Olympia, by Pierre Mignard.

Mentions of Prince Eugene of Savoy immediately bring to mind this military genius’s splendid city palace, which was once more or less on the outskirts of Vienna. The Winter Palace, as it is known, is located just a few minutes’ walk away from the Cathedral of St Stephen. I had the opportunity of visiting it recently, soon after it re-opened to the public.

The prince had commissioned the famous Fischer von Erlach to design the building; the latter commenced work on it, but for some unknown reason Eugene later replaced him with that equally famous baroque architect Jon Lukas von Hildebrandt, who completed the work.

When the prince died in his Winter Palace, on the night of April 20/21 in 1736, he left an immense fortune worth millions in today’s currency. Having lost all his brothers and nephews, his sole heiress was a niece, Anna Vittoria (1683-1763). She hurriedly disposed of his properties, art collection and all other valuables at almost give-away prices for the buyers.

Even so, the Winter Palace, shorn of most of what once adorned it, still provides a glimpse of the splendour which once reigned there. On display are several personal items of Eugene’s, including his Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, baton, facsimiles of autograph documents, portraits and some of the original furniture including an outrageously ornate bed and luxurious fittings.

The embellishment of the palace was entrusted to Italian, French, Austrian and German artists. A common motif all over the place, grand staircase included, is that of Mars, god of war, and Hercules, demi-god and hero. The Empress Maria Theresa bought the palace and thought much of it, later turning the palace into the Court Treasury.

Later still it became the Ministry of Finance, with only bureaucrats seeing its interior. After some time, it remained unused until being entirely restored to its former glory opening again on the 350th anniversary of Prince Eugene’s birth, on October 18.

The palace leaves a legacy that is not bad for a man who, when still not quite 20 years of age, arrived in Vienna with just the clothes he wore and very little money. Eugene Maurizio of Savoy-Carignano-Soissons was the youngest son of a young-est son, and as such faced little prospects in life except the Church (vocation or not), or the army. His spindly appearance and rather frail health did not appear to make a career in the army remotely possible. Yet he made it.

Eugene was born on 0ctober 18, 1663, just over 350 years ago. His father, Eugéne-Maurice, Count of Soissons and Dreux and Prince of Savoy, had married Olimpia Mancini. She was one of the many nieces of Cardinal Jules Mazarin. The all-powerful cardinal was well known for marrying off all his nieces (who were known as, Les Mazarinettes), very well indeed.

The younger Eugene, youngest of five brothers, was destined for the Church at first. Having lost his father when he was 10, he was mainly brought up by his paternal grandmother, as Olimpia was too busy enjoying life and the Court intrigue around King Louis XIV. She fell from grace for her indirect involvement in the notorious Affair of the Poisons, which shook the French court at the beginning in 1679-1680. She was lucky to get away with banishment to the countryside.

The Winter Palace, shorn of most of what once adorned it, still provides a glimpse of the splendour which once reigned there

Meanwhile, young Eugene had obstinately refused a Church career, and wanted to join the army. Louis XIV had taken a dislike to him and twice refused to grant him a military commission. The King said later that he could not bear the young man’s impudent way of staring him in the eye.

The determined young man decided to leave France without permission and headed for Vienna, capital of France’s arch-enemy, Austria. This was to be the turning point of his life.

Louis XIV was to bitterly regret he refused to avail himself of the admittedly still unknown potential of the young man. The Habsburg Emperor Leopold I offered Eugene a commission, and the young man distinguished himself very bravely during the second Turkish siege of Vienna, in which the Turks were defeated and chased all the way to Belgrade.

He later took part in the capture of Buda in 1686, and in the unsuccessful siege of Belgrade, where he was badly wounded in 1688. Recovering, Eugene rose ever higher in esteem and repute. With the War of the League of Augsburg against France came a period of service in Germany, and an increasingly strained relationship with his cousins Duke Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy and the Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria. Both of whom eventually passed over to the French side.

The end of the war in 1697 left Austria free again to deal with the Turks in Hungary, and Eugene’s great victory at Zenta in 1697 ended Turkish rule there forever. Having accumulated great honours, riches and grants of land, the prince could then build his Winter Palace in Vienna, with the Belvedere later coming as a gift from the grateful Habsburgs for further services in the war of the Spanish Succession.

This devastating war saw Eugene at the pinnacle of his military glory against the French and their allies. He won the field at Cella in 1705 and raised the siege of Turin in 1706, when this was attacked by the French after Vittorio Amedeo II had changed sides again. Together with the Earl (and after the battle, Duke) of Marlborough he defeated the French and Bavarians at Blenheim (1704), the French at Oudenarde (1708) and also scored a very bloody Pyrrhic victory at Malplaquet (1709). Scenes of these and other battles adorn one of the halls of the Winter Palace.

Eugene rose to be president of the Imperial War Council and directed Austria’s military machine. He fought other campaigns, including his famous capture of Belgrade from the Turks in 1718 which the Habsburgs lost in 1739. He was active as diplomat, governor and administrator, at one point even governing the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium and Luxemburg), usually only granted to members of the imperial family.

A great patron of the arts, he had great taste, but like most Savoys, he was not particularly musical. His last campaign was not very glorious, mainly because in the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1735), he did not have much support from the Habsburg Court. Fighting mainly on the defensive, his physical and mental health was failing fast.

A strict disciplinarian, he was highly respected by his soldiers, but not exactly loved, despite sharing every danger with his men. Frederick the Great of Prussia was to acknowledge the fact that in the 1730s he learnt a lot from him, and Napoleon was to consider Eugene as one of the seven great military leaders of history.

An exhibition covering the history of the palace, the artists that accompanied the prince and a collection of nature and animal drawings done for the prince will remain open until February 2.

www.belvedere.at