MARIA THERESIEN PLATZ
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An essential part of the city's heritage, this square features a statue of Empress Maria Theresa.
The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Art History are two of Vienna's major institutions. The former presents the great imperial natural history collection through a maze of rooms devoted to lizards, precious stones, dinosaur skeletons... A collection resulting from expeditions financed by the emperor, many of which took place in the 19th century, but also from the private collection of the KuK crown, largely supplied by Emperor Franz I of Lorraine, Maria Theresa's husband. The Musée de l'Histoire de l'Art is to art what its neighbor is to the natural sciences: a benchmark. Inaugurated in 1891, it was built not far from the Imperial Palace to house the vast collections - 250,000 works - of the members of the Habsburg family, great collectors and patrons of the arts.
The two buildings face each other, separated by a square dedicated to Empress Maria Theresa. At its center stands a statue of her as a sovereign. The size of the monument bears witness to the immense figure she was: the only Habsburg empress, she was also a feminist icon. Marie-Thérèse fought successfully for her accession to power over a period of 40 years, assuming her role as empress with brio - leading a number of acclaimed reforms, notably in public health - while at the same time being the mother of 16 children. This majestic square pays tribute to a truly fascinating figure.
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