Visiting Austria - Hofburg Palace

The Hofburg was orignially a medieval castle, but today only the chapel of the castle demonstrates its medieval past. The Hofburg Palace was extended to a magnificent residence when the Habsburg Dynasty's power increased.  That is the reason why you can find almost any architectural style, from gothic to art nouveau, in Hofburg Palace.

Today this enormous palace houses the Austria National Library, the Imperial Treasury and a collection of musical instruments, another collection of weapons, a Museum of Ethnography and the famous Spanish Riding School.  Hofburg Imperial Castle also houses exotic butterflies in a glass house.

The Square of Heroes, situated next to the Glass House, is very impressive too. Statues of Archduke Karl, who won the battle of Aspern against Napoleon's troops in 1809 and Prince Eugene of Savoy, who defeated the great Ottoman Army, attest to Austria's glorious past.  Heldenplatz is more than a square and one of Austria's symbols of national identity.