When after his father’s death the Archduke moved to Innsbruck he would be the patron of the adaptation of Ambras castle and the addition of various galleries and a large reception hall, the ‘Spanische Saal’, which made it suitable both as a receptacle for his huge collections and as a residence of his morganatic consort, Philippine Welser. 3 Both Ferdinand’s sons were actively interested in architecture and engineering: when Maximilian acted as viceroy of Spain he had busied himself with plans to restructure his residence, Valladolid Archduke Ferdinand had himself designed his extraordinary star-shaped hunting lodge at Prague. They shared this interest with their counselor Hermes Schallautzer, who as Bausuperintendent was responsible for the actual organisation and administrative supervision of the various Imperial commissions in Austria.

Designed in 1538 by a Milanese architect, Paolo della Stella, this elegant trifle is generally considered to mark the introduction of the Renaissance in Bohemia.īoth the Emperor, who owned an important collection of ancient coins, and his two elder sons were interested in antiquarian studies, a discipline that was one of the principal sources for the innovations introduced into architecture in the Renaissance. That Ferdinand i himself was not uninterested in architecture is shown by the pleasure pavilion he had constructed for his wife in the precincts of the Hradčany at Prague. This dearth of theoretically trained designers as opposed to practically experienced master-builders was probably quite consciously felt at court: the members of the dynasty themselves had received thorough humanist educations, and had first-hand experience of High Renaissance architecture from their visits to Mantua, Milan and Genoa. 2 But few-if any-of these had much knowledge of the theoretical background of the new, classical manner of architecture that had originated in Florence and Rome, and from the mid-1530s onward was rapidly gaining firm footing outside Italy. By the time Strada arrived in Vienna, for this purpose Ferdinand could dispose of an existing architectural infrastructure of builders, master-masons, and architects-many of whom traditionally came from Northern Italy-whose practical building expertise doubtless was sufficient for most of the tasks he posed them.

Moreover he had to provide for his sons who, when grown up, needed their own suitable establishments. Apart from protecting his hereditary dominions from the permanent menace of the Turks, he had to adapt Vienna to its new status as Imperial residence. After its heroic resistance to the Turkish siege of 1529, Ferdinand had moved his court to Vienna in 1533. This applies also to several of the architects we know to have been employed at court itself, either in Prague or in Vienna.īut fortification, though of paramount importance, was not the only type of architecture commissioned by Ferdinand i. Most of these architects, master-masons and other technicians were employed predominantly or even exclusively in Hungary, constructing fortifications against the Turks. Imperial patronage of architecture was wide-ranging: the more important part of it was utilitarian and chiefly of a military character, as is borne out by the fact that the various Imperial architects, including Strada, were paid by the Hofkriegszahlamt, the war office, rather than by the Hofkammer, which was responsible for the remuneration of most other court officials.

Before attempting a sketch of the extent and character of Strada’s contribution to these it is necessary, first to inquire into the needs and wishes of his patrons secondly, to find out how the Imperial building activities were organized and what expertise was locally available and thirdly, to define Strada’s exact qualifications in the field. 1 The mere fact of this salary, which was double the amount he received as an antiquary, is sufficient reason to assume that he was expected to contribute regularly to the architectural projects of Ferdinand i and Maximilian ii. He received his salary as such without interruption (though often with great delays) until he asked Rudolf ii to be discharged from his court functions in 1579.

5.1 Introduction: The Austrian Habsburgs as Patrons of ArchitectureĪs we have seen, Emperor Ferdinand i took Jacopo Strada into his service in the spring of 1558, but only early in 1560 Strada received a permanent appointment as ‘ ainem paumaister, bey unnsern gebewen alhier, that is an architect for the projects Ferdinand undertook in Vienna.

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