Schönbrunn Palace
Encyclopedia
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo
summer residence in Vienna
, Austria
. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.
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In the year 1569, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II
purchased a large floodplain
of the Wien river
beneath a hill, situated between Meidling
and Hietzing
, where a former owner, in 1548, had erected a mansion
called Katterburg. The emperor ordered the area to be fenced and put game
there such as pheasant
s, duck
s, deer
and boar
, in order to serve as the court's recreational hunting ground. In a small separate part of the area, "exotic" birds like turkey
s and peafowl
were kept. Fishponds were built, too.
The name Schönbrunn (meaning "beautiful spring"), has its roots in an artesian well from which water was consumed by the court.
During the next century, the area was used as a hunting and recreation ground. Especially Eleonora Gonzaga, who loved hunting, spent much time there and was bequeathed the area as her widow's residence after the death of her husband, Ferdinand II
. From 1638 to 1643, she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion, while in 1642 came the first mention of the name "Schönbrunn" on an invoice. The origins of the Schönbrunn orangery
seem to go back to Eleonora Gonzaga as well.
The sculpted garden space between the palace and the Sun Fountain is called the Great Parterre. The French garden, a big part of the area, was planned by Jean Trehet in 1695. It contains, among other things, a maze
.
The complex however includes many more attractions: Besides the Tiergarten
, an orangerie erected around 1755, staple luxuries of European palaces of its type, a palm house
(replacing, by 1882, around ten earlier and smaller glass houses in the western part of the park) is noteworthy. Western parts were turned into English garden
style in 1828–1852. At the outmost western edge, a botanical garden
going back to an earlier arboretum
was re-arranged in 1828, when the Old Palm House was built. A modern enclosure for Orangutan
s, was restored besides a restaurant and office rooms in 2009.
, which represent deities and virtues.
structure (Fischer von Erlach had initially planned to erect the main palace on the top of this hill).
Maria Theresa decided Gloriette should be designed to glorify Habsburg power and the Just War
[a war that would be carried out of 'necessity' and lead to peace], and thereby ordered to recycle "otherwise useless stone" which was left from the almost-demolition of Schloss Neugebäude. The same material was also to be used for the Roman ruin.
The Gloriette today houses a café
and gives the visitor a view of the city.
Originally known as the Ruin of Carthage, the Roman Ruin is a set of follies that was designed by the architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg and erected as an entirely new architectural feature in 1778. Fully integrated into its parkland surroundings, this architectural ensemble should be understood as a picturesque horticultural feature and not simply as a ruin, which due to lack of maintenance it had increasingly grown to resemble prior to its recent restoration.
The fashion for picturesque ruins that became widespread with the rise of the Romantic movement soon after the middle of the 18th century symbolize both the decline of once great powers and the preservation of the remains of a heroic past. Erected at the same time not far from the Roman Ruin, the Obelisk Fountain was intended to complete the iconographic program of the park at Schönbrunn as a symbol of stability and permanence.
The Roman Ruin consists of a rectangular pool enclosed by a massive arch with lateral walls, evoking the impression of an ancient edifice slowly crumbling into the ground. In the pool in front of the ruin is a seemingly haphazard arrangement of stone fragments supporting a figural group which symbolizes the rivers Danube
and Enns
.
After World War II and during the Allied Occupation of Austria
(1945–1955) Schönbrunn Palace, which was empty at the time, was requisitioned to provide offices for both the British Delegation to the Allied Commission for Austria and for the Headquarters for the small British Military Garrison present in Vienna.
Later it was used for important events such as the meeting between John F. Kennedy
and Nikita Khrushchev
in 1961.
UNESCO
catalogued Schönbrunn Palace on the World Heritage List in 1996, together with its gardens, as a remarkable Baroque
ensemble and example of synthesis of the arts (Gesamtkunstwerk
).
, Palmenhaus
, Wüstenhaus
and the Wagenburg
, accounted for more than five million visitors. At the official website tickets can be purchased in advance for tours. In addition to tours and tour packages, many classical concerts featuring the music of W. A. Mozart and his contemporaries can be enjoyed with the added benefit of more time in the spectacular halls, Orangerie, or Schlosstheater.
trilogy in 1950s, in A Breath of Scandal
with Sophia Loren
and briefly in James Bond's The Living Daylights
(1987) as a hotel where Bond
(Timothy Dalton
) was staying on a mission.
