A good part of the Imperial Armoury in the Neue Burg exists because of one man. Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol collected armour the way other princes collected paintings, and he collected his own as well: suits made for him as a teenager, as regent of Bohemia, as ruler of Tyrol…
Late Gothic armour is the armour people picture when they think of a knight: slim, pointed, ridged like folded cloth, the steel following the line of…
Heldenplatz is the big open square on the Ring side of the Hofburg: lawns, two bronze horsemen, the curved front of the Neue Burg, and a long view…
Most visitors to the Neue Burg come for the Weltmuseum and walk past the stairs to the Imperial Armoury. That's a mistake. Upstairs is one of the…
The Neue Burg was meant to be the grandest wing of the Hofburg, half of an imperial forum on Heldenplatz. The empire ended before it was used as a…
Prince Eugene of Savoy rides in front of the Neue Burg on a rearing horse, baton in hand, facing Archduke Charles across Heldenplatz. It's the second…
Look at the coat of arms of Albania and above the black double-headed eagle you'll see a helmet with a goat's head on top. The original of that…
In one long, marbled hall of the Imperial Armoury, knights sit on armoured horses in full tournament dress, plumes on their helmets and painted…
