The Winterreitschule is located between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz near the Hofburg in central Vienna. Performances take place in the Winter Riding School, built between 1729-1735. The Winter Riding School is a sunlight- flooded hall, mainly white with some beige and light grey, with a portrait of Emperor Charles VI above the royal box and opposite the entrance (to which the riders always salute before they ride), which measures 55 by 18 meters and is 17 meters in height.
The riding school was first named during the Austrian Empire in 1572, long before the French manege of Antoine de Pluvinel, and is the oldest of its kind in the world. Records show that a wooden riding arena was first commissioned in 1565, but it wasn't until 1729 that Emperor Charles VI commissioned the architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach to build the white riding hall used today. Prior to that time, the School operated from a wooden arena at the Josefsplatz. For a time, the riding hall was used for various ceremonies, but it is now open to the public, who may witness the training and performances by the stallions.
Isn't that a beautiful picture?
AntwortenLöschenYou scared me :-), because I was writing that I loved this so much! ;-)
AntwortenLöschenHow incredibly beautiful it is. With the lit chandeliers and the background lighting, it is as if the Emperor would step in any moment. Timeless beauty and grace. A true treasure, a unequaled piece of your heritage.
AntwortenLöschenOh, Vienna is so beautiful and that is such a great picture. What a place to work!
AntwortenLöschenOh, Vienna is so beautiful and that is such a great picture. What a place to work!
AntwortenLöschenBeautiful! I'm all excited about my visit now :-)
AntwortenLöschenIt's the most beautiful workplace on earth!
AntwortenLöschenYou know, when we enter the Winterreitschule (winter riding school) for the performance on sunday, the arena smells like a church. It's a mix of soil, wood, stone, paint, perfume, sweat, leather and frankincense ;-) (almost).
I recall that smell from childhood, going to church with mom and my siblings.
I remember that smell ! :-)) You knew you were in church, even if your eyes were closed. The feeling of high ceilings and a large open space.
AntwortenLöschenRomy
I was in Vienna for a few days last summer and we went to see the Morgenarbeit for three days in row. The Winterreitschule was crowded with tourists, unbelievable! We went straight past the verrrrry looooong line in front of the ticket sale thinking that all those people we're waiting for the Sissi Museum or something until we realised: oops, that's the queue for the Lipi's... A good lesson for the next day!
AntwortenLöschenIt struck me how all the Bereiters managed to pass without bumping into one another. The arena is pretty small and with 6-8 combinations doing their own thing (just returned from their summer break, so some young horses still got their thoughts elsewhere) it is busy :-)
My favorite spot to watch the training was a nice and quiet spot on the short side across the Emperor. Every single stallion had it's own quality and beauty, wonderful to look at. Two hours are not enough!
If I lived in Vienna I would get me a season ticket and watch the horses every day off ;-)
No matter how many times I have been into the Winterreitschule, I never cease to be amazed by its simplicity, grandeur and beauty. One dear elderly American lady who was once sat next to me at Morgenarbeit said that it was like being sat on the inside of a wedding cake! I think she is right. That is the beauty of Viennese architecture, it's so different from what you would expect. I like to think of the Winterreitschule as the "Palace for the Royal Horses......" :-)
AntwortenLöschenBeautiful pictures ! A dream for me to see it with my own eyes. I hope visit next years Vienna.
AntwortenLöschen..inside of a wedding cake.....na da kommt ja eine Sammlung an kuriosen Aussprüchen zusammen vom Wilden Westen...I think, she is not right, because she never had been sitting in a wedding cake, wie kann sie also ohne gemachte Erfahrung vergleichen.
AntwortenLöschenDear Lady, please take place in a wedding cake and we´ll talk about some time later....
Hi Hans-Otto ! Yet another curious thing she wanted to know when she saw the beautiful Braun Hengst, Bellornata was, " Do they paint him white for a performance...?" The funny things some people say cannot but help make you smile don't you think.
AntwortenLöschenAll the best to you !
It must be funny to live in such a funny-cake-world. Don´t wake her up.
AntwortenLöschenIt is may be funny to live in such a fancy-cake-world. Don´t wake her up.
AntwortenLöschenja, as we Brits say, Bless her Socks !
AntwortenLöschenI heard some funny things in the Winter Riding School on Saturday morning. We were sitting near to an elderly American couple, luckily I had my back to them so they couldn't see me smiling. Such delights as "That horse is being led, so he must be being broken in" (re a stallion working on piaffe in hand). "That rider doesn't have a saddle, he's just sitting on a blanket!" (re a rider working on the airs with no stirrups). "They wouldn't feed them sugar. It must be some kind of fruit and vegetable mix." (re the Riders retrieving sugar from their tailcoat pockets).
AntwortenLöschenBless their cotton socks indeed.... :-)
At last I saw the Winter Riding School with my own eyes. All those architectural details and chandoliers are indeed beautiful, but they all fade away once the Lipizzaners enter the hall.
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