During construction of Vienna’s city railway, Emperor Franz Joseph was given his own exclusive station near Schönbrunn Palace. The initiative came from Otto Wagner, the designer of the city’s public transit system. The building, completed in 1899, was given a resplendent exterior along with sumptuous furnishings – specifically tailored to the emperor's needs.
The large central octagonal waiting room has mahogany paneling and embroidered wall coverings.
The large painting by Carl Moll, a favorite painter of the emperor, shows Vienna, including its new public transit system, from a bird's eye perspective.
The fact that the emperor only used the pavilion twice was secondary for Otto Wagner. Modern architecture, the structure demonstrated, was up to every task: including conveying imperial splendor.
