Maria-Theresien-Zimmer
The
next room with its three windows served as Maria Theresa's bedchamber after the
death of her husband. It was here, too, that the Empress died in 1780‑at the
age of 63, an old woman by contemporary standards, but relatively young from
our point of view.
A picture from the period, now on one of the
transverse walls, shows how the room was originally furnished. The walls were
hung with dark red gold-embroidered velvet, part of which is still existent.
The room was dominated by the sumptuous bed with its velvet canopy suspended
from the ceiling. Its strong hook was only removed when the building was turned
into the Office of the Federal President. The room must have been rather gloomy
in keeping with the fashion of the time but also as an expression of the grief
of the Empress bereft of her beloved husband. Its present use as the Federal
President’s reception room, official room for
swearing in the government, for state visits and to present accreditations
for foreign embassadors required it
to be furnished in a more cheerful manner. Two life-size paintings of Maria
Theresa and Francis I in ceremonial robes remind us of its original occupants.
Astronomical clock
The
most interesting piece of the original furniture has, however, been left in its
place: A tall astronomical clock made of precious material, with tortoiseshell,
embossed silver and edged gold strips. It was built by the Bavarian court
horologer Mayr in 1671 and testifies to the consummate craftsmanship of its maker.
Its square case has dials on all four sides showing a variety of astronomical
details such as the phases of the moon and the times of day in different
geographical regions, even the names of the patron saints of the individual
days of the year. The most extraordinary feature, however, is that the dial
showing local time is inverted so that the figure 9 appears on the right and
the figure 3 on the left and the hands move counter-clockwise. There are a
number of explanations of why this is so.
One
is that this arrangement was to allow Maria Theresa to read the time of day in
the mirror on the opposite wall without having to turn round when she was lying
in bed. As we can see from the picture of the room with its original furniture,
this explanation appears to be logical, since the heavy curtains around Maria
Theresa's bed would not have permitted her to see the dial of a clock standing
beside the bed.
The second outstanding exhibit in this room is Maria
Theresa's escritoire, which used to stand in the adjacent study (now the ”Miniaturen-kabinett“),
as has already been indicated. Conforming in style to the works of Louis XIV's
famous cabinet maker, André Charles Boulle, the delicate desk is not only of
great historic but also of aesthetic value. It is richly adorned with inlays of
ebony, ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell and bronze and ,even until today, it still
contains the Monarch’s inkwell and pounce pot.
Discovery of an altar in 1957
Renovation
of this room in 1957 resulted in a remarkable discovery: When the plain wall
panelling and the woodwork behind it were removed, a niche was found to contain
an altar adorned with a painting from the last quarter of the 18th century,
showing a most original version of Correggio's famous „Adoration of the
Shepherds“. Even though this family altar is not mentioned in any of the
descriptions or records of the Imperial
Palace, it seems to have
an interesting history.
In
1782 Pope Pius VI visited Vienna
in order to persuade Joseph II to adopt a more lenient policy vis-à-vis the
monasteries. We know from the „Description of the Imperial Palace“ published by
Realis more than 100 years ago that when the Emperor accommodated „his
illustrious visitor in those apartments in the Leopoldine wing which had been used
by his mother, Maria Theresa, and where she had passed away only two years
before“. Realis goes on to say, „The chamber altar of His Holiness was adorned
with the renowned miraculous Ferdinandine crucifix, which mark of esteem was
highly appreciated by Pius VI.“ (The crucifix in question – now on display in
the Treasury – was, in fact, the one before which Ferdinand II had prayed for
succour when he was harassed by the Protestant nobility in the “Burg”.)
Realis's
account suggests that Joseph II may have had the altar erected in his late
mother's bedchamber, where she also died, specifically for the Pope's visit.
After the Pope's departure, when the room was restored to its original
condition, the altar was not removed but covered up by wall panelling and thus
forgotten. When the room was last renovated, the wall panels in front of the
altar were made to fold back so that the altar can now be displayed on special
occasions.
The adjoining rooms of the Leopoldine wing facing
the courtyard did not belong to Maria Theresa's apartments but were connected with the „Schweizerhof“ building, where Francis II was to take up his residence. The first of these rooms, the so-called
„Jagdzimmer“, now serves as a conference room. Like the rest of the Eastern Wing,
these rooms were also used by the Soviet army as a military casino during the
time of occupation from 1945 to 1955.
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