Location: Schonbrunner Schloss Strasse 147, Schonbrunn
Tel.
01- 811 13239
Subway: Schonbrunn
Bus: 10A
Trolley: 10, 58
Open: daily
Know For: Site of abdication of Charles I, the
last emperor of the Austro- Hungarian Emperor
Schönbrunn Palace, which can look back on a long history of
construction, goes back in its present form to a residence planned by
and for Emperor Joseph I, which Empress Maria Theresa had converted into
a comfortable summer residence for her family in the 18th century. The
castle has been in the 13th district of
Vienna since 1892, which has been called Hietzing ever since. The
name Schönbrunn refers to a saying attributed to Emperor Matthias. He is
said to have discovered an artesian spring here while hunting in 1619
and exclaimed happily: "What a beautiful fountain!"
From 1638 to
1643 a palace was built in this area as a residence for the second wife
of Emperor Ferdinand II, Eleonora Gonzaga. However, this facility was
badly damaged in the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. In 1687,
Leopold I commissioned his heir to the throne, Joseph I, to have a
representative new building designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von
Erlach for the palace, which was then far from the city gates.
It
was not until 1743 that the palace and park were remodeled and expanded
in their present form by Nikolaus von Pacassi and Johann Ferdinand
Hetzendorf von Hohenberg under Maria Theresa, known as Empress since
1745. The Baroque palace was the summer residence of the kings and
emperors of the empire from the mid-18th century until the end of the
Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and of the Austrian imperial family from 1804
until the end of the First World War. During this time, the palace was
almost continuously inhabited by a court of several hundred people and
became a cultural and political center of the Habsburg Empire. During
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy it also became k. k. called Schönbrunn
Palace.
Schönbrunn is the largest palace and one of the most
important and most visited cultural assets in Austria. The castle and
the approximately 160-hectare park have been part of the UNESCO World
Heritage since 1996. A main attraction in the castle park is the oldest
zoo in the world that still exists, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn (16 ha).
The palace and park are among the main tourist attractions in Vienna.
prehistory
In 1311 the Khattermühle was first mentioned in a
document on the slope of a 60 m high hill on the Wien river, one of
several mills in this area. In 1312 it became the property of the
Klosterneuburg monastery together with the area and, after several
changes of ownership, was acquired in 1548 by the later mayor of Vienna,
Hermann Bayr, who built his manor next to the mill, the so-called
Katterburg or Gatterburg.
On October 8, 1569, Emperor Maximilian
II acquired the extensive property, had it fenced in and stocked it with
feathered deer, red deer and wild boar to use it for hunting. He had
fish ponds built and exotic birds such as turkeys and peacocks kept in a
separate area. The name pheasant garden for the rear part of the
property that is not open to the public is an indication of this. The
mill was demolished the following year. In 1570, Maximilian had a
hunting lodge built in the zoo that already existed. The construction of
a castle was not yet planned: at that time, Maximilian had a new
building built on the other side of the city, where he set up a
menagerie.
In 1590 the Archduke of Inner Austria and later
Emperor Ferdinand II gave the hunting lodge to his war purser Egid
Gattermeier, after it had been called the Gatterschloss and the
associated forest Gatterholzl for a long time. In 1612 Emperor Matthias,
son of Maximilian II, is said to have discovered a spring during a hunt
in the area, which later gave Schönbrunn its name as the Schöner
Brunnen. Matthias is said to have taken a liking to it and the hunting
lodge was expanded.
Only Eleonora Gonzaga, widow of Ferdinand II,
who her stepson Ferdinand III. had left the property as a widow's
residence, had an annex built to the gate castle between 1638 and 1643,
then called the Gonzaga Castle, in which she could give receptions
befitting her status. At this time, there is talk of "about a hundred
Italian trees, including 24 bitter oranges", i.e. an early orangery, and
the term Schönbrunn appears for the first time on an invoice dated
January 24, 1642 for a delivery of wood. After Eleonora's death in 1655,
Schönbrunn went to Eleonora Magdalena Gonzaga, the third wife of the
late Ferdinand III, as a widow's seat. In 1661, Emperor Leopold I built
a "rabbit shed" on the Schönbrunner Berg (where the Gloriette is
located).
In the course of the second Turkish siege in 1683, the
entire complex - the castle with its outbuildings and all associated
gardens - was damaged to the point of being unusable. Although Eleonora
Magdalena Gonzaga asked for at least two rooms and a hall to be
restored, she died in 1686 before this could happen.
construction
of the castle
It was not until 1687 that Leopold I commissioned a
representative new building for his heir to the throne, Joseph I. Johann
Bernhard Fischer, who had just immigrated and later became Fischer von
Erlach, proposed a pompous complex in 1688 that would have surpassed the
Palace of Versailles, but would not have been financially viable.
Instead, the architect was commissioned in 1693 with a much smaller
complex, which was built from 1696 to 1701 over the ruins of the earlier
ones and was inhabited from 1700, essentially completed. Fischer was
ennobled in 1696, but because of the wars of succession the project was
only continued by Joseph I after the death of Leopold I in 1705, but was
not completed in the intended form.
The Viennese masters Veith
Steinböck and Johann Thomas Schilck, both from Eggenburg in Lower
Austria, with the Zogelsdorf stone, received stonemason orders, master
Georg Deprunner from Loretto (then Hungary) and master Johann Georg
Haresleben from Kaisersteinbruch. The Kaiserstein, a hard limestone, was
used for load-bearing architectural parts in the castle.
