FISCHER VON ERLACH, Johann Bernhard

Fischer von Erlach’s book is a folio of engravings showing the roots of modern architecture. For Fischer, examples of exotic architecture like the pyramids of Egypt were just as important as the visual representation and depiction of Deinocrates’ works as recorded in Vitruvius.

The picture shows the first design for Sch�nbrunn (plate 2, vol. IV).

Fischer von Erlach’s book is a folio of engravings showing the roots of modern architecture. For Fischer, examples of exotic architecture like the pyramids of Egypt were just as important as the visual representation and depiction of Deinocrates’ works as recorded in Vitruvius.

The picture shows two vases and a summer residence (plate 10, vol. V). The fa�ade is a subtle design with a concave ground floor front, surmounted by a graceful but convex central elevation behind a parapet with statues.

Fischer von Erlach’s book is a folio of engravings showing the roots of modern architecture. For Fischer, examples of exotic architecture like the pyramids of Egypt were just as important as the visual representation and depiction of Deinocrates’ works as recorded in Vitruvius. According to Vitruvius, the Macedonian architect drew up a plan to transform Mount Athos into a seated figure of his royal patron Alexander the Great, with the city laid out across his lap and beneath his huge outstretched arm.

The picture shows Mount Athos, with Alexander (plate 18, vol.I).

The Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Holy Trinity Church) church was constructed in 1694 by Salzburg’s Baroque master Fischer von Erlach. With a marble fa�ade and twin towers, the exterior is considered a fine example of the unexaggerated Baroque style. Inside there is a fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayer.

The photo shows the fa�ade of the church.

View the ground plan of Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Salzburg.

The Baroque Palais Trautson in Vienna was owned by the noble Trautson family. It was built by Fischer von Erlach in 1712 for Johann Leopold Donat von Trautson, the first Prince of Trautson.

The picture shows the main front of the palace.

The Baroque Palais Trautson in Vienna was owned by the noble Trautson family. It was built by Fischer von Erlach in 1712 for Johann Leopold Donat von Trautson, the first Prince of Trautson.

The Palais Trautson is one of the typical garden palaces in Vienna. It followed the design of the Amsterdam city hall. Since 1963 it is the home of the Ministry of Justice.

The picture shows the main front of the palace.

The Karlskirche (St Charles Church) was commissioned by Emperor Charles VI in thanks for answered prayer after the 1713 Black Plague in Vienna. The construction on the church began in 1715. The Baroque master Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach did the original work from 1716 to 1722. After his death in 1723, his son took over and saw the project through to completion in 1737. Johann Michael Rottmayr painted many of the frescoes inside the church from 1725 to 1730.

The design of the church combines architectural elements from ancient Greece (the columned portico), ancient Rome (the two Trajanesque columns), and contemporary Viennese Baroque (the dome and towers). The green copper dome rises 72 meters high, making it a major landmark on the Viennese skyline.

The great columns of the fa�ade, designed in direct imitation of Trajan’s Column in Rome with a Baroque touch at the top, represent the most interesting feature of the church. The reliefs depict scenes from the life St Charles Borromeo.

The picture shows the west front.

When it came to planning garden palaces, Fischer turned back to his early sketches and reworked them, sometimes to dazzling effect. This is true of the palace o Klesheim which he worked on from 1694. The ground plan consists of three ovals attached to each other as in a clover leaf, with three rectangular corner buildings set in the spandrels. The fa�ade effect was underplayed in favour of the interior design and outlook.

Sch�nbrunn Palace was intended to represent a challenge to Versailles, functioning also as a focus for other, non-French, parts of Europe. At that time Paris and Vienna were the political and cultural centres of the continent. The Baroque palace was constructed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Joseph Emmanuel (1693-1742).

The picture shows the garden front of the palace.

Fischer von Erlach designed his Princely Pleasure Garden Pavilion for the Liechtenstein family.

The Kollegienkirche in Salzburg (Collegiate Church; sometimes called the Universitätskirche) was designed by the Baroque architect Fischer von Erlach. It was built between 1694 and 1707 for the local Benedictine university founded in 1622. The university was disbanded in 1810 but reopened in 1962 as part of the University of Salzburg.

