Palais Rasumofsky

Palais Rasumofsky, in Vienna's third district of Landstrasse, is an outstanding example of Neoclassical architecture. It was built in 1806 by the Belgian architect Louis Montoyer for the Russian ambassador, Count Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky. The complex consists of an imposing rectangular main building and a single-story garden wing that joins it at a right angle. The facades are articulated by pilaster strips, and the garden side features porticoes with Ionic columns. A particular architectural highlight is the magnificent ballroom, structured by sixteen freestanding Corinthian marble columns and regarded as one of Montoyer's principal works.

The history of the estate has been shaped by changing uses. After the prince's death in 1836 and a fire in the garden wing in 1814 that destroyed valuable art treasures, the palace changed hands several times. From 1851 it housed the Imperial-Royal Geological Survey, which was based here until 2005. Today the building is used for private purposes, following extensive restoration work carried out between 2011 and 2014 under historic preservation protection. Visitors can take in the imposing architecture and the historical significance of the site, though only small remnants of the original English landscape garden survive.