After
Joseph's death in 1711, Schönbrunn went to his widow Wilhelmine Amalie
in 1712, who lived in the palace until 1722 and finally sold it and the
gardens to the imperial court in 1728 for 450,000 guilders.
Maria
Theresa's summer residence
Charles VI was not very interested in Schönbrunn himself, but gave it
to his daughter Maria Theresa in 1740, who chose the property as the
summer residence of the imperial family, who stayed there until 1918. In
1741 she had a continuous avenue laid out from Schönbrunn to Laxenburg
Palace. From 1743 to 1749, Schönbrunn Palace was decisively remodeled
and expanded by master builder Valmagini according to plans by the court
architect Nikolaus von Pacassi, who also worked on the Hofburg: the
building was raised by one floor; cornices and columns made of brick
were replaced by those of stone. For example, frescoes by Johann Michael
Rottmayr were lost. She also had a large part of the interior renewed,
which is considered almost the only example of Austrian rococo.
In 1744 and 1745 the Eggenburg master stonemason and sculptor Franz
Leopold Farmacher worked on the renovation of the palace. From 1745 he
was responsible for all stone deliveries from Eggenburg. Ever since
Maria Theresa's husband since 1736, Franz I Stephan von Lothringen, was
elected Emperor in 1745, the monarch was always dubbed Empress.
The Imperial Court Building Office paid for the stonemasonry work for
the renovations in the years 1750-1752 to the masters Matthias Winkler,
Ferdinand Mödlhammer, Gabriel Steinböck and Johann Baptist Regondi.
Regondi from the imperial quarry mainly supplied steps for the
representative blue staircase, the chapel, snail and secret staircase
and the large white staircase, a stately staircase for the court with
stone railings and the outside staircase on the garden side, made of
hard imperial stone.
In a side wing of the palace is the palace
theater, which was opened in 1747 and where, among others, Joseph Haydn
and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed. Maria Theresa had the garden
expanded, the menagerie laid out in 1752 and the botanical garden laid
out in 1763 by Adrian van Steckhoven.
Gloriette
Around 1765,
Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg, a representative of early
classicism, was introduced to the court, but Maria Theresa refrained
from major structural changes for seven years after the death of her
husband. It was not until 1772 that she commissioned such works.
Hohenberg's most striking work is the Gloriette (also called "the
Gloriett" around 1860). The building is an arcade on the hill above the
castle (also called Schönbrunner Berg), which visually closes off the
castle garden. It is meant as a monument to the just war (which leads to
peace), on the spot where the main building was to be built according to
Fischer von Erlach's original plan and a belvedere according to the
second plan.
In connection with the construction of the Gloriette
(1775 to 1780) there is a note from Maria Theresa: "There is an old
gallery of stone columns and cornices in Neugebau, which is of no use
[...] I have decided to demolish those from there and to have it brought
to Schönbrunn". The gallery and the pillars - all made of high-quality
Kaiser stone - were removed and pillars, arch reveals and entablature
pieces, including step stones, were used for the Gloriette. In 1775 the
work was completed. Its façade has been kept in the prototypical
Schönbrunn yellow since Josephine times.
At the same time as the
Gloriette, the Roman ruins and the obelisk fountain were also built
according to Hohenberg's plans. The associated statues and other
accessories were created by the sculptors Benedict Henrici, Johann
Baptist Hagenauer and Franz Zächerl.
19th and 20th centuries
The castle gave its name to the Schönbrunner German, which was spoken at
court from the end of the 18th century.
In 1805 and 1809,
Napoleon and his entourage stayed at Schönbrunn Palace when the French
occupied Vienna. On December 15, 1805, the Treaty of Schönbrunn between
Prussia and France was signed here, and on October 14, 1809, the even
more significant Peace of Schönbrunn between France and Austria.
In 1830 Franz Joseph I, later proclaimed Emperor at the age of 18, was
born here. Napoleon's son and only legitimate descendant, Napoleon Franz
Bonaparte, known in Austria as the Duke of Reichstadt, died here in 1832
at the age of 21.
Franz Joseph I used the palace as a summer residence and for many
years traveled from there to work in the Hofburg, where he lived in
winter. In the last years of his life he lived and held office in
Schönbrunn all year round and died here in 1916. His successor Karl I
moved the k.u.k. Hof on March 15, 1917 to the Blauen Hof in the palace
gardens of Laxenburg, and only returned to Vienna permanently in October
1918. In Schönbrunn Palace, on November 11, 1918, he signed his
renunciation of any share in state affairs, relieved his k.k. government
and left the state-owned castle with his family that same evening.
In 1919, the Viennese Kinderfreunde submitted two wings (Valerie and
Kavalierstrakt) for 350 children, including many war orphans, and the
future private kindergarten school of the Kinderfreunde to the city
council, which their chairman Max Winter (at that time Deputy Mayor)
submitted to the city council were only partly complied with: the
cavalier tract was reserved for Christian social associations. In 1919,
two workers' councils had forcibly confiscated the rooms of the garden
director's storey near the Hietzinger Tor in order to accommodate the
Hietzing district workers' council there. The court enforcement of the
eviction took five years.
In 1919, due to the Habsburg Law, the
palace area, which belonged to the royal court during the monarchy, fell
under the administration of the republican state, and from 1920 of the
federal government (today's supervisory authority: Ministry of
Economics).
High-ranking politicians received apartments in the
castle from the state, but soon war invalids too. However, the inmates
of the invalid home, which was closed again in 1922, are said to have
caused considerable damage to the furniture. From 1924 to 1935 the
scouts had three rooms in the eastern part.
