Miramare Castle . Miramare Castle and its park were built by order of Ferdinand Maximilian (1832–1867), of the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1850, at the age of eighteen, Ferdinand Maximilian - younger brother of
Franz Joseph,
Emperor of Austria - came to Trieste with his own younger brother,
Archduke Charles. Immediately afterwards he set off on a short cruise in the eastern Mediterranean. This journey confirmed him in his intention to sail and to get to know the world. In 1852 he was appointed an officer and in 1854 he became Commander in Chief of the
Imperial Austrian Navy. He decided to move to Trieste and to have a home built facing the sea and surrounded by a park worthy of his name and rank. According to tradition, when the archduke was caught in a sudden storm in the Gulf, he took shelter in the little harbour of Grignano and chose a bare rocky spur of limestone origin as the setting for his home. The whole complex, purchased for the first time at the beginning of March 1856, was called
Miramar, possibly after the name of Prince
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry's residence in
Pena,
Portugal. Designed in 1856 by Carl Junker, an Austrian architect, according to the wishes of Archduke Maximilian who carefully followed the building of his residence. As far as the botanical aspect was concerned, a gardener,
Josef Laube, was called in but was replaced in 1859 by
Anton Jelinek, a Bohemian who had taken part in the frigate
Novara's expedition around the world. The park, on which work began in 1856, represents a classic example of a mixed, artificial implantation of ligneous forest-trees and bushes and it succeeds in blending the charm of a typically Northern environment and a Mediterranean context. In contrast to the
Baroque garden, the English one – on which Miramare is modelled – introduces a new relationship with nature, resulting from a different sensibility towards the material world. This is why, when strolling along the paths in the park, you can breathe in an atmosphere that is tightly bound up with the life of its owner and his romantic relationship with nature, which was typical of his epoch. in the French formal garden. Before 1856, the park area was bare, with only some shrubs and thorny bushes. Today, on the other hand, there is a group of different species of trees that are, for the most part, of non-European origin or in any case, that are not native to the area. Within a period of ten years, cedars of
Lebanon,
North Africa and the Himalayas were planted, along with firs and spruces from Spain, cypresses from
California and Mexico, various species of pine from
Asia and
America, to which some exotic specimens, such as the
giant sequoia and the
ginkgo biloba, were added. Miramare was conceived as a private garden and not as a park. In fact it does not have a monumental entrance or a driveway up to the castle. It was a garden of wonders, not intended for public use, even though the archduke opened it to the public a few days per week. Watercourses, pools, twisting paths, trees placed according to natural models, some grassy areas, are typical of English gardens. The roughness of the ground favoured the irregular lay-out of the promontory, combining the artificial transformation with the natural environment. The park is also known for some other buildings included in Junker’s project: the
Castelletto – inhabited off and on by Maximilian and Charlotte – on which work began at the same time as work on the castle; the greenhouses, intended for the growing of the plants to be placed in the park; the ruins of the chapel dedicated to
Saint Canciano, in whose apse is preserved a cross made from the wood of the frigate
Novara, which was laid up in 1899; and lastly a little house, used nowadays as a coffee-shop, the "
Swiss house", placed at the edge of the swans’ lake. Until 1954, Miramare was used as the headquarters for
German, New Zealand,
British and American forces of occupation respectively. Finally, in 1955, the complex was reopened to the public under the name Miramare Park, whose management was entrusted to the
Sopraintendenza per i Beni Architettonici ed il Paesaggio e per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico of the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Today the gardens play host during the summer season to spectacles such as the musical "
Sissi", reliving the story of the Empire in its natural setting, and various concerts.
