As for the laurel leaves, they not only demonstrate the eternal youth of the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) movement but also its aspiration as the winning type of art. However, while the Secession dome has a green patina inside, it shines in bold gold outside. Charles Borromeo just a few hundred meters away. As a matter of fact, that round dome should reference the sumptuous dome of baroque church St. What To Watch Out ForĪlthough the building’s facade itself is quite sparsely decorated there are a few outstanding decorations to watch out for:įirst and foremost, the golden ‘cabbage head’, as mentioned at the start.
Because of the general uproar, the Viennese Council banned the project from its intended location on Ringstrasse boulevard to ‘second row’ at Friedrichstrasse. Originally the Secession ranked among the most shocking Vienna sites. This publication was to spread the revolutionary approach of a holistic art (Gesamtkunstwerk) among the broader public. Where does the motto Ver Sacrum on the facade come from? In fact, this was the name of a magazine that the same Association of Visual Artists of Austria publicised. Their motto, which decorates the main entrance: ‘To every age its art, to art its freedom.’ Ironically for the revoultionary spirit of the Secession, Olbrich was also the top graduate of conventional Ringstrasse architect Carl von Hasenauer.Įssentially, the Secessionists wanted to break with the art of Historicism that you find mostly on Ringstrasse. In fact, when Olbrich won the internal competition, he was only 29 years old.
The Secession is one of the few Vienna attractions that ripped local tastes apart: It was designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich and revolutionary artists of the Association of Visual Artists of Austria, among them Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, as their own exhibition house in 1898. The Viennese call it ‘Krauthappel’ (cabbage head). The building’s stern white cubes boast gold-plated laurel leafs, owls and twirling lines, topped with a giant globe of golden laurel. It blends early Modernism and late Art Nouveau architecture like no other. The Secession is the most successful provocation by Viennese architects and artists. Whether you love good design, Art Nouveau or the smell of revolution, the Secession deserves a firm space in your itinerary.
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