In 1922, 70 former
court horses were billeted in the palace because the former court
stables were being converted into a trade fair palace. When the fair
opened in the spring of 1923, the collection of the remaining vehicles
from the imperial fleet was already housed in the former Schönbrunner
Winter Riding School, which has since been called the Wagenburg and is
organizationally a department of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The castle theater, which had degenerated into a furniture depot before
the war, was used again by the Burgtheater from 1919, but this had to be
stopped in 1924 for financial reasons. However, a worthy successor was
found in 1929 in the Max Reinhardt Seminar, which has used it as a
practice stage ever since.
Adolf Hitler was not accommodated in
the castle because he detested "imperial pomp".
Towards the end
of the war there was an anti-aircraft gun position on the Gloriette and
in 1945 the main wing and part of the Gloriette were badly damaged by
Allied bombing. Among other things, the eastern part of the Great
Gallery with the ceiling frescoes by Guglielmi was completely destroyed
- the frescoes were reconstructed in the post-war period by the theater
painter Paul Reckendorfer based on original images.
Soviet troops
who occupied the area in the Battle of Vienna in April 1945 behaved in
an exemplary manner in this case. During the occupation period from
September 1945, the castle was the headquarters of the British occupying
power, whose Vienna sector included the two adjacent districts 12 and
13. This prevented looting and promoted the speedy repair of the worst
damage. In 1948 parts of the castle could be visited again. With the
State Treaty of 1955, the four occupying powers withdrew from Austria.
In 1961, Federal President Adolf Schärf held a gala dinner in the palace
for the Kennedy-Khrushchev summit.
The administration of the
palace was long entrusted to an official from the Ministry of Trade,
Building and Economics, known as the palace captain, and his employees.
transfer. Since then, the company has been able to finance the
maintenance and restoration of the castle from its own income. The
castle park is looked after by the federal gardens, the zoo is managed
by its own, also state-owned GmbH. In 1996 the palace and park were
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The castle can be seen on
the back of the 100 Schilling banknote from 1960.
As the
cadastral community of Schönbrunn, the palace and gardens of Schönbrunn
form one of Vienna's 89 cadastral communities. Like many other suburbs
of the city, the area was incorporated into the city of Vienna in 1892.
Current situation
Schönbrunn Palace has 1441 rooms of various
sizes. A part of it that does not belong to the museum is managed by
Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. rented as apartments to
private individuals. However, the majority of the castle functions as a
museum, which received around 3.7 million visits in 2016. The park and
its facilities attract around 5 million more, for a total of around 8.7
million visits a year. The area is one of the most visited sights in
Vienna. In addition to its tourist function, its function as a local
recreation area for the densely built-up areas of the adjacent districts
12, 13, 14 and 15 is also important.
From March 16 to April 13,
2020 inclusive, the facility was closed as part of the Austrian Federal
Gardens as part of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Layout
inside rooms
The interior of the palace not only served as the
residence of the imperial family, but was also built for representative
purposes and the scene of countless festivities and ceremonies intended
to symbolize and strengthen the prestige of the monarchy. Many
well-known artists and renowned craftsmen were commissioned for this
purpose, who furnished the rooms with the highest elegance of the time.
The styles range from the baroque to the rococo, the Biedermeier and
styles of the Wilhelminian period, which, on the whole, form a
harmonious ensemble.
The 19th-century living quarters of Emperor
Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth are located in the west wing of
the first floor. The representative rooms are in the middle part. The
apartments of Maria Theresia and the so-called Franz Karl Apartments of
Archduchess Sophie and Archduke Franz Karl, the parents of Emperor Franz
Joseph I, are located in the eastern wing.
The castle has
hundreds of rooms and rooms; most of the state rooms and living quarters
of the imperial family are open to the public. Part of the remaining
spaces have been divided into apartments that are rented out. The castle
is therefore not empty and is still permanently inhabited.
Around
1.6 million visitors pass through the castle building every year. That's
an average of around 4,000 people per year, and even 10,000 guests per
day during the high season. The large number of visitors is a particular
burden for the rooms, which were not designed for such heavy traffic. A
particular challenge for the administration of the castle is the
elaborate maintenance and renovation of the premises while at the same
time ensuring the greatest possible accessibility for the public.
mountain room
The private apartments of the imperial family, the
so-called “Berglzimmer”, are located on the ground floor. These consist
of the Gisela, Goëss and Crown Prince Apartments, named in the 19th
century after the children of Empress Elisabeth, Gisela of Austria and
Crown Prince Rudolf, as well as the Countess von Goëss, the Countess of
Goëss. The rooms were frescoed by Johann Baptist Wenzel Bergl and his
workshop in the 1770s.
Bergl covered all the walls and ceilings
with colorful landscape paintings populated by strange animals and
birds. However, this world is not untouched, but integrated according to
human ideas by arcades, balustrades and rococo vases. In this respect,
the baroque palace park extends outside into the rooms. Bergl's frescoes
are based on detailed studies of nature, which he may even have made in
the palace's park and orangery. The Berglzimmer were used by Maria
Theresia in summer because they were cooler than the rooms on the first
floor.
The frescoes were painted over with gray paint over time,
but were uncovered again in 1891. Restoration began in 1965 and from
2008 they were opened to the public.
Crown Prince Rudolf's
apartments are located in the eastern and south-eastern areas. The six
rooms were set up in 1864 as apartments for the then six-year-old crown
prince. Between 1774 and 1778 four of these six rooms were completely
decorated with exotic landscape paintings by Bergl and his workshop.
