Wienna - Part 8 - The Ferstel Passage - Part I.

Today is Friday which means #MarketFriday for quite a few of us, addicts. #MarketFriday is hosted by my friend Denise, @dswigle. I'm going to show you The Ferstel Passage, an old, beautiful historical building in Vienna. Feel free to read the other episodes here :

Vienna - Part 1 - Public Transport
Vienna - Part 2 - Hospitality
Vienna - Part 3 - St. Michael's Church
Vienna - Part 4 - Schönbrunn Palace
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part I.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part I.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part III.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part IV.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part V.
Vienna - Part 6 - St. Stephen's Cathedral
Vienna - Part 7 - Food

Originally it was built in 1890 to serve as a National Bank and stock exchange. It was constructed by Baron Heinrich von Ferstel.

Unfortunately I could not catch the whole building on camera as it was raining, the square was full of construction stands and containers. But I could take a bunch of photos of the interior and that worth everything.

This is the kind of building that you just look at it for minutes and think of the times when it was built. It takes you back in time to another world that was very different from what we have today.

This is the ceiling of the passage, it's absolutely wonderful.

I took this photo to show you the details. That lamp looks like in perfect condition. I don't know if it's original or just a replica but it looks good.

I'm a bit of architecture addict and when I see building like this I want to take a thousand photos to catch every detail. Of course that's never possible as time is always limited, so I do what I can.

This is the famous French BEAULIEU Épicerie fine & Bistrot.

This is the interior courtyard of the building covered by a hexagonal glass dome. It's a very small place, it was very difficult to take a decent photo, especially with people coming and going in front of you all the time. I did the best I could.

There is this wonderful fountain in the middle of the court that is six meter (20ft) tall and was designed by Heinrich von Ferstel. There's a statue of the Donaunixen (Danube waternymph) at the top of the fountains, who holds a fish in her hand.

Look at those stairs in the background.

I believe that's a bank that has it's entrance from the other street.

The ceiling of the exit.

During the World War II, the building was severely damaged from air raids, particularly its facade. In 1971, the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, was responsible for its reconstruction. Between 1975 and 1982, the building became privately owned and was renovated. The building is currently owned by a 2015 Karl Wlaschek foundation. source

This wonderful iron gate from the entrance however looks original and I'm glad it is still standing.

The Palais Ferstel was built between 1856-1860, and this ‘temporarily’ accessible passage was designed as a shopping arcade in the tradition of the great Parisian shopping passages. By the turn of the century, this passage had developed into something of a social scene – it was here that members of Vienna’s high society met to shop, stroll, and gossip. Walking through the passage today, with its fantastic arches and glass roof, transports one back to the height of the Habsburg Empire and the social lives of its leisure classes. Though it is today no longer the center of the social scene, it’s a lovely place for some window shopping and an afternoon glass of wine – and since there has been no “Widerruf” since the 19thcentury, we think its safe to say that it will remain open and accessible to the public! (CG). source

And that's what we did, we were window shopping, looking at the luxury products displayed in these windows.

These were luxury items, the cheapest wrist watch was €439, the wall clock was €515. Most of the shops were closed as it was Sunday, not that I wanted to buy anything :)

These on the other hand were accessible as most of the watches were under €100.

There were a few nice jewelry pieces here I could choose for myself.

This is the first part, mainly about the building. There will be a second part, probably on next Friday to show you the shops inside the passage. If you are interested, stay tuned.