THE Car
A trip through the military history museum in Vienna
Today was our guided tour through the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna's collection of artifacts and art relating to Austria's extensive military history. The building was originally constructed as a museum but its reason for existing is a lot more complicated. As you can see from the beautifully ornate ceiling and incredible marble, this building exists almost entirely as a piece of propaganda to convince all who lay eyes on this magnificent structure of the strength of the Austrian military and the reliability of the Emperor.
The Arsenal, the military complex which contains the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, was one of the biggest construction projects In the first years of Emperor Franz Joseph I's reign. The Heeresgeschichtliches was opened in 1856, making it the oldest purpose built museum building in Austria. Its interior is clear, the building clearly is not meant just to house memorabilia from the military but to serve as a grandiose hall of fame and memorial for the Imperial Army. The frescoes you can see in this image, painted by Karl von Blass are testaments to Austria's greatest military victories from the 17th through 19th centuries including the Battle of Zenta and the Relief of Turin, all of which are meant to glorify the Emperor and the strength of Austria.
Part of the museum's extensive collection is this jaw-droppingly detailed depiction of the 1683 Turkish siege of Vienna and the subsequent Battle of Vienna which we learned a little bit about on our bus tour to Leopoldsberg with Gretl. This painting shows Polish King John III Sobieski arriving in Vienna to assist the Austrian army and pushing back the Ottoman Turks. As part of this painting's propaganda, the Poles and Austrians are shown as beautiful while the Ottomans are clearly made out to be terrifying monsters being vanquished by the forces of good.
While the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum contained so many artifacts and pieces of art that I could have spent hours in there and not seen it all, there was one highlight in particular that I am physically unable to leave out of this blog post. The beautifully constructed and deeply difficult to make Ottoman composite bows were cool, but the picture below is the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in, officially beginning World War I.
I KNOW!!! No one in my class knew this was here so it was quite the shock when we turned the corner and saw a car with a picture of Franz Ferdinand behind it. As it dawned on us, my friends and I started looking at each other and freaking out. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia were traveling in this car in Sarajevo and were shot to death by an assassin working for Serbian terrorist group the Black Hand. The bullet hole in the side of the car is from the bullet which hit Sophia in the abdomen while the bullet hole in Ferdinand's uniform, also on display at the Heeresgeschichtliches, is from the bullet that hit him in the neck.
While increasing militarization, alliance building, and a variety of other factors were causes of the First World War, the Archduke's assassination is the event most historians point to as the most immediate cause of the conflict.
After our adventure at the Heeresgeschichtliches seeing the extensive collection and beautiful architecture was complete, my friends and I joined Dr. Stuart to explore the grounds around the Lower Belvedere. One this lovely afternoon stroll we also got a chance to see the Wein Museum and Karlskirche, both of which were places my friends and I are excited to return to later in this program so we can learn more about them.