The area known as the Goëss Apartment consists of four Berglzimmern
and is located in the southern area and belonged to Maria Theresia's
private chambers.
White gold room
In the south-eastern part on
the ground floor there are four rooms whose white walls and ceilings are
decorated with Rococo golden stucco. This decor can be found in most
representative rooms of the palace building. The largest room is the
former gym of Empress Elisabeth and is 13.80 meters long, 7.85 meters
wide, 4.70 meters high and has an area of 108 square meters. A marble
fireplace with a large mirror sits in the center of the north wall, the
floor is parquet with a black, white and brown diamond pattern. The
smaller rooms are designed similarly. The rooms are used for special
events.
Blue stairs
The representative Blue Staircase in the
western wing leads from the ground floor to the first floor, where
mainly the audience and representative rooms are located. A dark blue
runner stretches across the entire staircase. The room on the first
floor is one of the oldest in the castle; it originally served as a
dining room in the former hunting lodge of Emperor Joseph I, who was
heir to the throne at the time. The room was remodeled around 1745 by
Nikolaus Pacassi on behalf of Maria Theresia. The height of the room's
original floor level when it was on the first floor can be seen, as the
windows can no longer be opened without the help of a ladder.
The ceiling fresco is an original from the old dining room and shows
the glorification of the heir to the throne Joseph as a virtuous war
hero who finally receives the laurel wreath in front of the throne of
eternity as the victor. The fresco was executed by the Italian painter
Sebastiano Ricci in 1701/1702. It is not entirely clear whether the name
of the staircase comes from the blue runner or from the blue sky of the
ceiling painting.
billiard room
The billiard room is at the
beginning of a longer suite of audience and private rooms belonging to
Franz Joseph I. The walls are white with Rococo gilded stucco and an
ornate parquet floor. A white and gold fireplace is in the northeast
corner and a clock is in the northwest corner. Today's furniture comes
from the second half of the 19th century. In the middle is a large pool
table from the Biedermeier period, which is mentioned in the inventory
as early as 1830.
The room served as a waiting room for imperial
ministers, generals and officers. They could play billiards here while
waiting for their audience.
The large paintings in the room have
been changed from time to time. The attached two paintings deal with the
Military Maria Theresa Order. A painting shows the first award of the
order in 1758; it comes from the workshop of Martin van Meytens. The
other painting from 1857 is by Fritz L'Allemand and shows Emperor Franz
Joseph I on the garden staircase on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of the order.
nursery
The so-called children's
room was not in this room, but was actually on the ground floor or on
the upper floors of the castle.
It is decorated with portraits of
Maria Theresa's daughters. Most of her 11 daughters were married when
they were young for political reasons. Six portraits in the room were
painted by the Archduchesses' anonymous master. The portraits depict the
Archduchesses Maria Anna, Maria Christina, Maria Elisabeth, Maria
Amalia, Maria Karolina and Maria Antonia. A portrait of Maria Theresa in
widow's clothes hangs in the right half of the room.
On the left
is a bathroom installed for Empress Zita in 1917. It is faced with
marble and has hot and cold running water, a bath and a shower.
breakfast cabinet
The cabinet in the southwest corner was probably
used as a breakfast room by Empress Maria Josepha, the second wife of
Joseph II.
This cabinet is one of several examples of the
personal involvement of the imperial family in the interior decoration
of the palace. Appliqués made by Maria Theresa's mother, Elisabeth
Christine, are inserted into the medallions. She sewed scraps of fabric
onto silk moire and designed flower bouquets with insects.
Hall
of mirrors
The Mirror Room dates from the time of Maria Theresa and
has white walls with Rococo gold moldings and red velvet curtains with
white drapes. The rococo furniture is also made of white and gold wood,
the upholstery is covered with red velvet. The defining element is the
eponymous seven large crystal mirrors, which reflect each other and make
the room appear larger. A marble fireplace sits in the center of the
north wall. Two large crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling.
The first concert by the six-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in front
of Empress Maria Theresia and the court was probably held here or in the
adjoining Pink Room. According to eyewitness accounts, after the piano
recital, the young Mozart jumped onto the Empress' lap and hugged and
kissed her, much to her delight.
The Hall of Mirrors was also
used as a reception room by Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress
Elisabeth.
Big gallery
The Great Gallery is the heart of the
palace building. With a length of over 40 meters, a width of almost 10
meters and a total of 420 m², the Great Gallery was primarily used for
festive receptions, balls and as a table hall. The room has tall windows
facing the main courtyard with crystal mirrors facing each other. The
white walls are decorated with rococo gilded stucco, the ceiling is
covered with three large paintings. More than 60 gold-plated wall
sconces and two heavy chandeliers originally provided light with
candles.
The ceiling is covered by three large paintings by the Italian
painter Gregorio Guglielmi. The middle fresco depicts the well-being of
the monarchy under the rule of Maria Theresa. Surrounded by the
personified virtues of rule, Franz Stephan and Maria Theresa are
enthroned in the middle. Allegories of the crown lands with their
respective riches are arranged around this central group.
In
addition to concerts and events, the Great Gallery is still used for
state receptions. In 1961 the meeting between the American President
John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took place
here.
In the spring of 2010, a two-year renovation began. 1400 m²
of wall and ceiling surfaces were painstakingly cleaned and restored by
15 experts. The cost of the renovation was estimated at 2.6 million
euros.
