ÖZKD LXXVII Heft 3 Generalsanierung Parlament, pp. 104-105, 2024/04/17
Generalsanierung des Parlamentsgebäudes 2018–2022
The heraldic steel eagle makes its own distinctive mark on the National Council Chamber. Measuring 2.27 metres in height and with a wingspan of 3.86 metres, it cuts a powerful figure. The eagle, created in 1954 by Rudolf Hoflehner, is based on the sculptor’s own design and weighs around 650 kilogrammes. It consists of five main parts: the left and right wings, torso and breastplate are attached to a supporting structure at the centre of the sculpture. All parts are cut from solid 10 millimetre-thick steel plates (some of which are curved) and have been subsequently arc welded together. The sculpture is secured to the wall with five cylindrical steel bolts measuring 4.5 centimetres in diameter and 3.8 centimetres in length. The bolts are inserted into steel sheathing in the wall. The heraldic eagle was restored in situ in 2012. In 2018, during the renovation of the parliament building, it was taken down and temporarily stored near Wiener Neustadt. In the summer of 2019 it was transported to Metallwerkstatt C. Reisinger, the metal workshop where it was subsequently restored and preserved. When the sculpture, restored to its “former glory”, was returned to the parliament building in the summer of 2021 and mounted in its rightful place behind the president’s lectern, many media outlets reported that “the eagle had landed smoothly”.
