Ballhausplatz

Ballhausplatz is a square in central Vienna containing the building (with the address Ballhausplatz 2) that for over two hundred years has been the official residence of the most senior Austrian Cabinet Minister, the State Chancellor, today the Chancellor of Austria (Prime Minister). As a result, Ballhausplatz is often used as shorthand for the Austrian Federal Chancellery. Until 1918 the Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary was also housed here. Similar to Downing Street or the Quai d'Orsay, the word Ballhausplatz (or Ballplatz for short) is a synecdoche for the seat of power.

Ballhausplatz is located in the first district Innere Stadt in central Vienna, a few minutes' walk from the Austrian Parliament Building and on the edge of the grounds of Hofburg Imperial Palace. Until 1754 the square itself did not exist, as an imperial hospital was located there. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor erected a real tennis house there, the Ballhaus (ball house). Later the building was used for the Imperial Court Construction Office (Hofbauamt). At the end of the 18th century the Ballhaus was ripped down.

Ballhausplatz 2 is the official residence of the Federal Chancellor. It was constructed in 1717/19 by the architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and expanded in 1766 by Nicolò Pacassi under the guidance of Chancellor Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz. Originally called the Geheime Hofkanzlei (Secret Court Chancellery), it was expanded in 1881 and again in 1902, when the Haus-, Hof-, und Staatsarchiv (today the Austrian State Archive) were added on the site of the former Minoritenkloster monastery, next to the Minoritenkirche. The main facade has largely remained the same since its construction by von Hildebrandt. The interior is richly decorated with stucco. The building suffered heavy damage during World War II due to aerial bombardments, but was repaired. Located on the first floor are the offices of the Federal Chancellor, federal ministers, and conference rooms. The Government of Austria regularly meets here for cabinet meetings.

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