The dome fresco by Daniel Gran

The apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI

The Imperial Court Library on Josefsplatz was the first structure to be purpose-built to house the imperial book collection; until then they had been stored in the Minoriten Church.

The State Hall is divided into a war-side and a peace-side, like the original arrangement of books. This division is echoed in the frescoes which court artist Daniel Gran (1694-1757) completed in 1730.

Worldly and war themes are reserved for the frescoes in the entrance wing near to the Augustinian Reading Room, while the ‘peace wing’ adjacent to the Redouten Halls – the original point of access for the emperor and members of court - features allegorical depictions of peace and heaven.

The fresco on the nearly 30 m high central dome is dedicated to the apotheosis of the library’s founder, Emperor Charles VI. His portrait is held by Hercules and Apollo and surrounded by an intricate sequence of allegorical figures symbolising the virtues of the Hapsburgs and the wealth of their domains. Court scholar Conrad Adolph von Albrecht (1682-1751) was responsible for their arrangement.