In 1717 he decided that a large palace was to be built on the rise overlooking the city by the architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (1668 - 1745). Construction took place between 1721 and 1722 and the interior decoration was completed the following year. The garden palace primarily served the purpose of pomp and display. This is reflected in the elegant sala terrena (entrance hall today), the grand staircase, the magnificent marble hall rooms sumptuously embellished with stucco and frescos, ceiling paintings and the chapel with the exquisite altarpiece by Francesco Solimena (1657 - 1747).

After the prince death Emperor Karl VI immediately purchased Eugene´s precious library and the graphic collection. In 1752 Empress Maria Theresia acquired the palace from the prince heiress. At that time the antique sculptures from Prince Eugene´s famed art collection were sold to Dresden, the painting collection to Turin. Under Maria Theresia the palace was first named "Belvedere". For a long period of time the buildings were hardly used.

In 1776 Maria Theresia, as a suggestion of her son Joseph II, had the "Imperial and Royal Picture Gallery" transferred from the Stallburg to the Belvedere. From 1781 onwards the Imperial Picture Gallery was opened to the public in the Upper Belvedere.