Spend a day at Schönbrunn

Spend a day at Schönbrunnm or to put accurately spend a day at the UNESCO World Heritage complex of Schönbrunn & find out why the Austrian Versailles was the favorite residence of the Habsburg monarchs. The Habsburgs shaped their 1441-room rococo palace, its vast multi-themed gardens & its baroque landscaped park according to their sophisticated tastes, interests & aspirations.

At the end of the 17th century Emperor Leopold I commissioned the gifted baroque architect Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to build a palace in the place of the existing hunting lodge constructed a few years earlier by Emperor Maximilian II. He wanted the palace to be built in a manner that would outshine the French Versailles.

Even though Leopold’s successor Joseph I spent much of his time in the completed section of the complex, little progress was made until the mid-18th century when Maria Theresia commissioned the court architect Nicolaus Pacassi to redesign it from the ground up & complete its construction. In the following years, the Habsburgs formally resided in its countless lavishly decorated chambers that today dazzle its guests with their ceiling frescoes, Bohemian-crystal chandeliers, white porcelain tile stoves, gilded ornaments & harmonious design.

The sculpted garden space outside that lies between the palace & the Sun Fountain is known as the Great Parterre. The French garden with its 18.640 square feet maze, the 2.5000 m² Palm house, is the largest in the European continent. Its tunnel-like corridors & its three different climate zones, the English garden in the western parts are only some of its features. The botanical garden at its western edge, the series of ancient Greek & Roman-inspired sculptures depicting mythological deities & virtues…

It almost seems an endless task to mention every one of its features..but we must..so we also get to marvel at the breathtaking fountain of Neptune on the feet of the imposing Gloriette monument that houses today one of the most interesting cafés in the city, the Roman ruins…….and if you think that all these are not enough for one day, well you could also pay a visit to the Schönbrunn Zoo, the oldest existing zoo in the world with 2 million visitors every year, considered one the best & most modern in the world today. More