The domed Michaelertrakt (St. Michael's Wing) is one of the most exuberant wings of the Imperial Palace. It was originally designed in the 1720s by Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, but the project stalled and it wouldn't be until 1888, when the old Burgtheater was demolished, that construction really started. Austrian architect Ferdinand Kirschner followed von Erlach's original Baroque design and completed the wing in 1893.

The fountain on the left is known as the "Mastery of the Sea". It was sculpted in 1895 by Rudolf Weyr and symbolizes the Austrian naval power.