Art Pursuits 2022 brochure

AUSTRIA
VIENNA
From the Emperor’s Clothes to Klimt’s Kiss
Belvedere Palace
Vienna is the capital city of central Europe, with all the political, cultural, and strategic significance this implies. For a
century and a half it endured an Ottoman siege, withstanding and finally turning back the armies of the Sublime Porte.
It was the seat of Maria Theresia and Joseph II as Habsburg policy came to dominate the cabinet rooms of Europe, while
Austrian music reigned supreme in its concert halls: Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and many others made Vienna the most
important city in the history of western music. Later, in its imperial twilight, Vienna came to embody Mitteleuropa, that
cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic realm of avant-garde aesthetics and intellectual pluralism, of Klimt, Schiele, Kraus and Freud,
that was bloodily extinguished by the twin catastrophes of totalitarianism and war. And yet Vienna, like Austria as a
whole, has handled its transition to modernity remarkably well. Todays city, overlaid with a confident self-possession and
an enduring civic pride, is a gleaming patchwork of mediaeval alleys and Renaissance squares, of Baroque palaces and
Secession cafés. This tour will visit a number of the irresistible delights that have attracted so many thinkers, artists, and
musicians over the centuries, including St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the option to visit the
Staatsoper for an opera, or a private organ concert in one of the historic churches.
48 To book call 01280 736 115 or visit artpursuits.com