Vienna at Home
Newcomers, members of many years and board members of WA met at the 10th traditional Vienna-at-Home Wiener Jause at Renate Christiani‘s Viennese home. Over the years she had welcomed guests from around the world and treated them to Austrian hospitality. New friends were made and old acquaintances renewed. The tenth jubilee brought WA Club members again closer together.
Old members and newcomers were graciously received by Renate Christiani
Art of one and the same family in Vienna over the last 200 years
In October, coordinator Aglaë Hagg-Thun organised a combined excursion about Leopold Kupelwieser’s and Prof. Hans Kupelwieser’s artworks. Ambassador (ret.) Walter Hagg gave a tour of Leopold Kupelwieser’s frescoes and ceiling paintings (1848/1850) in the Foreign Ministry’s Alois-Mock-Saal (formerly “Marmorsaal”).
Guided tour in the Marmorsaal with the frescoes of Leopold Kupelwieser
Warm hearted reception in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with sweets for the children
At Prof. Hans Kupelwieser’s studio in the Wiener Prater, a specially designed game had been prepared for the children. Prof. Kupelwieser guided parents and adults through his lofts and ateliers. The “Lilliput-Bahn” took them to the “Meierei” and its playgrounds for a late lunch.
Prof. Hans Kupelwieser (r.) explains the pavillons for artists founded at the World Exhibition of 1873
Drive in the Liliput-Bahn through the Grüne Prater under pouring rain
(For further information click here: http://www.kupelwieser.at)
The newly opened Weltmuseum in the Hofburg’s former corps de logis
In October 2014, Welcome to Austria was among the last visitors to the Weltmuseum before it was closed for restauration. Only five days after the reopening, Science Coordinator Dr. Elisabeth Wolff and a Group of WA members had the great opportunity to be introduced to the new concept of the redesigned Museum by Director Steven Engelsman who then guided them through the most attractive new galleries.
Aztec emperor Montezuma’s headdress
Patio of the Hofburg’s corps de logis
(For further Information click here: http://www.weltmuseumwien.at )
Two days, four Castles and a glass of Uhudler
Statue at Burg Lockenhaus
On the second weekend of June, coordinator Anne Thun-Hohenstein took members of Welcome to Austria on a tour to Burgenland, Austria’s eaternmost region.
On day one, members enjoyed a guided tour at Burg Lockenhaus (1242) and the atmosphere of a medieval “knights’ festival”. A visit of Rudolf Kedl’s scultpure garden at Markt Neuhodis propelled them into the contemporary.
Along the Hungarian border with its lovely vineyards we went south to discover “Uhudler”, a local wine specialty. We tasted it in the unique Kellerviertel of Heiligenbrunn where the hotel owner gave his personal comments on the regional architecture and habits.
Rudolf Kedl
Kedl’s sculpture garden
A glass of Uhudler
On Sunday morning, the group went to the medieval town of Güssing with its majestic castle (1157) of the Hungarian Batthyány family. Heading North again, they passed by Schloss Rotenturm.
Batthyány Castle
Schloss Rotenturm
Lunch at a Restaurant on the border of a hidden lake was followed by the grand finale, a guided tour in Burg Schlaining (1271), also known as Friedensburg (“peace castle”) for its being the location of the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Lunch at the fish restaurant
Burg Schlaining aka Friedensburg
First Vice president Angelika Saupe-Berchtold and Coordinator Anne Thun-Hohenstein with members of WA
(For further information click here: http://www.ritterburg.at, http://www.skulpturen-park.at, http://www.batthyany.at/burg_guessing.o.html , http://www.friedensburg.at, http://www.aspr.peacecastle.eu)
WA members after their visit of the Lehár-Schlössl
In May, Anne Thun-Hohenstein and WA members were received at the Lehár-Schikaneder-Schlössl for a memorable tour given by its owner, Mrs. Kreuzer. The famous composer of the silver age of operettas, Franz Léhar (e.g. “The Merry Widow”), lived and worked for many years in this charming jewel of architecture. The visit was followed by a stroll in the romantic Biedermeier garden.
