| It was built in the early 19th century for a Hungarian noble family, the - you might have guessed it - family of Zichy. The palace was built in Classicist style. Later, the palais was sold to the Sina family, wealthy bankers who also owned a rather impressive palace at the Hoher Markt square. This palace was destroyed by direct hits in WWII, the ruins were demolished after 1945.Palais Zichy was designed by the artichtes Armand Bauque and Albert Pio, although the degree of their contribution is disputed. In any case, Palais Zichy wouldn′t be their masterpiece; rather the Palais Bourgoing, which made the two architects famous in Vienna. Palais Zichy has a front façade that is rather plain, but elegantly divided into two sections. The parts under the roof are more elaborately decorated with ornaments.
The garden of the palais is still remarkably extensive; however, it takes some imagination to recall its 19th century glory. It must have been an old-fashioned garden even at the time when it was built, resembling rather a formal Baroque garden than the landscape gardens that became fashionable in Vienna at the Classicist age. The part of the building that is facing the garden is a lot more playful and elegant; you can tell that the representative face of Palais Zichy was turned to those who ambled in its parks. |