Ceremonial hall
The ceremonial hall was primarily used
as an antechamber to the apartments of Emperor Franz Stephan of
Lorraine. The imperial family gathered here for celebrations such as
baptisms, name days, birthdays and for large court banquets and to enter
the oratorios of the palace chapel. Six large paintings are the defining
element in this hall, which Maria Theresa commissioned from Martin van
Meytens and his workshop.
Five of these paintings deal with the
marriage between the heir to the throne and later Emperor Joseph II and
Isabella of Parma in 1760. The marriage was not only a social event, but
above all a political one; it was intended to improve relations between
the House of Habsburg and the French royal house of the Bourbons.
The painting cycle is arranged chronologically, the individual
paintings show the most important highlights of the celebrations. The
first and largest painting depicts the ceremonial entry of the princess
from Belvedere Palace to the Hofburg. The other paintings show the
wedding ceremony in the Augustinian Church, the subsequent court table
in the Knights' Hall and the supper and finally the serenade in the
Redoutensaal of the Hofburg. Van Meytens painted the buildings and
people and their clothes in such detail that individual identification
is possible. In the painting of the Serenade in the Redoutensaal of the
Hofburg, little Mozart is even assumed to be in the lower right corner.
In the center of the eastern wall, between the paintings of the
wedding in the church and the serenade in the Redoutensaal, there is a
large portrait of Maria Theresa. It shows her standing as the "First
Lady of Europe", in a sumptuous dress made of Brabant bobbin lace, next
to a table on which there are four crowns on a red velvet cushion with
golden tassels. Her right hand rests on a scepter, with her left hand
she points to the crowns of her dignity: the imperial crown, the
Bohemian Wenceslas crown, the Hungarian crown of St. Stephen and the
Austrian archduke's hat.
Vieux Laque room
The former study of
the Roman Emperor Franz I (Franz Stephan von Lothringen) is called the
Vieux-Laque room. After his death in 1765, his widow Maria Theresa had
his room converted into a memorial room.
The room is paneled in
walnut from floor to ceiling. Black lacquer panels from Beijing are set
between the walnut and have gilded Rococo frames. There are also three
portraits: in the middle hangs the painting of Francis I, which was
completed by Pompeo Batoni four years after his death in 1769. On the
right is the painting of Emperor Joseph II and his younger brother
Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, later Emperor Leopold II. This painting
was also executed by Batoni in 1769.
The lacquer panels were originally part of a Chinese screen that was
sawn into individual parts as wall decoration. The sawing caused cracks,
which became stronger over time. The individual parts have been adapted
to the aesthetic requirements of the room, not according to the original
Chinese arrangement. Moisture and temperature fluctuations continued to
attack the lacquer substance over time, and ultraviolet light bleached
the gold surfaces. The cracks and the surface have been repaired several
times, but a thorough renovation began in 2002 and lasted three years.
The last refurbishment before that happened in 1872, when the palace was
spruced up for the 1873 World's Fair. For the renovation, the 138 larger
and 84 small panels of the walls, door panels and overdoors were
successively removed, restored and reinserted. Older, faulty repairs
were removed and professionally touched up to restore the panels to
their original appearance. To better protect the plaques in the future,
the room is continuously shielded from sunlight and lit only with dim
electric lights.
The original screen showed real and imaginative
scenes from the Chinese countryside. Motifs with lakes, rocks, pavilions
and mountains on which saints and genii rest, as well as palaces,
hunting and everyday scenes of the Chinese nobility with their servants
are recognizable. Luck and wealth or transience and immortality are
symbolized by animal, fruit and flower motifs.
Napoleon room
When Napoleon occupied Vienna in 1805 and 1809, he chose the palace as
his headquarters. During this time he probably used this room as a
bedroom. His marriage to Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, the
daughter of Emperor Franz II/I, in 1810 was intended to seal the peace
between the two kingdoms. From this connection came the son Napoleon
Franz Bonaparte, who was later appointed Duke of Reichstadt by his
grandfather Emperor Franz I. After Napoleon's defeat and abdication,
Marie-Louise brought her two-year-old son to Vienna. Here he grew up
well protected at his grandfather's court. As his grandfather's
favourite, he shared his interest in botany.
The young duke died
in this room in 1832 at the age of 21 from tuberculosis. In the room are
his death mask and a preserved crested lark that was his beloved pet.
Porcelain Room
The porcelain room served Maria Theresia as a
playroom and study. The blue and white painted, wood-carved framework
imitating porcelain covers the entire room up to the ceiling. The
designs for the decoration of the walls probably come from Maria
Theresa's daughter-in-law Isabella of Parma. 213 blue ink drawings are
inserted into the framework. They come from Emperor Franz I Stephan and
some of his children and were executed based on models by François
Boucher and Jean-Baptiste Pillement.
Million room
The Million
Room is one of the most precious in the entire palace. Originally called
the Feketin Cabinet, this room was so named because of its exceedingly
valuable rosewood paneling.
Indo-Persian miniatures are embedded
in 60 rococo cartouches, showing scenes from the private and court life
of the Mughal rulers in India in the 16th and 17th centuries.
In
order to adapt the miniatures to the asymmetrical forms of the
cartouches, the individual sheets were cut up by members of the imperial
family and recomposed into new images in a kind of collage. The
chandelier is a Viennese handicraft from 1760 and is made of bronze and
decorated with enamel flowers. The bust behind the sofa shows Maria
Theresa's youngest daughter, Archduchess Marie-Antoinette, who later
became Queen of France. Crystal mirrors are placed on either side of the
room, reflecting each other, creating the illusion of infinite space.
cabinet of miniatures
Next to the million room is the miniature
cabinet. The walls of this comparatively small room are adorned with a
large number of small pictures, some of which are signed, which come
from Maria Theresa's husband and children. The walls and ceiling are
decorated with Baroque stucco, the parquet floor has a diamond pattern
in three types of wood. The imperial double-headed eagle is in the
middle of the white embroidered lace curtains. These date from the time
of Franz Joseph I.
