"Pleasure Camp". In the spring of 1856, units of the imperial army were assigned to an encampment at the base of the Bisamberg mountain. The high ground north-northwest of the empire's capital and court seat of Vienna, known as Bisamberg, which only reaches a height of some 300 metres, offered an ideal training ground for troop movements and strategic manoeuvres. Since this encampment was set up for a long time, in the vicinity all manner of cabins sprang up where food and drink were served. Since camp followers also appeared, there developed very quickly a sort of atmosphere, which attracted numerous visitors from the court seat. The owner of the Fünhaus Beer Hall, J. Vallentin, organised at this roomy establishment in front of the Mariehilfer Line on 2 June 1856 a "luminous, decorative and burlesque garden party and ball" under the title "Bisamberg Lustlager" (Bisamberg Pleasure Camp). Four large musical choruses were provided to entertain the guests. At 6 o'clock in the evening, the Strauss orchestra's concert under Josef's direction began. The particularly animated and striking Lust-Lager-Polka, which Josef composed expressly for this fête and which he performed as a novelty, was perfectly suite to the event. At the end of August, the lively polka appeared in print. The drawing on the title page of the piano score shows an encampment for soldiers of the imperial army, albeit on even ground and not at the base of the rolling Bisamberg.
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Painting: Das Lager am Bisamberg bei Wien
Artist: Vinzenz Katzler
Date: 1856
Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra
Alfred Eschwé
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