Burgenland: The Stations of his Work

Schloss Esterházy
Esterházy Palace is the landmark of Eisenstadt and the most important cultural monument of Burgenland. The palace was made famous by Joseph Haydn who found room for personal development here. The master composer premiered many of his works in Haydn Hall which is famous for its outstanding acoustic properties.

The palace itself can look back on an eventful history. After the Esterházy family had acquired the former castle in 1649, Count Paul I. had it converted into a baroque palace. During the most extensive renovation period (1663 and 1672) the large hall in the northern wing was added which today is famous as Haydn Hall, and the palace chapel in the western wing. The second reconstruction phase was realized under Count Nikolaus II. Esterházy whom the palace owes its neoclassicist elements. Other elements from this time include the Garden Hall and the portico with the impressive entrance ways to both sides. Schloss Esterházy therefore boasts an unusual blend of baroque glamour, classicist sobriety and Biedermeier curlicues.

Today the main residence of the Esterházy Counts offers a fascinating glimpse of the life and work of the Esterházy family and the great composer Joseph Haydn.

Haydn Hall
Haydn Hall is the pride and joy of Schloss Esterházy, and is not only considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful concert halls, but is also greatly appreciated for its exceptional acoustic properties. Planned by Count Paul I. Esterházy as a piece of art itself, the hall was first used as a venue for dances and banquets and boasts frescoes by the Italian master Carpoforo Tencalla who was also painter for the Habsburg court.

Today Haydn Hall is the central venue of the Haydn Festival and provides the wonderful setting for memorable concert evenings which attract thousands of Haydn fans from all over the world. Haydn hall is the perfect venue for all types of chamber music, symphonies, oratorios and operas and has the ideal size in which to experience the intimacy of this wonderful music. The music of Joseph Haydn not only lets you experience "classicism par excellence”, but also the spirit of an entire epoch.

Empire Hall
The small and charming Empire Hall once served as dining hall and was redesigned to what it is today around 1800. Haydn’s Imperial Quartet premiered in this hall. Today the Empire Hall hosts chamber and solo concerts.

Palace Chapel
The first religious works Haydn composed for the Esterházy court were dedicated to the palace chapel. The organ on the gallery is one of Eisenstadt’s seven Haydn organs and one of Austria’s best organs from the classicist period. The palace chapel concerts are carefully chosen to reflect the setting’s unique look and feel.
www.schloss-esterhazy.at

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Eisenstadt’s Palace Park
The expansive 50 ha parklands in the heart of Eisenstadt adjoin the magnificent Esterházy palace and were remodeled in classicist style in the 19th century. Back then the parks greenhouses accommodated some 70,000 plants, a collection that outshone even the one at Schönbrunn palace. Thanks to its rich collection of plants, its size and variety, the Esterházy greenhouses were famous across Europe. In the 18th and 19th century the illuminated Orangery was used for lavish theater and ball events in addition to the palace and the garden. Today the Orangery still provides the wonderful backdrop for special events.

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Religious Venues

St. Martin Cathedral
The cathedral was dedicated to Saint Martin, Burgenland’s patron saint. Joseph Haydn used to perform here. The cathedral’s organ is one of Eisenstadt’s seven Haydn organs on which the composer used to play himself. Joseph Haydn’s predecessor as Kapellmeister for the Esterházy family, Gregor Joseph Werner, also composed several works for this cathedral. The cathedral archives still contain manuscripts and performance documents from this time.

Franziskanerkirche
Franziskanerkirche, which is located next to Bergkirche and St. Martin Cathedral, accommodates a further Haydn organ on which the composer performed himself. The adjoining monastery houses Eisenstadt’s diocese museum.

Spitalskirche der Barmherzigen Brüder
Spitalskirche der Barmherzigen Brüder also has an organ on which Haydn used to play himself.

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Landesmuseum Burgenland
In the covered courtyard of Burgenland’s Landesmuseum you find the Older Haydn Organ. This organ was originally located at Bergkirche church. Joseph Haydn performed many of his masses on this organ.