Discover Germany | Special Theme | Vienna’s Glorious Ball Season
Fête Impériale 2015. Photo: © Rainer Eckharter
Fête Impériale 2013. Photo: © Rainer Eckharter
Fête Impériale
– Spanish Riding School Vienna’s Spanish Riding School hosts next summer’s most glamorous summer ball. The Fête Impériale draws a global crowd of horse lovers, connoisseurs, and passionate dancers to its unique historic site. TEXT: ELISABETH DOEHNE
Mark your calendars for 2017 for this glamorous and unforgettable event. The Fête Impériale will take place on Friday, 23 June 2017 in Vienna’s Spanish Riding School, the most ancient ballroom in Vienna. “Our Fête Impériale will be celebrated as an imperial, magnificent and colourful summer ball for the eighth time this year,” explains chief executive officer Elisabeth Gürtler. “We revive the imperial times for one unforgettable night a year, and open 68 | Issue 45 | December 2016
the Spanish Riding School for all Viennese people, but also for guests from all over Austria and abroad. We will see the past blending with the passion of the present again. Louis-Napoleon III already knew about the importance of glittering festivities.” Historic tradition and charm For the eighth time in a row, the Spanish Riding School will present itself as Vienna’s most beautiful summer ball location.
Fête Impériale 2011. Photo: © Spanish Riding School
In fact, next year’s Fête Impériale is expected to feature more than 2,500 guests who will enjoy a glittering evening under the stars. Both its luminous setting and its function characterise the ball’s location – normally, the Lipizzaner stallions dance here. Guests also dance under the stars in the Stallburg or take a walk in the Summer Riding School, where a variety of bars offer champagne and wine Just like imperial times, carriages will arrive on the Michaelerplatz. The riding area will turn into a dance floor and provide their guests with ample space to perform their Caprioles, Levades, Courbettes and the School Quadrilles. The open galleries of the Winter Riding School invite guests to