Deutschmeister-Palais, Historicist palace in Innere Stadt, Austria.
Deutschmeister-Palais is a historicist Ringstrasse palace at Parkring 8, built 1864–1868 by Theophil von Hansen. Its five-story central risalit rises above lower side wings; a two-story rusticated base holds three round-arched portals leading to the two-flight ceremonial staircase. The Beletage risalit carries an Ionic colonnade with balustrade, and the attic frieze shows the Grand Masters' coats of arms.
Archduke Wilhelm, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, commissioned Theophil Hansen to build the palace between 1864 and 1868. In 1870 he sold it to the Teutonic Order. From 1938 to 1945 it housed the Vienna SS headquarters, then served as the Federal Police Directorate until 1974. The OPEC Fund acquired it in 1981 and renovated it by 1983.
The interior includes a richly decorated salon divided by two dark green marble columns, with a black marble base, pink wall panels and a coffered ceiling. The dining room, separated from the buffet by four pillars, has a black-and-red marbled base, white panels between gilded Corinthian pilasters and a gilded coffered ceiling.
The palace at Parkring 8 is not a museum and has no public guided tours; it houses the offices of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). Visitors can view the facade, the three round-arched portals and the six Grand Master statues from the street and the adjacent Stadtpark side. The rear facade toward Cobdengasse is deliberately plain.
Six herald statues of Grand Masters by Josef Gasser stand on the balustrade of the side wings, while six order heralds support the trophy-laden pedestals. The rear facade toward Cobdengasse is deliberately plain compared with the show side facing the Parkring.
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