and also personalized them even more to their owners and to their given purpose (kind of food, season, etc.). Going one step further, the Imperial Silver Collection included a lot of porcelain, which was often painted as well, in various styles. Some of it was in a standard, European style, while other examples reflected the interest in orientalism at the time. Finally, some of the porcelain had the crest of the Habsburg family on it, which in a way was the coolest thing to see because it truly harkened back to the heart of imperialism and the way that system functioned.
Scroll Museum:
This was another one I wanted to check off just because it would mean I went to everything included in the National Library brochure. I have to say that the scroll museum, while interesting, was not particularly amazing. It was rather small. Pictures were forbidden and there was no way I could get around that. Even had I been able to, I don't know how interesting they would be. There were literally lots of scrolls behind glass in a whole variety of languages with some historical significance. That said, none of them had astounding historical significance. It was interesting to learn some about the process of recovering and maintaining these sources and what can be learned from them. A few caught my eye and had me saying, "wow that's a treasure from history." But for the most part it was just kind of, "yup, those are scrolls." Still, I got everything done!
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| A Child's Coffin |
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| Maria Theresia |
Franz Joseph was also one of the great rulers of history, and his love for his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria, Sisi, was also legendary. Fittingly, he is buried with her by his side and his son, Rudolf, on his other side. This marble crypt was more permanent, but maintained a basic line. Intriguingly, the crypt really did seem to emphasize the soft, familial side of the man rather than his rulership.
The final coffin of interest was that of Otto, the last Habsburg. He died right before we arrived for IES' Vienna program in the summer of 2011. It was interesting to learn how a country that had been long disillusioned with its monarchical past suddenly had a fit of nostalgia and went all out for the funeral. It was truly the end of an era and a sign of modernity.
Imperial Silver Collection:
After Catherine had left there were a few things I was still missing on the checklist for my final two weeks or so in Vienna, so I headed over to the Imperial Silver Collection. It's hard with just a handful of assorted photos to do justice to this place. The sheer amount of silver, in plates, serving dishes, silverware, etc. was astounding. Almost certainly it was used at many different locations over long periods of times, seasonally, etc. because no matter how large a given party might have been, that party could never have required this many full services. The neat thing, of course, was to see and compare the different sets, think about who they might have belonged to, what there purposes were, etc. There were notations, of course, but it became overwhelming - the main experience was just seeing the items themselves.
Many of the plates were painted, which added an additional element of interest to them. This made both the meaning of the plates deeper and also personalized them even more to their owners and to their given purpose (kind of food, season, etc.). Going one step further, the Imperial Silver Collection included a lot of porcelain, which was often painted as well, in various styles. Some of it was in a standard, European style, while other examples reflected the interest in orientalism at the time. Finally, some of the porcelain had the crest of the Habsburg family on it, which in a way was the coolest thing to see because it truly harkened back to the heart of imperialism and the way that system functioned.
Scroll Museum:
This was another one I wanted to check off just because it would mean I went to everything included in the National Library brochure. I have to say that the scroll museum, while interesting, was not particularly amazing. It was rather small. Pictures were forbidden and there was no way I could get around that. Even had I been able to, I don't know how interesting they would be. There were literally lots of scrolls behind glass in a whole variety of languages with some historical significance. That said, none of them had astounding historical significance. It was interesting to learn some about the process of recovering and maintaining these sources and what can be learned from them. A few caught my eye and had me saying, "wow that's a treasure from history." But for the most part it was just kind of, "yup, those are scrolls." Still, I got everything done!
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