The Embassy as an Extension of the Diplomatic Persona

Summary Built by the architect Louis Montoyer in Vienna between 1803 and 1808 for the Russian ambassador to Austria, Andrey Razumovsky, the famous Razumovsky Palace would become the centre of anti-Napoleonic diplomacy in the early nineteenth century and a fixture in Vienna’s lively cultural scene. This article first discusses how the ambassador used his embassy as a meeting place for formal and informal diplomacy that contributed to Russia’s positioning against Napoleon long before the Grande Armée invaded the empire. Secondly, the architectural outline of the Razumovsky Palace is linked to the different cultural functions of the embassy that underpinned and strengthened Razumovsky’s diplomatic network. The final section of the article explores the role of the Razumovsky Palace as a determinant factor in the ambassador’s decision to leave diplomatic service and remain in Vienna until his death in 1836.