Vienna

The Austrian city of Vienna was more influential during the Renaissance as a center of learning than as a showcase of the visual arts. Its artistic and architectural significance lagged behind its political importance as the chief city, and sometimes official residence, of the Habsburgs who ruled the Holy Roman Empire*.

In the 1400s and early 1500s, Habsburg rulers undertook few major building projects in Vienna. Some had little interest in the city; others spent most of their time in other parts of the realm. Emperor Rudolf II, an important patron* of Renaissance humanism* and painting, established his court in Prague rather than Vienna.

Emperor Ferdinand I did some remodeling of the Hofburg palace in Vienna, and he built a graceful building on the palace grounds that was to be a residence for his oldest son, the future emperor Maximilian II. For his part, Maximilian II began several ambitious building projects, but completed little. Aside from some modest decorative features that reflected Renaissance style, Vienna remained a medieval* walled city.

Vienna also lacked wealthy citizens who could support Renaissance art and architecture. The city had been a trading center in the Middle Ages, but it no longer attracted much commerce. European trade patterns had shifted west, largely because of the threat of expansion by the Ottoman Turks* into southeastern Europe. As a result, instead of graceful Renaissance buildings, the city saw the expansion of defensive fortifications.

Although Vienna did not become a center of Renaissance art, it played a significant role in the new Renaissance learning. Its university, founded in 1365, was the second oldest in central Europe and attracted major scholars. Important work took place there in the natural sciences and in the development of instruments of measurement. Studies by university scholars on eclipses and calendars proved to be of great value to navigators of the time, such as Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus.

Vienna and its Habsburg rulers welcomed humanist writers and scholars. In 1497 Emperor Maximilian I established a special position at the university for Conrad Celtis, the German poet. Celtis formed a literary society and brought various talented friends and students to Vienna. All of these individuals were greatly influenced by Nicholas of Cusa, one of the leading philosophers and religious writers of the period.

Vienna became a major center of musical and theatrical life as well. Maximilian I hired some of the most prominent musicians and composers of the age for his court chapel, and his successors carried on this tradition. Maximilian was also an enthusiastic patron of the theater. Lavish productions of plays by ancient Greek and Roman writers were performed regularly, many with music, dance, and elaborate costumes. During the 1500s Catholic and Protestant groups used drama to bring the message of moral reform to Vienna's citizens, presenting biblical stories with local twists.

(See alsoArchitecture; Austria; German Language and Literature. )

* Holy Roman Empire

political body in central Europe composed of several states; existed until 1806

* patron

supporter or financial sponsor of an artist or writer

* humanism

Renaissance cultural movement promoting the study of the humanities (the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome) as a guide to living

* medieval

referring to the Middle Ages, a period that began around a.d. 400 and ended around 1400 in Italy and 1500 in the rest of Europe

* Ottoman Turks

Islamic people who founded the Ottoman Empire in the 1300s; the empire eventually included large areas of eastern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa