More than 30,000 years ago the "Venus from Willendorf" was made, a 10cm big
cult statuette (found in the Wachau region). The number of Roman art monuments
is countless, especially near the border fortifications and in Carnuntum.
The Romanesque period developed during the 12th century, typical examples are
the abbeys Klosterneuburg, Heiligenkreuz and Zwettl which are preserved
only in part because they show many Gothic and Baroque elements.
Book illumination and painting on glass became very famous (handwritings at
Heiligenkreuz Abbey). Master Nikolaus von Verdun created a fantastic enamel
altar at Klosterneuburg Abbey.
Only in 1250 Gothic elements started to influence art. Late Gothic buildings
are represented by the churches of Eggenburg, Krems, Göttweig and Wiener Neustadt.
During the 16th century Rennaissance characteristics came over from Italy and
the first noblemen´s residences were built, such as the Schallaburg castle near
Melk with its fantastic arcades, but also middle class buildings with sgraffito
fassades and archways (Krems, Horn, Retz, Weitra, Gmünd, Eggenburg).
The Baroque period gave rise to splendid castles, planned by the architects
Jakob Prandtauer, Joseph Munggenast, Lukas von Hildebrand (Atzenbrugg, Eckartsau, Niederweiden, Schloßhof, Riegersburg castles), unique abbeys (Melk, Göttweig, Klosterneuburg, Seitenstetten) and imposing churches which were decorated with Baroque elements. The most famous painter of this period was Martin Johann Schmidt.
One of the best known architects of the Biedermeier period, Josef Kornhäusel,
created the City Ensemble in Baden near Vienna.
Typical examples of Historicism are the Franzensburg Castle in Laxenburg and
the Grafenegg Castle.
A very early testimony of technical progress during the 19th century is the
Semmeringbahn mountain railway, built by Karl Ritter von Ghega (1848-54).
