Hofburg Palace: A City Within a City

Larger than life: Art that inspires us through the ages

The majestic Hofburg Palace, also known as the Imperial Palace, is located right at the heart of Vienna. Here, we have St. Michael’s Wing, as designed by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach. This elegant façade was inspired by Roman architecture and was first meant to resemble a Roman forum. The U-shape follows the square, emphasizing the middle section, which is the entrance to the Imperial apartments. Mistervlad/Shutterstock

With more than 700 years of history, the Hofburg Palace in the center of Vienna turns many pages of history. Once the home and seat of the Habsburg dynasty, the origins of the Imperial Palace date back to the 13th century.

One of the largest palace complexes in the world, the Hofburg Palace almost feels like a city within a city, with its 18 buildings, 19 courtyards, and 2,600 rooms. Originally a medieval castle built by King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1275, it grew into a massive complex that would become the residence and seat of power of Austrian rulers up to 1918.