5/5 Mohibullah B. 5 years ago on Google
The
Austrian
Parliament
Building
(German:
Parlamentsgebäude,
colloquially
das
Parlament)
in
Vienna
is
where
the
two
houses
of
the
Austrian
Parliament
conduct
their
sessions.
The
building
is
located
on
the
Ringstraße
boulevard
in
the
first
district
Innere
Stadt,
near
Hofburg
Palace
and
the
Palace
of
Justice.
It
was
built
to
house
the
two
chambers
of
the
Imperial
Council
(Reichsrat),
the
bicameral
legislature
of
the
Cisleithanian
(Austrian)
part
of
the
Austro-Hungarian
Empire.
Since
its
construction,
the
Parliament
Building
has
been
the
seat
of
these
two
houses,
and
their
successors—the
National
Council
(Nationalrat)
and
the
Federal
Council
(Bundesrat)—of
the
Austrian
legislature.
The
foundation
stone
was
laid
in
1874;
the
building
was
completed
in
1883.
The
architect
responsible
for
its
Greek
Revival
style
was
Theophil
Hansen.
He
designed
the
building
holistically,
aiming
to
have
each
element
harmonizing
with
all
the
others.
He
was
therefore
also
responsible
for
the
interior
decoration,
such
as
statues,
paintings,
furniture,
chandeliers,
and
numerous
other
elements.
Hansen
was
honored
by
Emperor
Franz
Joseph
with
the
title
of
Freiherr
(Baron)
after
its
completion.
Following
heavy
damage
and
destruction
in
World
War
II,
most
of
the
interior
has
been
restored
to
its
original
splendour.
The
parliament
building
covers
over
13,500
square
meters,
making
it
one
of
the
largest
structures
on
Ringstraße.
It
contains
over
one
hundred
rooms,
the
most
important
of
which
are
the
Chambers
of
the
National
Council,
the
Federal
Council,
and
the
former
Imperial
House
of
Representatives
(Abgeordnetenhaus).
The
building
also
includes
committee
rooms,
libraries,
lobbies,
dining
rooms,
bars
and
gymnasiums.
One
of
the
building's
most
famous
features
is
the
Pallas
Athena
fountain
in
front
of
the
main
entrance,
built
by
Carl
Kundmann
after
plans
from
Hansen,
from
1898
to
1902
and
it
is
a
notable
Viennese
tourist
attraction.
The
Parliament
Building
is
the
site
of
important
state
ceremonies,
most
notably
the
swearing-in
ceremony
of
the
President
of
Austria
and
the
state
speech
on
National
Day
each
October
26.
The
building
is
closely
associated
with
the
two
parliamentary
bodies,
as
is
shown
by
the
use
of
the
term
Hohes
Haus
as
a
metonym
for
"Parliament".
Parliamentary
offices
spill
over
into
nearby
buildings,
such
as
the
Palais
Epstein.
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