Das Parlament

Das Parlament, the National Parliament of the country of Austria. Separated from Heldenplatz, Hofburg & Neue Burg by the elegant park of Volksgarten, the Austrian Parliament Building (das Parlament) is arguably one of the finest examples of the so-called Greek Revival architectural movement. The movement dominated Northern Europe & the United States towards the end of the 18th & start of the 19th century.

This fine specimen of the last phase of development of Neoclassical architecture was created like many of the buildings bordering Vienna’s Ringstrasse, in the second half of the 19th century after the demolition of the medieval city walls by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

The building was designed & constructed by the Danish(later Austrian citizen) Theophil Hansen who also created many of the neoclassical landmarks one finds today in modern-day Athens (Zappeion, Academy of Athens, National Library) to house the legislative organ of the Kingdom of Austria & the Imperial Council of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The 13.500 m² shrines of democracy, completed in 1883, operated as such only after the end of World War I, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the election of the Austrian Constitutional Assembly & the establishment of the 1st Austrian Republic in 1919.

Its operation was halted in 1933 with the beginning of the fascist dictatorship when the building became the seat of the Bundestag(formal legislature institution of the State) to lose its function once again in 1938 with the Nazi Anschluss(annexation). The Nazis used the building as their administrative center until its bombardment by the Allied forces in 1945.

The restored building revamped in its former glory was completed in 1956. Today it houses the Chambers of the National Council and the Federal Council. It also hosts several committee chambers, libraries, lobbies, dining rooms, bars & gymnasiums in its over 100 rooms.

The welcoming Pallas Athene Fountain at its entrance and the Greek & Roman statues that decorate the two large ramps at the front of the building are only some of the Greco-Roman features that stand out.

The grandiose Hall of Pillars & the ancient Greek-temple-like entrance, give the visitor the feeling of being present in an actual ancient Greek or Roman temple or forum, at the time of their highest splendor. More