Miramare Castle’s stables Maximilian commissioned the plan for Miramare Castle’s stables, the design of which was undertaken between 1856 and 1860 by architect Carl Junker. He had already planned all the works to be done in the area of Miramare: the castle, the park and all its access paths, the
Castelletto, the
Porticciolo ('little port'), the conservatories, the Swiss house and the pavilion at the back of the parterre. Junker’s sketches set out the planning of the stable’s building, both in its totality and in each part devoted to a specific use. The building is made up of three parts surrounding a central yard opened to the sea. It is located on the road leading to Trieste, in a sheltered, healthy place at a distance from the castle. It is square. The central section was intended for horses: Junker’s sketches including the location of the animal stalls, lining the bottom perimeter. The two wings, perfectly symmetrical, are sub-divided into three parts: near the stables box-rooms for harness; then accommodations for the staff and, finally, the kitchens, near the sea. The great pavilion at the back was reserved for coaches. Its access on the west side is made up of two main doors (one probably the entrance, the other the exit). Between the two World Wars, when the castle was inhabited by the
Dukes of Aosta, changes were made to the stables.
Miramare after 1867 , was never slept in. After the death of Maximilian I in Mexico in June 1867, and Charlotte’s departure for Belgium, the castle and the park continued to be a place where the
Habsburgs spent short periods. Already in September 1882, the Emperor
Franz Joseph with Empress
Elisabeth and the heir to the throne
Rudolf with his consort
Stéphanie of Belgium, stayed in Miramare during an official visit to Trieste and gave receptions for the notables of the city. In August 1885, the Archduchess Stéphanie stayed there for a few days. Between 1869 and 1896, the Empress Elisabeth is recorded as having stayed there on at least fourteen occasions. On March 22, 1900, Stéphanie of Belgium – Charlotte’s niece and Rudolf’s widow – chose the chapel of the castle for her second marriage to the Hungarian noble Elemér de Lónyay. From March 9 to April 11, 1914, the heir to the throne Archduke
Franz Ferdinand lived in the castle with his wife and sons and gave hospitality to the German Emperor
William; two months later the archduke was
assassinated at Sarajevoon June 28,1914. Also noteworthy is the visit of the last Emperor
Charles and his wife
Zita. During the
First World War, all the furniture and works of art belonging to the castle were moved to
Vienna and stored in the
Schönbrunn and
Belvedere Palaces and in the court libraries. At the end of the war the whole territory of Miramare passed under the direct control of the Italian government. Between October 1925 and March 1926, by mutual consent of the two governments, Austria returned all the furnishings in order to make possible the reconstruction of the castle’s original interior. The restoration of the furnishings and rooms, under the direction of the Royal Superintendence, meant that the museum could be opened to the public on March 24, 1929. Two years later the government assigned Miramare to
Duke Amedeo of Aosta, captain of the first air division stationed in
Gorizia, who lived there continuously till 1937 when he was appointed viceroy of
Ethiopia. The castle was also inhabited on and off by the Duke’s family until the middle of 1943. Nonetheless, visitors were allowed access to the upper part of the park and, from 1931, to the
Castelletto, furnished with Archduke Maximilian’s fittings which had not formed part of the Duke of Aosta’s furnishings. Afterwards the castle was used as a school for officers by the
German troops who occupied the city. As a result of the opposition of the
Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer to the conversion of the castle into Nazi headquarters, the building was saved from possible bombardment. In the meantime, the furnishings had been removed and were kept in various buildings in the city. At the end of 1945, the New Zealand troops under the command of the
General Freyberg entered Trieste and settled in the castle, making many changes to the interior. The British troops followed, and set up the headquarters of
XIII Corps in Miramare. Finally the Americans came and the castle served as headquarters for the American garrison
Trieste United States Troops (TRUST) from 1947 to October 3, 1954. The Superintendence immediately began the work of restoration of the interior of the castle and the
Castelletto and the layout of the park. On the basis of drawings and period photographs, wood decorations were restored in the rooms and furniture, furnishings, pictures and tapestries were rearranged. Finally, in March 1955, the park was reopened free of charge to the public and from June 2 of the same year, Maximilian’s residence was named the Historical Museum of Miramare Castle and entrusted to the
Sopraintendenza per i Beni Architettonici ed il Paesaggio e per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico of the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Over the years it has become an attraction for thousands of tourists interested in experiencing full immersion in one of the very few examples of European historical residences which have preserved almost entirely their original furnishings and which, still today, transmit the charm of living around the middle of the Nineteenth century. ==Museum==