The greatest of the Austrian military heroes, Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), had his summer palace, the Belvedere, on one of the choicest pieces of real estate overlooking Vienna, not far from the Military History Museum. The upper Belvedere, completed in 1722, is considered to be the masterpiece of the important Austrian architect Johann von Hildebrandt.

The main hall of the Lower Belvedere, built in 1716, gives an excellent idea of Baroque interior decoration. One of the sculptures on display, in the "Golden Kabinet" of the Lower Belvedere, is Balthasar Permoser's "Apotheosis of Prince Eugene" (1718-1722), deifying the hero during his own lifetime. The Belvedere today houses important collections of Austrian painting and sculpture, including work by the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).