The Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien

It seems more and more like the Biedermier period in Austria is analagous to the United States of the 1950s. Austrian middle-class families sought out a wholesome way of living under the watchful eye of Clemens von Metternich, who appears to me as a kind of Joseph McCarthy figure. At least, this is the analogy that has been explained to me in lecture. It certainly seems to make sense after seeing some Biedermeier paintings at the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien. Many of them feature scenes that are very homely and familial. Some of them are pastoral and focus on the Austrian peasantry that must have had a certain degree of charm to the bourgeoisie audience for which the paintings were made. This museum also contains some Biedermeier era furniture, as seen here:


I am no great expert on furniture design, but I would say that they look rather "conservative." They are not meant to be overly ostentatious, I guess you could say. I could be wrong, but I think that this is the period in which Nicholas Parsons describes Viennese as "seeking happiness in a quiet corner." And making sure they don't form any suspicious groups in public, lest Metternich's police feel the need to question them!

Also at the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien was a pretty interesting exhibit on Vienna's appearances in films and movies. I do not know very much about film history, but I did learn that up to the 1960s, Vienna's image in film was meant to tell of the "good old days," of a past remanufactured to promote tourism to Austria. Obviously, these images do not involve anything between 1938-1945. So it is then interesting how from the '60s onward more experimental films of the city were made which confronted Austria's uneasy past and skeptically questioned whether the Nazi's mark on the country's history had been overcome.

This museum turned out to be a very good visit. Afterwards, I decided that I should check out Schönbrunn Palace, since I hadn't seen it at all yet. Unfortunately, my left ankle was hurting a lot (possibly from something I did back in the Alps), and it was a bit difficult to walk through the magnificent gardens. Oh yes, they were definitely magnificent, and it wasn't the first time in which I tried to imagine myself as one of the old Hapsburgs! But eventually I decided I had to leave the beautiful geometricly-cut hedges and give my leg a rest back at the apartment. I think I may need to get it checked very soon.

The German word of the day is "möglich," meaning "possible."