At the beginning of her ascension to the throne in October 1740, the Empress chose the Leopoldine wing of Hofburg palace as the residence of her family and, moreover, the seat of the government. The so-called bel étage on the first floor of the wing housed both her private appartement and the reception and official rooms. The Imperial Privy Council, for example, used to gather there. The outdated interior was decorated in elaborate Rococo style, according to the taste of the era. The Empress’s sons, Emperors Joseph II and Leopold II, kept the same arrangement until the 1790s.
The Leopoldine wing regained its governmental function as late as the 1940s, when it became the official residence of the Federal President of Austria. Despite having been renovated, the interior still carries the Baroque atmosphere of the era, and the Empress is virtually present in her several portraits adorning the walls. On certain occasions and under certain circumstances, the residence is open to the general population. Nevertheless, my description of the Empress’s council room here is fictional.
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