{"id":29688,"date":"2021-01-14T06:19:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T05:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=29688"},"modified":"2025-01-23T16:15:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T15:15:01","slug":"palais-ferstel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/palais-ferstel\/","title":{"rendered":"Palais Ferstel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Part of the Ferstel Passage\" class=\"wp-image-29690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The name Palais Ferstel feels a little deceptive. You might imagine a townhouse built for a Count Ferstel and his family, ready for their regular jaunts to the Viennese court. But you&#8217;d be wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bank and stock market building from 1860<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ferstel was the architect<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remarkable neorenaissance architecture<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Home to the legendary Caf\u00e9 Central (go inside!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a themed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-city-tours-l205280\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_CityTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">guided tour<\/a>* of Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/coffee-houses\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"7689\">Vienna coffee houses<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Ferstelpalais<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentralchristmas.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Central at Christmas\" class=\"wp-image-45035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentralchristmas.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentralchristmas-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A festively-decorated Palais Ferstel at the corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Palais Ferstel has carved out a special place in the landscape of Vienna&#8217;s old town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a start, the building extends along three streets, but you won&#8217;t find a continuous fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main part sits on the corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse, but a large enclosed passageway leads away from one side to emerge rather ostentatiously on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/freyung-2\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29646\">Freyung square<\/a> between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/palais-hardegg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29655\">Palais Hardegg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/palais-harrach\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29751\">Palais Harrach<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ferstelpassage.jpg\" alt=\"View through the Ferstel Passage\" class=\"wp-image-45037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ferstelpassage.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ferstelpassage-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View down the Ferstel Passage)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The aptly-named <em>Ferstel Passage<\/em> feels almost Gothic-like with its vaulted ceiling, the tall corridor now lined with small stores and caf\u00e9s tending toward the more refined end of the consumer spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The national bank of the time constructed the palais building in the late 1850s, primarily for their own use but also to provide space for the stock market. The latter only stayed briefly, shifting to its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/alte-borse\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"69243\">standalone location<\/a> on Vienna&#8217;s great <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/ring\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1546\">Ring boulevard<\/a> around ten years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a look at the photos suggests a Renaissance feel to the architecture, that&#8217;s because architect Heinrich Ferstel pursued the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/historicism\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"28926\">historicism<\/a> approach popular at the time (heavily influenced by a recent sojourn in Italy).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Freyung2024.jpg\" alt=\"The Freyung square from the south\" class=\"wp-image-71731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Freyung2024.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Freyung2024-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View up the Freyung square from the south. The Ferstl Passage emerges on the left from under the arches)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ferstel also designed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/votivkirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27630\">Votivkirche<\/a>, as well as other city landmarks like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/mak\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"7100\">MAK museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not entirely sure quite when or why the location picked up its common moniker (possibly post-1980). Buildings tend not to be named after their architects, but Ferstel&#8217;s name now lives on in this rather gorgeous looking construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The palais must have been quite a sight when built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An article in a 1860 edition of the <em>Wiener Zeitung<\/em> complains, for example, about the apparent indifference of the Viennese to all the delightful new buildings going up around them, noting (my translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Now you have to build something on the scale of the new bank and stock market to cause a sensation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelbust.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelbust.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferstelbust-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Bust of the architect Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel by Viktor Oskar Tilgner, 1877, Terrakotta, H. mit Sockel: 66.8 cm, Belvedere, Wien, Inv.-Nr. 128 \u00a9 Belvedere, Wien. Reproduced with permission under the terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another article later in the year in the same paper cited the influence of Venice and Florence on Ferstel&#8217;s design and announced (again, my translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Few buildings have attracted the attention of the educated public to such a degree as the new bank and stock market building on Herrengasse\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Not that Palais Ferstel remained such a glorious sight. World War II and the Russian army left the building in rather an undignified state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Renovation work in the 1970s saw a return to former glories, though, and the palais now serves as a prestigious event venue. The WIKAM international Art and Antiques Fair takes place there, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The coffee house<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentral.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Central entrance\" class=\"wp-image-45034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentral.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cafecentral-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Caf\u00e9 Central without the normal queue)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the bank connection, Palais Ferstel is perhaps best known for the ground floor coffee house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First opened in 1876, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-central\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10683\">Caf\u00e9 Central<\/a> became a meeting place for artists (like Oskar Kokoschka), writers (like Stefan Zweig), intellectuals (like Sigmund Freud), and politicians (like Leon Trotsky).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The caf\u00e9 closed in 1943. Shortly afterwards, the great Austrian intellectual Alfed Polgar wrote (my translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Caf\u00e9 Central is not a coffee house like other coffee houses, but a way of looking at the world; one whose central tenet is not to look at the world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/palaisferstel1905.jpg\" alt=\"Palais Ferstel and Caf\u00e9 Central around 1905\" class=\"wp-image-56389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/palaisferstel1905.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/palaisferstel1905-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Caf\u00e9 Central, around 1905, photographed by Bruno Reiffenstein; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 184094; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately for us, Caf\u00e9 Central reopened in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a simple fellow, but the interior of today&#8217;s coffee house is quite breathtaking and gives you an idea of what the rest of the palais must look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make a reservation if you wish to go: the architecture and rich history (and great cakes, it must be said) prove a magnet for tourists, with queues outside commonplace almost all year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to Palais Ferstel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply follow the tips given for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-central\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10683\">Caf\u00e9 Central<\/a>. To see the Ferstel Passage, wander up to Herrengasse 14 where one end of the passage emerges and walk through to the Freyung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Strauchgasse 4, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1qE67z-6ZUivs0H9TxrZDHWDR9ObImqBL\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The name Palais Ferstel feels a little deceptive. You might imagine a townhouse built for a Count Ferstel and his family, ready for their regular jaunts to the Viennese court. But you&#8217;d be wrong. The Ferstelpalais (A festively-decorated Palais Ferstel at the corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse) Palais Ferstel has carved out a special place [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-29688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29688"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79590,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29688\/revisions\/79590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}