Also the movie "The Great Race" was filmed there in 1965. y tambien hay negros en el cam
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
summer residence in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.
Early history
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Maximilian II
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
purchased a large floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
of the Wien river
Wien River
The Wien is a river that flows through the city of Vienna. It is 34 kilometres long , of which 15 km are within the city. Its drainage basin covers an area of 230 km² , both in the city and in the neighbouring Wienerwald....
beneath a hill, situated between Meidling
Meidling
Meidling is the 12th district of Vienna . It is located just southwest of the central districts, south of the Wienfluss, west of the Gürtel belt, and east and southeast of Schönbrunn palace...
and Hietzing
Hietzing
Hietzing is the 13th municipal District of Vienna . It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling...
, where a former owner, in 1548, had erected a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
called Katterburg. The emperor ordered the area to be fenced and put game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
there such as pheasant
Pheasant
Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
s, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
and boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
, in order to serve as the court's recreational hunting ground. In a small separate part of the area, "exotic" birds like turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
s and peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
were kept. Fishponds were built, too.
The name Schönbrunn (meaning "beautiful spring"), has its roots in an artesian well from which water was consumed by the court.
During the next century, the area was used as a hunting and recreation ground. Especially Eleonora Gonzaga, who loved hunting, spent much time there and was bequeathed the area as her widow's residence after the death of her husband, Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. From 1638 to 1643, she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion, while in 1642 came the first mention of the name "Schönbrunn" on an invoice. The origins of the Schönbrunn orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
seem to go back to Eleonora Gonzaga as well.
Gardens
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
.
The complex however includes many more attractions: Besides the Tiergarten
Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Tiergarten Schönbrunn or Vienna Zoo is a zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria...
, an orangerie erected around 1755, staple luxuries of European palaces of its type, a palm house
Palmenhaus Schönbrunn
The Palmenhaus Schönbrunn is a large greenhouse in Vienna, Austria, featuring plants from around the world. It was opened in 1882. It is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in Schönbrunn Palace Park, and is also among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world, with around...
(replacing, by 1882, around ten earlier and smaller glass houses in the western part of the park) is noteworthy. Western parts were turned into English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
style in 1828–1852. At the outmost western edge, a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
going back to an earlier arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
was re-arranged in 1828, when the Old Palm House was built. A modern enclosure for Orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s, was restored besides a restaurant and office rooms in 2009.
Sculptures
Lining the Great Parterre are 32 sculpturesSculptures in the Schönbrunn Garden
The sculptures in the Schönbrunn Garden were generally made between 1773 and 1780 under the direction of William Beyer. During the execution many sculptors were employed, among them Johann Baptist Hagenauer.The numbering shows the situation of the statues....
, which represent deities and virtues.
Gloriette
The garden axis points towards a 60 meters higher hill, which since 1775 has been crowned by the GlorietteGloriette
A gloriette is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings...
structure (Fischer von Erlach had initially planned to erect the main palace on the top of this hill).
Maria Theresa decided Gloriette should be designed to glorify Habsburg power and the Just War
Just War
Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
[a war that would be carried out of 'necessity' and lead to peace], and thereby ordered to recycle "otherwise useless stone" which was left from the almost-demolition of Schloss Neugebäude. The same material was also to be used for the Roman ruin.
The Gloriette today houses a café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
and gives the visitor a view of the city.
Roman Ruin
The fashion for picturesque ruins that became widespread with the rise of the Romantic movement soon after the middle of the 18th century symbolize both the decline of once great powers and the preservation of the remains of a heroic past. Erected at the same time not far from the Roman Ruin, the Obelisk Fountain was intended to complete the iconographic program of the park at Schönbrunn as a symbol of stability and permanence.
The Roman Ruin consists of a rectangular pool enclosed by a massive arch with lateral walls, evoking the impression of an ancient edifice slowly crumbling into the ground. In the pool in front of the ruin is a seemingly haphazard arrangement of stone fragments supporting a figural group which symbolizes the rivers Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and Enns
Enns
Enns may refer to:* Enns , Upper Austria, Austria* Enns , a surname* Enns , a southern tributary of the Danube River...
