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Festsaal

It is the magnificent centerpiece of the Gerstner Salons Privés. Equipped with marble columns and a gold-decorated wooden coffered ceiling, the ballroom is perfect for festive receptions or gala dinners.

Festsaal

The dance hall of the Todescos

History of the Salons

The ballroom is a rectangular hall facing Kärntner Straße, designed with dark red pilasters and light walls. Hansen’s design creates vertical emphasis in the room. The walls are decorated with stucco marble and Stuccolustro, a technique widely used in the Historicist period. The main colors are reddish-brown, gold, black, and ivory.

Die Decke (klicken Sie für Detailbilder)

The ceiling features rich decoration with coffering and subtle gilding. Four mythological scenes, painted by Christian Griepenkerl based on Carl Rahl’s designs, adorn the ceiling, depicting the Horae, Graces, and Eros and Anteros.

Der Durchgang zum Salon Strauß (hier finden Sie Detailbilder)

The large gold doors can slide into the walls, opening the room to adjacent spaces. Above the doors are angels playing musical instruments, symbolizing the room’s function as a venue for events.

Near the cake display: Hansen added a narrow annex separated by double columns, which served as an orchestra stage in the 19th century. Today, it houses displays of delicacies from Gerstner K.u.K. Hofzuckerbäcker.

Floor plan
Eduard Todesco
Theophil Hansen

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Decke mit Kronleuchter
Die 3 Grazien Eurynome. die „Frohsinnige“, Thalia, die „Blühende“ und Aglaia, die "Strahlende“)
Decke
Hymen (Hymenaios Gott der Hochzeit) mit Komus (Personifikation des dionysischen Festzugs)
Horen (Göttinnen der Jahreszeiten und der sittlichen Ordnung)
Geöffnete Türe mit Engel an den Supraporten
Engel mit Trompete
Türe zwischen Festsaal und Salon Strauss
Nahaufnahme der Türe
Detail
Rundbogen
Monogramm E und M (Eduard und Moritz)
Eduard von Todesco

Entrepreneur and Private Banker

EDUARD TODESCO

Eduard Todesco (1814-1887), who came from a Hungarian-Jewish family, was one of the most influential businessmen and private bankers in the Habsburg Monarchy during the second half of the 19th century. After the Revolution of 1848, he gained recognition from the state through his generous purchases of government bonds and his charitable donations. As a result, he was knighted in 1861 and elevated to the rank of baron in 1869.

Todesco was part of the so-called “second society,” the financial aristocracy, which had a complex relationship with the high nobility. From the 18th century, and especially in the 19th century, this group became the elite of the rising, liberal, and imperial-loyal bourgeoisie. Together with his younger brother Moritz (1816-1873), Eduard inherited a vast fortune after the death of their father Hermann and managed the family bank “Hermann Todesco’s Sons.” Eduard and his wife Sophie had three daughters, Franziska (Fanny), Anna (Netti), and Gabriele (Yella), as well as a son, Hermann, who tragically died at the age of 27 following a carriage accident.

Theophil Hansen

Architect

THEOPHIL HANSEN

Theophil Hansen (1813-1891) was one of the most important architects in Austria during the 19th century. Born on July 13, 1813, in Copenhagen, he studied at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts, where he was introduced to Danish Classicism, primarily by his brother and teacher, Hans Christian Hansen.

In 1838, Theophil followed his brother to Greece. On his way, he passed through Berlin, where he was greatly influenced by the works of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. In Northern Italy, especially in Venice, he studied the architecture of Andrea Palladio. In Greece, he delved into ancient Greek architecture, though Byzantine architecture also had a profound impact on him, influencing his early style in Vienna.

In 1846, Christian Ludwig Förster invited Hansen to Vienna. Their collaboration was strengthened by Hansen’s marriage to Förster’s daughter, but it ended after her death. Hansen became one of the key architects behind the development of Vienna’s Ringstrasse. His most notable works from the 1860s include the Evangelical School at Karlsplatz, the Vienna Musikverein building, and the Palais Erzherzog Wilhelm on Parkring (now the OPEC building). Hansen referred to his style as “Greek Renaissance” and placed great emphasis on the interior design of his buildings.