The church is built on a modified Greek cross plan with a unique convex fa�ade. Inside, the high altar by Anton Pfaffinger (1740) incorporates classical columns representing the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Altar paintings are by Johann Michael Rottmayr.

Fran�ois-Eugene, Prince of Savoy-Carignan (1663-1736), known as Principe Eugenio di Savoia in Italian and Prinz Eugen von Savoyen in German, was one of the greatest generals to serve the Habsburgs. He had his winter residence (Stadtpalais) in Vienna the construction of which started in 1697 under the guidance of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. The palace is well-known for its staircase, designed by Fischer von Erlach, but created by Giovanni Giuliani.

In 1696 Fischer von Erlach was awarded the commission to build a town palace for Prince Eugene of Savoy. He designed a building of seven bays which was to be extended in later years. In comparison to the garden palaces, his design seems astonishingly sober, quite different from the Viennese taste of the time. This may have been the reason why Prince Eugene took the commission from Fischer and from 1700 gave it to his great rival Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt.

The picture shows the staircase hall of Prince Eugene’s former city palace.

The Karlskirche (St Charles Church) was commissioned by Emperor Charles VI in thanks for answered prayer after the 1713 Black Plague in Vienna. The construction on the church began in 1715. The Baroque master Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach did the original work from 1716 to 1722. After his death in 1723, his son took over and saw the project through to completion in 1737. Johann Michael Rottmayr painted many of the frescoes inside the church from 1725 to 1730.

The interior of the church is much more conventional than the exterior, with High Baroque decoration. The vault frescoes depict St Charles Borromeo begging the Holy Trinity to end the plague in the Vienna.

In 1722, Emperor Charles VI commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to extend the Hofburg and to rebuild the library, making use of a riding school building that had been started in 1681. This set the site and shape of the wing as an extended rectangle. In the centre of it, Fischer placed an oval with a tall dome, thus creating an individual building. The space soaring above the top of the upper level vaults majestically upwards to where light streams into the hall through large round-arched windows. The iconographical scheme of the dome, painted in 1726 by Daniel Gran, presents an allegory of the patron of the arts and sciences, Charles VI.

In 1722, Emperor Charles VI commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to extend the Hofburg and to rebuild the library, making use of a riding school building that had been started in 1681. This set the site and shape of the wing as an extended rectangle. In the centre of it, Fischer placed an oval with a tall dome, thus creating an individual building. The space soaring above the top of the upper level vaults majestically upwards to where light streams into the hall through large round-arched windows. The iconographical scheme of the dome, painted in 1726 by Daniel Gran, presents an allegory of the patron of the arts and sciences, Charles VI.

The picture shows a view of the oval in the library interior.

Sch�nbrunn Palace was intended to represent a challenge to Versailles, functioning also as a focus for other, non-French, parts of Europe. At that time Paris and Vienna were the political and cultural centres of the continent. The Baroque palace was constructed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Joseph Emmanuel (1693-1742).

The picture shows the Great Gallery, begun 1696, altered in 1735 and 1744-49. The The ceiling frescoes from 1760 are by Gregorio Guglielmi (1714-1773).

Fischer von Erlach designed his Princely Pleasure Garden Pavilion for the Liechtenstein family.

This is one of the early sketches to which Fischer turned back later and reworked them.

Fischer von Erlach designed his Princely Pleasure Garden Pavilion for the Liechtenstein family.

Fischer von Erlach’s designs had included a belvedere for Sch�nbrunn Hill intended as the crowning touch to the palatial Baroque ensemble, but it was not until Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg (1732-1816) remodeled the park that this project was finally realised. The Early Classicistic colonnaded Gloriette was built to Hohenberg’s designs on the crest of the hill in 1775.

The picture shows the Gloriette in the garden of Sch�nbrunn Palace. A gloriette is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The structural execution and shape can vary greatly, often in the form of a pavilion or tempietto, more or less open on the sides.