.
The Schönbrunn Palace Silver Coin
The palace was recently selected as the main motif of a high value commemorative coin: the Austrian 10 euro The Palace of Schönbrunn Silver coin, minted on October 8, 2003. The obverse shows the central part of the frontage of the palace behind one of the great fountains in the open space.Recent history
Following the downfall of the monarchy in 1918 the newly founded Austrian Republic became the owner of Schönbrunn Palace and preserved, as a museum, the rooms and chambers.After World War II and during the Allied Occupation of Austria
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers and the Austrian government...
(1945–1955) Schönbrunn Palace, which was empty at the time, was requisitioned to provide offices for both the British Delegation to the Allied Commission for Austria and for the Headquarters for the small British Military Garrison present in Vienna.
Later it was used for important events such as the meeting between John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
in 1961.
UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
catalogued Schönbrunn Palace on the World Heritage List in 1996, together with its gardens, as a remarkable Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
ensemble and example of synthesis of the arts (Gesamtkunstwerk
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
).
Activities at Schloss Schönbrunn today
The Schloss is Vienna's most popular tourist destination, attended by 2,600,000 visitors in 2010. The whole Schönbrunn complex with Tiergarten SchönbrunnTiergarten Schönbrunn
Tiergarten Schönbrunn or Vienna Zoo is a zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria...
, Palmenhaus
Palmenhaus Schönbrunn
The Palmenhaus Schönbrunn is a large greenhouse in Vienna, Austria, featuring plants from around the world. It was opened in 1882. It is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in Schönbrunn Palace Park, and is also among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world, with around...
, Wüstenhaus
Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn
The Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn is a desert botanical exhibit in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Sonnenuhrhaus , which was built in 1904 as the newest of the four botanical houses in Schönbrunn Palace Park...
and the Wagenburg
Wagenburg (museum)
The Wagenburg is a museum of carriages and vehicles used by the imperial household of the Austrian Empire. It is housed in the grounds of the Schlosses Schönbrunn in the Hietzing district of Vienna and is a department of the Kunsthistorisches Museum...
, accounted for more than five million visitors. At the official website tickets can be purchased in advance for tours. In addition to tours and tour packages, many classical concerts featuring the music of W. A. Mozart and his contemporaries can be enjoyed with the added benefit of more time in the spectacular halls, Orangerie, or Schlosstheater.
Features in movies
The gardens and palace have been the location for various movies, such as the SissiSissi (film)
Sissi is a 1955 film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav Knuth, Vilma Degischer and Josef Meinrad. It is the first of a trilogy of romantic films about the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria, who was known to her family...
trilogy in 1950s, in A Breath of Scandal
A Breath of Scandal
A Breath of Scandal, known as Olympia in Italy, is a 1960 film adapted from Ferenc Molnár's stage play Olympia. It stars Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, John Gavin and Angela Lansbury and was directed by Michael Curtiz. The film is set at the turn of the 20th century and features lush technicolor...
with Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
and briefly in James Bond's The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
(1987) as a hotel where Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
) was staying on a mission.
Also the movie "The Great Race" was filmed there in 1965. y tambien hay negros en el cam
See also
- Tiergarten SchönbrunnTiergarten SchönbrunnTiergarten Schönbrunn or Vienna Zoo is a zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria...
, the zoo in the palace gardens that claims to be the oldest one in the world. - GlorietteGlorietteA gloriette is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings...
- List of Baroque residences
Gallery
External links
- Schönbrunn Official English page
- Schönbrunn History and Pictures
- Schönbrunn Gigapixel Panorama (12.000 Megapixel)
- surfvienna.net - 360° Panoramas
- Schönbrunn Palace - Empress Sisi’s former summer residence
- Schönbrunn Palace: My Way of Telling History (.pdf format)
- Orangerie Schönbrunn
- View on Google Maps - includes a short video.
- Official Vienna city map: Schönbrunn gives a by far better aerial view, zoomable up to <1m resolution. Click "Orthophoto" and "Draw new map", then zoom in [there seems to be no direct link].