Mrs. Kreuzer and member Dagny Herheim listening to Cloyd Beasley’s playing
Goddess Fortuna watches over the stairway hall
A hidden jewel of Biedermeier architecture…
… lies on the outskirts of Vienna. Members enjoyed a guided tour of the Geymüllerschlössel, co-organised by Aglaë Hagg (2nd Vice President) and Alexander Gonzalez-Hernandez (member Jeunesse WA), followed by a picnic in the park.
Picnic against the backdrop of a lovely 700m2 park
Members and their families discovering the wonderful interiors
Younger members enjoyed the tour too
The Geymüllerschlössel hosts a collection of antique furniture and clocks
(For further information click here: http://www.mak.at/geymuellerschloessel)
Monthly Jour Fixe
for accredited diplomats to meet WA members: informal networking lunch at Café Landtmann (Biedermeierzimmer), Universitätsring 4, 1010 Wien, on the second Wednesday of each month, any time between 12:30 and 14:30. Menu € 12,50 or à la carte. Organised by Aglaë Hagg-Thun, Second Vice President
On October 11th, 7 nations were present: Diana Alando, Christoph Weidinger, Maria Torrijos Lledó, Sergio Bossoni, Aglaë Hagg, Gundega Vavere-Mikute, Palupi Mustajab, Amani Al-Tartir. (l. to r.)
An oeuvre at odds with fin-de-siècle society
Club members were introduced to the radical oeuvre of Egon Schiele (1890-1918) which is currently being exhibited at the Albertina.
Schiele’s works – juxtapposed to photographs of his time – gave us a glimpse of the epochal schism between the modernist and the traditional. With only a few lines he produced drawings of precision and astounding beauty,
tells coordinator Martha Hanreich.
Exhibition poster at the Albertina
WA members and Martha Hanreich were offered an insightful tour
One of 160 paintings and drawings that are currently exposed
(For further information click here: http://albertina.at/schiele)
May 13th, 2017 marks the 300 anniversary of Maria Theresa’s birth. Coordinator Martha Hanreich invited members to join a guided visit of the exhibition “Maria Theresa. The Habsburg‘s most powerful woman”. Maria Theresa was the eldest daughter of Emperor Karl VI and became the first and only woman to rule in the entire history of the archduchy of Austria. She was crowned Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary and was married to the Holy Roman Emperor Franz Stephan von Lothringen. Maria Theresa initiated numerous reforms in public administration. The armed forces, the economy, and the education system were all modernized during her reign and traces of her rule can be found all over Vienna.
The State Hall and Karl VI as a backdrop to the exhibition
Members of WA and coordinator Martha Hanreich were offered a very insightful guided tour
(For more information click here: https://www.onb.ac.at/en/museums/state-hall/current-exhibition/maria-theresa-the-habsburgs-most-powerful-woman/)
Dr Elisabeth Wolff organised a visit to this unique repository of the Arnold Schoenberg archival legacy, which belongs to the UNESCO Memory of the World. It offers insight into Arnold Schönberg´s significance as composer, painter, teacher and theoretician. In music history, his name is associated with the epoch-making innovation of “Zwölftonmusik”. The exhibition of photographs recalls various periods of Schönberg´s life from his birth in Vienna in 1874, to his death in 1951 in Los Angeles which has been moved to Vienna in 1998.
Dr Wolff expressed WA’s gratitude to the director of the ASC, Mag Angelika Möser, who guided its members through this internationally renowned Archive.
Antique advertisement conserved in the archives of the ASC
Joyce Tessa Freissmuth surrounded by members
WA members studying documents in the ASC
Modern technical equipment admired by WA members
(For further information click here: http://www.schoenberg.at)