{"id":58537,"date":"2023-03-30T06:03:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=58537"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T07:15:14","slug":"schweizertor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/schweizertor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Schweizertor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizerhofsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Fron the of the Hofburg's Swiss Gate\" class=\"wp-image-58536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizerhofsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizerhofsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a gate. But not of the wooden fence and latch variety. The imposing russet, black and gold Schweizertor (Swiss Gate) first allowed access to the Hofburg palace over 470 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Built 1552-1553<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Features the crest and insignia of Emperor Ferdinand I<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Named after the 18th-century Swiss Guard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-attractions-c60335\/tickets-for-skip-the-line-sisi-museum-hofburg-palace-and-gardens-tour-vienna-p1068009\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_HofburgTour\" rel=\"sponsored\">guided tour<\/a>* of the Hofburg area<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">The Hofburg<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Swiss Gate<\/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\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1.jpg\" alt=\"Schweizertor seen from the Innere Burghof\" class=\"wp-image-58533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1-300x225.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\">(The &#8220;Swiss Gate&#8221; took its moniker from the same-named guards during the reign of Maria Theresa)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hard to imagine how many people must have passed through the Schweizertor that now forms an arched gateway between two notable courtyards in the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">Hofburg home<\/a> of the Habsburgs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On one side you have the Schweizerhof, which contains the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/schatzkammer\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"256\">Schatzkammer<\/a> (crown jewels) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/hofburgkapelle\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57099\">Hofburgkapelle<\/a> (court chapel). This enclosed area also acted as a movie location in the film, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/corsage-film-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"55818\">Corsage<\/a>: I believe the rear of the Schweizertor might even be visible in a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other side you have the Innere Burghof, which contains major palace tracts and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/emperor-franz-monument\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"52378\">giant monument<\/a> to Emperor Franz II\/I.<\/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\/2023\/03\/schweizertor2.jpg\" alt=\"Crest of Emperor Ferdinand I\" class=\"wp-image-58534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor2-300x225.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\">(Close up of the crest and inscription)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gate went up in the early 1550s on the orders of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564). His name appears on the inscription above the front, and Roman numerals suggest 1552-1553 as the date of construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A second Emperor Ferdinand I (1793-1875) also made an appearance in Vienna. The first one was Emperor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/holy-roman-empire\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12853\">Holy Roman Empire<\/a>, the second one head of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/austrian-empire\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12856\">Austrian Empire<\/a>. Which is why both are Ferdinand I. Yep, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/habsburgs\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12848\">Habsburg history<\/a> gets confusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The court at the time of the Schweizertor&#8217;s construction sadly failed to keep digital planning records, but it seems one Pietro Ferrabosco held chief responsibility for the design and the ceiling frescoes that mark the gate.<\/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\/09\/schweizertor4.jpg\" alt=\"Drawbridge slots in a wall\" class=\"wp-image-75411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/schweizertor4.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/schweizertor4-300x225.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\">(If I recall right, the slots inside the gate hark back to its time as a portal with a drawbridge to cross the moat outside)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ferrabosco actually worked as an architect and\/or a painter on various significant Habsburgian projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back then, of course, the Schweizertor would have been an entrance rather than a connecting passageway. What is now the Schweizerhof courtyard once formed the main part of the Hofburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The echoes of a Roman triumphal arch, the unusual (if not entirely original) colours, the emblems, and frescoes certainly give the gate a unique and photogenic look.<\/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\/2023\/03\/schweizertor3.jpg\" alt=\"Ceiling frescoes on the Schweizertor\" class=\"wp-image-58535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor3.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor3-300x225.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\">(The ceiling frescoes inside)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those emblems and frescoes in particular offer some insight into the Habsburg past. Paintings in the passageway, for example, are a nod to various Habsburg dominions under Ferdinand&#8217;s aegis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the gold chain surrounding the royal crest on the front? This is the chain of the order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order of knights created in 1430 and with a strong Habsburg connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/schatzkammer\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"256\">Imperial Treasury<\/a> contains some of the order&#8217;s most precious accoutrements.)<\/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\/2025\/09\/schweizertor2025.jpg\" alt=\"A renaissance castle entrance at night\" class=\"wp-image-85692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/schweizertor2025.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/schweizertor2025-300x225.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\">(The evening view)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A plaque on a side wall gives a brief overview of the history of the Schweizerhof and gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The text also notes that the term Schweizertor only came into use around the time of Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780), when the Swiss Guard watched over the complex for a number of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These soldiers came to Vienna in the service of Maria Theresa&#8217;s husband, Franz Stephan, though the guard was then dissolved in the reign of their son, Emperor Joseph II.<\/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\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1908.jpg\" alt=\"The Schweizertor around 1908\" class=\"wp-image-58532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1908.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/schweizertor1908-300x225.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\">(Guards march through the Schweizertor on a postcard sent around 1908; produced by Wolf, Vereinigte Kunstanstalten, Vienna; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 205143; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you walk through the Schweizertor, across the Schweizerhof and out on to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/josefsplatz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30648\">Josefsplatz square<\/a>, you&#8217;ll find an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/monument-emperor-joseph-ii\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"52459\">equestrian monument<\/a> to that very same Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Schweizertor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply follow the travel tips for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/hofburgkapelle\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57099\">Hofburgkapelle<\/a>, which is just the other side of the gate. You should also pass the Schweizertor on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/walking-tour-hofburg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"50396\">stroll through the Hofburg<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Hofburg-Schweizerhof, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a gate. But not of the wooden fence and latch variety. The imposing russet, black and gold Schweizertor (Swiss Gate) first allowed access to the Hofburg palace over 470 years ago. The Swiss Gate (The &#8220;Swiss Gate&#8221; took its moniker from the same-named guards during the reign of Maria Theresa) Hard to imagine how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58536,"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":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-winter-palace","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58537","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58537"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85694,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58537\/revisions\/85694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}