Tapestry Salon
On the walls of the room hang 18th-century Brussels
tapestries, called Gobelins, depicting market and harbor scenes. The
large tapestry in the center depicts the port of Antwerp. Antwerp was
then part of the Austrian Netherlands. The six armchairs are also
covered with tapestries and show the twelve months of the year with the
associated signs of the zodiac.
Most recently, Archduchess
Sophie, the mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I, used the salon as a living
room. After the death of the Archduchess, the room received the existing
furnishings in 1873 on the occasion of the Vienna World Exhibition.
Archduchess Sophie's writing room
The room originally served as a
library. Behind the panels that can be opened are the bookshelves. In
the 19th century, the room was set up as a writing room by Archduchess
Sophie, the mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I, and was thus part of the
apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph's parents.
Red Salon
The
Red Salon got its name from the silk wallpaper on the walls. The
curtains are made of red velvet and silk, the carpet is also red. In the
salon there are several state portraits of emperors in the regalia of
the Order of the Golden Fleece, including Leopold II, his son and
successor Franz II/I, his son Ferdinand I and his wife Maria Anna of
Savoy. The double portraits of Emperor Ferdinand I and Empress Maria
Anna were painted by Leopold Kupelwieser.
Castle Theater
On
the right in the entrance area of the forecourt is the palace theatre,
which was built in 1745 and opened in 1747 and is still used.
The Schönbrunn Palace Suite was opened in spring 2014 and is operated by Austria Trend Hotels. The suite is located in the east wing of the main building. It extends over 167 square meters and can accommodate four people. There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, dining room and kitchen decorated in Imperial style including a four poster bed and plasterwork. The service is carried out by the nearby Parkhotel Schönbrunn, which is also operated by the chain.
The chateau and its park form an inseparable ensemble. Although the
complex is already sketched in Fischer von Erlach's design, the garden
design goes back to Jean Trehet, a student of Le Nôtre, who began
planning in 1695 and was permanently employed in Schönbrunn until 1699.
Later, at least temporary work there is to be assumed. The width of the
parterre goes back to Trehet (which at that time was probably only half
its current length), and he had the bosquets laid to the side of it.
There are notes on Trehet's layout, but unfortunately no illustrations.
After Maria Theresa had chosen the palace as her summer residence in
1742, the ground floor was expanded to its current size around 1750.
Emperor Franz I Stephan was particularly concerned with the redesign of
the complex, who had the zoo set up in 1752 and the Dutch botanical
garden in 1753 on land purchased for this purpose, which adjoined the
previous area to the west. He commissioned the Dutchman Adrian van
Steckhoven and his assistant Richard van der Schot to do this. Although
the current Orangery building was completed in 1755, plans for the
design of the hill only progressed so far during the Emperor's lifetime
that a path was cut into the forest continuing the parquet floor.
It was not until seven years after the death of her husband that
Maria Theresa commissioned Hetzendorf von Hohenberg to thoroughly
redesign the hill and the park, which her adviser Kaunitz had already
introduced at court in 1765.
Hohenberg's first project
(1771/1772) envisaged a large basin on the hill, which was to feed a
number of fountains, for example, in addition to the Neptune Fountain,
there were four more on the Great Parterre. Construction work began in
1773. A star-shaped basin that has existed in the central axis of the
parterre since around 1700 was moved to the western bosquet, where it
exists as a star basin or western Naiad fountain.
It was not
until 1776/1777 that it finally became apparent that Hohenberg's first
design could not meet the water requirements of the fountains, which is
why twelve fountain basins that had already been dug were filled in
again, four on the large ground floor and the others on the slope.
Instead, Hohenberg completed the obelisk fountain (1777) and the ruins
(1778) and then concentrated on the design of the Neptune fountain. This
was put into operation in 1780, while Maria Theresa was still alive.
The park was opened to the public around 1779 by Emperor Joseph II,
to the displeasure of the court nobility, and has since been an
important recreational area for the Viennese population. After the end
of the monarchy, the gardens were managed by the Federal Gardens Vienna
Innsbruck. Rottenberger was succeeded by Franz Matschkai. Brigitte Mang
is currently in charge.
The ultimate goal of the Roman Empire is addressed above all in the
three park buildings: After the glorious end of wars (Gloriette), the
House of Habsburg reigns as successor to the Roman Emperors over the
world until the end of time (Obelisk), while its enemies are doomed (
Ruin).
Large ground floor
The center of the park is the Great
Parterre, which has stretched along the main axis of the complex to the
Gloriette Hill since around 1780. (It was only half the size around
1750, and a number of later ideas could not be implemented. In
particular, a design from around 1770, which provided for four large
fountains, was not feasible due to the lack of water.)
Like the
other figures in the park, the 32 sculptures that were set up on the
edge of the "large parterre" were created for the most part in Johann
Christian Wilhelm Beyer's studio and according to his concept. They
represent figures from Greco-Roman mythology or their history.
Neptune fountain
At the foot of the slope is the impressive Neptune
Fountain, which visually completes the parterre with larger-than-life
figures and at the same time forms the transition to the hill. After
four years of construction, it was completed shortly before Maria
Theresa's death.
Neptune's sea voyage is a parable for the prince
who knows how to steer his country through the perils of fate.
