Joseph II

In 1810 a monument was erected to Joseph II, who had played an important role in ensuring the preservation and expansion oft he Botanic Garden and the menagerie after his father’s death. The equestrian statue is a smaller copy of the figure executed by Franz Zauner fort he monument on Josefplatz in front oft he National Library, which originally stood in the park at Laxenburg.

The bronze statue shows the emperor in the costume of a military leader from antiquity and the plinth is decorated on the front and back with dedicatory inscriptions, while the sides are embellished with reliefs.