Vienna's Incomparable "Imperial Ball"
Recalls Glories of the Hapsburg Empire

By William Buckman's Travel Time Co.

The Vienna Hofburg Palace, the former winter residence of the Austrian emperors, was at the time of the Habsburg monarchy the scene of magnificent balls and events, such as the “Ball at Court” given by Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi.

The first modern day recreation of the monarchy’s “Ball at Court” was staged in the Hofburg Palace on New Year’s Eve, 1970, and I attended this ball with the encouragement of my Viennese guide, Princess Helene Croy. The princess was a member of the Habsburg royal family and had personally known Emperor Franz Josef and each of his family members. 

She advised me when she was guiding a summer trip for me in Vienna that the “Ball at Court” was being recreated as it was in the days of the monarchy, and that the ball would now be titled the “Imperial Ball.”  Princess Croy had attended this “Ball at Court” many times as a young lady until the end of the monarchy in 1918 after World War I.  

She advised me the ball would have the same elegant format as the former “Ball at Court,” but that the Imperial Ball would be a subscription ball instead of an invitational ball. Taking her advice, I purchased a ticket to this new Imperial Ball for $50 and flew to Vienna on December 29 for a four-day New Year weekend. 

The events of that weekend were so spectacular I immediately knew they had to be shared with the world, and I began planning a trip to Europe for the next New Year.  However, in those days to obtain the group airfare that I thought would be needed to sell the trip, you needed a minimum stay of 15 days.  So, instead of just the week in Vienna for the New Year, I decided to spend Christmas in Zermatt, Switzerland, at the base of the mighty Matterhorn, where sleighs were the only form of transportation in the village, surrounded by snowcapped Alps.

Then I continued from Switzerland to Vienna on December 28 for a week of New Year activities.  These included the Imperial Ball on New Year’s Eve, a performance at the Vienna State Opera on New Year’s night (both black-tie events), a performance at the Volksopera, a Mass sung by the Vienna Boy’s Choir, a New Year’s Day Strauss concert, a performance of the Lipizzaner stallions on New Year’s Eve morning, and a farewell dinner/dance in a private palace in Vienna. 

A comprehensive program of sightseeing in Vienna included the Museum of Fine Arts, the Treasury, Shönbrunn Palace (the summer palace of the Habsburgs), the State Apartments of the Hofburg Palace (the winter city palace of the Habsburgs), St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Belvedere Palace, the Capuchin Crypt with the tombs of the Habsburgs, and a day’s excursion into the Vienna Woods where Strauss was inspired to compose so many of his waltzes. 

I was the first American travel agent to take a group of Americans to Zermatt for Christmas and on to Vienna for the Imperial Ball on New Year’s Eve.  The trip was an instant success and has continued annually for 29 years.  After the 13th year of the trip, I truncated it so that guests may take the Christmas in Zermatt portion (December 20-28) and/or the New Year’s in Vienna segment (December 27-January 4).

Each year on New Year’s Eve, according to Austrian tradition, Imperial Ball guests are received in the entrance hall of the Hofburg Palace to the strains of the Hofball Orchestra, where they witness the historic changing of the Imperial Guard.  Guests are presented with a glass of champagne while they listen to Strauss waltzes and view elegantly gowned ladies and gentlemen in black tie from all the capitals of Europe arrive for the ball.  A Viennese lady dressed as Empress Sisi and a gentleman dressed in the military uniform of Emperor Franz Josef greet the ball guests.  Ladies receive a small gift as a token of the evening, presented by footmen dressed in silk livery.  Members of the Ball Committee, wearing yellow rosettes, guide you to seats in the festively decorated state chambers. 

More than 30,000 carnations are flown in from Madeira to adorn the marble staircase and all of the ballrooms of the palace.  Each of the ballrooms is open to guests to view.  They include the Ceremonial Hall, the former throne and ballroom of the Habsburgs; the Knight’s Hall, in which Maria Theresia was christened in 1717; the Secret Privy Chamber, which gained historical importance as an audience hall; and the Radetzky-Apartments, which the Emperor made available to Field Marshall Radetzky as living and business quarters as a special honor for his achievements.

The doors of the palace open to guests at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and after pausing in the marble foyer for champagne and the changing of the guard, guests ascend the marble staircase to the second-story ballrooms.  The evening commences at 8:30 p.m. with an exquisite gala dinner served by waiters in silk livery and 10 orchestras playing in seven ballrooms, so that guests may dance between courses at dinner.  At midnight the traditional ringing of the Pummerin – the bell from St. Stephan’s Cathedral – can be heard.  The Imperial Couple wishes a hearty “Happy New Year,” the Deutschmeister Band marches through the halls playing music, and guests dance into the New Year to the strains of The Danube Waltz. 

The climax of the ball is the Viennese Operetta Gala, which takes place shortly after midnight in the Grand Festival Hall, where my guests are seated in the prime location in the palace – on a dais where they have the best view of a cabaret, which features singers and dancers from the Vienna State Opera and the Volksopera performing scenes from Viennese operettas.  Following the entertainment, internationally known orchestras invite guests to dance in the Grand Festival Hall, the Ceremonial Hall, the Kaisergarten and the Knight’s Hall.  The final waltz is played just before 5 a.m., when the bells of St. Stephan’s may be heard and the ball comes to an end amid the splendor of the most magnificent palace in Vienna.