Roman ruin
The artificial ruins designed by Hohenberg and erected in
1778 are based on Piranesi's depictions of the ruins of the Roman temple
of Vespasian and Titus. It was initially called the Ruins of Carthage.
During the restoration, which was completed in 2003, the original
coloring was applied using a contemporary watercolor and paint residues
left on the stones.
The complex consists of a mighty semicircular
arch and lateral wall wings, which enclose a rectangular basin and give
the impression of an ancient palace sinking. In the basin, on an
artificial island, there is a group of figures made of Sterzingen
marble, created by Beyer and depicting the river gods of the Vltava and
Elbe.
Halfway up the slope in the background, exactly in the axis
of the archway, the statue of Hercules fighting the forces of evil
towers above the ensemble. The plan was to direct water cascades from
there, like a deluge, to Carthage, but this was never implemented: there
was a lack of water and money. However, the terraces created for this
purpose can still be seen in the existing grassy aisle.
Artificial ruins, which became very popular with the rise of Romanticism
from the mid-18th century, ambivalently symbolize the decline of former
greatness as well as the reference to one's heroic past (by glorifying
its supposed remains). This explains the reinterpretation of the walls,
which have only been called Roman ruins since around 1800, thereby
expressing the Habsburgs' claim to continue this empire. Not far from
there, the obelisk fountain erected shortly before complements the
iconographic program of the garden design and deepens the same claim.
Main dimensions: length 35.4 m, width 20.35 m and height 15.76 m.
Obelisk fountain
The obelisk fountain was also planned by
Hohenberg and, as the gilded inscription on the base reveals, completed
in 1777.
A grotto mountain rising from the pool is populated by
river deities and crowned by an obelisk resting on four golden turtles.
At the top is a gilded eagle: a symbol of absolute stability, here with
an explicit reference to the pharaohs, and an expression of the
continuity of the House of Habsburg. However, the hieroglyphs carved
into the obelisks to glorify the rulers were far from deciphered at that
time.
Gloriette
The Gloriette was erected in 1775 on the hill
above the Neptune Fountain. It commemorates the Battle of Kolin on June
18, 1757, where the advance of Prussian King Friedrich II on Vienna was
stopped during the Seven Years' War.
Little Gloriette
The
Kleine Gloriette is located on the wooded hillside and near the Maria
Theresa Gate entrance.
Beautiful fountain
Not far away is the
beautiful fountain, which gave the castle and the complex its name. A
fountain house built by the court gardener Adrian van Steckhoven was
replaced in 1771 by a new building by the court architect Isidore
Canevale. It has the shape of a pavilion with a square floor plan and is
open on the front and back by a semicircular arch. In the center of the
back wall is an allegorical statue of the nymph Egeria, resting on a
basin. It comes from Wilhelm Beyer and was erected in 1780. Her right
arm holds the vase from which the spring water once flowed. The inner
walls of the house are covered with stalactite and plant decoration in
relief, the outside has stalactite decoration.
The inscription plate in the right side wall, with double initials MM
and bow crown, was only moved to the well in 1960. It was previously
installed in the enclosing wall of the castle park near the Maria
Theresientor, where an almost identical stone can still be found today.
The inscription was clearly attributed to Emperor Maximilian II
(1527–1576).
The story of Emperor Matthias finding the source is
now considered a legend.
The building has been resplendent in
white since its restoration in 2012-2014. Drinking water for the court
was taken from the well until the mountain spring water pipeline was
built, and it was brought to the Hofburg every day.
pigeon house
The pigeon house was built around 1750. It is a tall circular aviary
made of wire mesh, topped by a copper dome-like roof topped with a knob.
Four brick niches were added to the airy rotunda to offer the birds
places to sleep.
The system of paths that leads around the
complex was laid out around 1760 in ring-shaped and radial corridors,
which Schönbrunn jargon calls “Ringelspiel”. The house was obscured by
the growing trees over time and "got out of sight". The conditions
associated with recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site forced the
operators to trim trees and shrubs near the house to such an extent that
it can again be used in accordance with the earlier garden design.
palm house
Another main attraction in the castle park is the palm
house. It was commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1880 from his
court architect Franz Xaver Segenschmid in order to present the
extensive Habsburg plant collections from all over the world, which had
previously been distributed in several glass houses, in a worthy
setting, and opened after only two years of construction. In 1883 the
first planting was completed. With a total length of 111 m, a width of
28 m and a height of 25 m, the Schönbrunn Palm House is the largest
glass house in mainland Europe and one of the three largest in the
world. It houses around 4,500 plant species, only some of which are
permanently planted, but a larger proportion are presented as flowering
tub plants depending on the season.
sundial house
Another
attraction is the desert house, presented in 2004 in the sundial house
built in 1904.
The building was erected, also on behalf of
Emperor Franz Joseph I and based on designs by Alfons Custodis, to house
the "New Dutchman Collection", which, in addition to the plants from
Australia that gave the collection its name, now includes specimens
South Africa and South and North America had grown. It was also used as
a winter shelter.
After the general renovation, the desert house
was opened in this property in 2004, a joint project of federal gardens
and zoo administration, counterpart to the rainforest house created in
2002 in the neighboring zoo: In addition to the succulents, birds,
reptiles and small animals from desert areas are presented.
Play
pavilion of the princes
Schönbrunn Palace Park was also used for the
military training of princes in the 19th century. A playground,
gymnastics and parade ground for the imperial children was laid out in
the Meidlinger Depression between the "Lichter Allee" and the "Finsterer
Allee". A miniature fortress served as a practice or play bastion and as
an aid to imparting military knowledge.
