The name of this era refers to the flourishing of art, science, and culture in general during an era of peace in Europe. While there were wars in other parts of the world, this era featured more than 40 years of tranquility, which facilitated cultural development.
Although, as the nomenclature suggests, this era is conceptualized largely with regard to France, and even more specifically with regard to Paris, the era applied to large parts of Europe, and at times was more significantly instantiated in places like Berlin and Vienna.
In architecture, one noteworthy example of this era is a grand Austrian project: a large monumental boulevard with major buildings along it, interspersed with parks and sculpted monuments. This is the Ringstrasse (Ringstraße) in Vienna.
Vienna was, and is, the capital — but of what? When the project began, of the Austrian Empire; by the time the project was completed, it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; both of those are more generally called the Habsburg Empire; in 1918, Vienna became the capital simply of Austria. In any case, Vienna was the political and cultural center of most of central Europe, an area much larger than the area of Austria at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
The medieval shape of Vienna was bounded by massive walls and moats. By the early nineteenth century, modern methods of warfare had made these anachronistic and of no practical value. They even impeded travel from point to point within the city, because the city had grown well past the former boundaries which they marked. Therefore the emperor, Franz Josef I, ordered them removed in 1857.
Where the walls and moats were once located, the grand boulevard began to take shape. Not a mere city street, the boulevard was nearly as wide as a football field is long. The boulevard itself, and the structures along it, were a showcase for some of Europe’s finest architects, as historian Angus Robertson writes:
As the Belle Epoque period developed across Europe, peace, growing prosperity and urban technological progress could be felt in Vienna too. 1879 was a year of jubilee celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the marriage of Emperor Francis Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. At its heart was a historic inspired pageant around the Ringstrasse with more than 14,000 participants. It was organized by Hans Makart, the most popular Vienna artist of the age. Although the via triumphalis was formally opened in 1865, it would take a number of years for the first main buildings to be erected and further decades to be completed. All were designed in the historicist architectural style, inspired by historical eras thought to be fitting to their modern function: a Hellentic temple from the home of democracy for the parliament, Renaissance palaces for the museums, Roman grandeur for the imperial residence, Flemish urban splendor for the municipal government.
Many of the original buildings still stand intact in Vienna, and segments of the Ringstrasse look much as they did a century ago. Other parts of the Ringstrasse, especially those damaged in WW2, are now home to more modern architecture.
Each of the buildings along the grand boulevard is a specimen for the student of architecture, and has its own rich history. This history is developing even in the twenty-first century.
In 1928, the Denkmal der Republik (‘Monument of the Republic’) was unveiled to celebrate the first decade of the new government, which had begun when the monarchy ended. The National Socialist government, which replaced the Republic, at first hid the monument behind flags, and then dismantled and placed it into storage, in 1934. It was restored to its place in 1948, and in 2009 the city government of Vienna expanded the monument by adding an area next to it with an informational tablet.
Only a few steps from the Monument of the Republic is the Gedenktafel für die sowjetische Kommandantura (‘Plaque for the Soviet Commandant’) which bears the inscription sunt lacrimae rerum to recall the suffering of the Viennese under the military occupation by the Soviet Socialists. The tablet was unveiled in 1993.
The Austrian Parliament building was completed in 1883, and a fountain in front of it was completed in 1902. After being closed for renovations for several years, a phased reopening of the building occurred, and by 2023, the building was largely back to normal usage.
Many sculpted monuments — honoring scholars, artists, military leaders, political leaders, and members of the aristocracy — stand along the boulevard.
Visitors to the city will look in vain for street signs proclaiming Ringstraße. The Viennese long ago divided the boulevard into segments, each with its own name: Stubenring, Parkring, Schubertring, Kärntnerring, Opernring, Burgring, Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring, Universitätsring, and Schottenring.
Much of the cultural life of the city takes place along the Ringstrasse, as Angus Robertson notes:
The first public building completed on the new Ringstrasse was the Vienna Court Opera (now State Opera) in 1869. The Neo-Renaissance-style building, which accommodates a seated audience of 1,700, with room for another 500 standing guests, is one of the foremost opera houses in the world. At the time of its construction, however, it was very controversial, which led to one of the architects, Eduard van der Nüll, dying by suicide. Over the years, Gustav Mahler and Herbert von Karajan have been among the many leading conductors of its opera company and orchestra, which provides the musicians for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The Vienna State Ballet is based at the State Opera, which also hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball.
The ball season begins on November 11 each year. There are several hundred balls during the season. There is a strict dress code: men must wear either a tuxedo or a tailcoat, and women must wear floor-length evening dresses. The exact details of the dress code vary from one ball to another, and will be printed on the invitations. The balls occur in a variety of elegant buildings, among which are the Hofburg Palace, the City Hall of Vienna, the Musikverein (‘Music Society’), and the Staatsoper (‘State Opera’). The ball season comes to an end on Shrove Tuesday, i.e., the day before Ash Wednesday.
The Ringstraße not only unifies the city geographically in terms of transportation, but also culturally, as a connecting point for history, architecture, and elegant social events.
