Vienna
Michaelerplatz is the square in front of the historic entrance to the Hofburg. It brings together distant eras: Roman ruins, a medieval church, the imperial façade and the modern architecture of Adolf Loos.
A façade that waited 150 years
In the 1700s the architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach designed a new façade for the Hofburg. Only part of it was built.
St. Michael's Wing, with the dome, was finished only at the end of the 1800s, following that old design. On either side are two large fountains with statues.
The house that caused a scandal
Opposite the dome, Adolf Loos built a house for a men's tailoring business. The façade was smooth, with no decoration around the openings.
Many Viennese thought it was very ugly. Work stopped for a while, then the house was finished in 1912.
Beneath the cobbles
The excavations of 1990–1991 revealed walls from different periods. There are also Roman houses, from the 2nd to the 5th century AD.
After the Romans, the area stayed without houses for a long time. Until the 1700s there was no real square here, only a crossroads.
The white horses
In the building next to the dome is the Winterreitschule, the winter riding hall. Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach built it between 1729 and 1735.
This is where the Spanish Riding School performs, considered the oldest riding school in the world.