A garden pavilion was
also built on the site in 1835, surrounded by a small animal zoo and a
straw Indian hut.
The pavilion, with an area of about 120
square meters, served as a shelter in the rain and as protection in the
strong sun. Unlike the game bastion, it still exists. It was first
opened as a coffee house in 1927 and has been run as Landtmanns Jausen
station by the Querfeld family since 2013.
More gardens
Also
worth mentioning are the maze with a new playground and interesting
sound stations, the Crown Prince Garden (both subject to a charge) and
the Japanese Garden (which has existed since 1917 and cannot be entered
purely as a show garden). In contrast, the botanical garden on the
extreme western edge is a park and place of recreation that the
population likes to use.
Maze
The maze was created in the 18th
century and fell into obscurity and decay. It was restored to its
original design in the 1990s.
Crown Prince Garden
The garden on the east facade of the palace
has been known as the Crown Prince Garden since 1875 because it was
right next to Crown Prince Rudolf's former apartment. Until 1918 this
was the private garden of the imperial family.
The arcade covered
with virginia creeper has always been used for strolling. The treillary
structure of the horseshoe-shaped arcade was replaced by an iron
construction around 1770. The original five treillage pavilions inserted
in the corridor are intricately carved wooden structures painted white
and green, topped by a painted dome.
The fifth and middle
pavilion in the middle of the arcade was removed in 1962 due to
construction work and replaced by a modern viewing pavilion by Embacher
Wien in 2002. The new pavilion was built from brushed stainless steel
with a perforated pattern, based on the original construction. In 2003,
as part of the Adolf Loos State Prize for Design, which is awarded every
two years, this garden saloon received the bronze Joseph Binder Award,
the prize for spatial design.
Japanese garden
The Japanese
Garden was apparently created on the orders of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
of Austria-Este in 1913, who had traveled extensively in Japan. However,
the garden fell into oblivion after the First World War and was
overgrown with ivy. The remains were accidentally rediscovered in 1996
by Kie Yamada, a Japanese woman living in Vienna, who reported it to her
father, Eishin Harada, a specialist in Japanese gardens. With the
support of the Japanese Cultural Institute and partly private donations,
the garden was restored by Japanese experts under the direction of
Eishin Harada and reopened in May 1999.
The garden today consists
of three parts, the last two were added during the 1999 restoration:
Landscape Garden (Tsukiyama) Miniature reproductions of the
landscape. Smaller hills and mountains are represented by stones, and a
pond of water
Rock garden (kare-san-sui) or lucky garden. A crane and
a turtle were symbolized with natural stones. With the exception of
moss, no plants are used. Water is indicated by wavy structures in
gravel or sand areas.
Tea garden (cha-niwa) with entrance gate,
waiting area with waiting bench, water stone for cleaning hands and
stepping stone path to the tea area.
The original rock garden covers
an area of 750 m² and features a two meter high rise symbolizing a
mountain and a three tier waterfall connecting the upper and lower
ponds.
The garden is visible to general visitors from the outside
and cannot be entered due to its fragility.
In the immediate
vicinity is a memorial stone for Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866).
He was a Bavarian researcher on Japan and lived in Japan from 1823 to
1829 and from 1859 to 1862. Siebold is one of the most important
witnesses of the isolated Japan of the late Edo period and is also
highly revered in Japan today. He is regarded as the founder of
international Japan studies. The upright memorial stone is carved with a
depiction of a Japanese bamboo grove, beneath which on the base is a
bronze profile of Siebold entwined with laurels, with his surname carved
below.
Schönbrunn Children's Museum
The Schönbrunn Children's Museum was
opened in 2002 in the west wing of the palace. As part of a special
museum pedagogy for children, in contrast to a conventional museum tour,
it offers opportunities for playful experience and trying out. The focus
of a visit to the children's museum is the fun of learning and
experimenting. Under the title Kaiserkinder you can discover the
everyday life of the imperial family in the Baroque period: how did you
dress? How was the imperial table laid? What do you mean by hygiene?
As a location in films
Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens served
as a setting for a number of film productions, including:
Maria
Theresa with Paula Wessely (1952)
the science fiction film April 1,
2000 (1952)
the three Sissi films with Romy Schneider (1955)
Princess Olympia with Sophia Loren (1960)
The Right Arm of the Gods
with Jackie Chan (1986)
the James Bond film The Living Daylights
(1987)
Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst (2006)
In the
Viennese operetta Hofball in Schönbrunn (1937), the palace and the
garden are also the scene of the events.
concerts
From 2004 to
2007, the Concert for Europe was held in the park, in which the Vienna
Philharmonic played under the direction of prominent musicians. In 2004
Bobby McFerrin conducted, the concert was a musical welcome from Austria
to the EU countries that were newly added this year. In 2005 Zubin Mehta
was on the podium, and in 2006 the Philharmoniker under Plácido Domingo
celebrated the Austrian EU Council Presidency with music. In May 2007,
the Russian conductor Valéry Gergiev from the Mariinsky Theater in Saint
Petersburg conducted the Vienna Philharmonic against the backdrop of the
baroque palace. In addition to the 140,000 visitors in total in
Schönbrunn Park, many millions of spectators had the opportunity to
follow the concert in front of the screens.
Since 2008, the
Vienna Philharmonic has been playing its summer night concert in the
palace gardens at the beginning of June with free admission.
The
Schloss Schönbrunn Orchestra Vienna based here was founded in 1997.