Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens

The present site where this luxurious baroque palace sits was once covered by immense forests. It was used as hunting grounds by the Habsburgs. The hunting lodge and pavilion were twice destroyed by the invading Turks. After the final victory over the Turks in 1683, Vienna went through a period of prosperity which saw the construction of many magnificent palaces.

Schonbrunn was originally intended as a summer palace, but plans changed after construction started and it was subsequently supposed to be a showcase residential palace for the future “Sun King” Josef, a direct and conscious indication of the rivalry with France’s Louis XIV, the Sun King. When completed, however, it was nowhere near as grand as envisaged. The following Emperor gave it to his daughter Maria Theresa, future Empress, as a summer residence. Finding that the palace was not sumptuous enough for her taste, she had it extended and renovated. The exterior was painted a rich yellow, the color associated with her name and called “Schonbrunn Yellow.” The final result is a palace reminiscent of Versailles with its lavish state apartments and courtyards. It is a monumental building in classic Baroque style, although the interior is dominated by the Rococo style. It imitated the French rather than the Italian taste, which had been prevalent up until that point.

The decadent interior has frescoed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, gilded ornamentation, floral embellishment, and tapestries. The dominant colors are red, white, and gold. Delicate stucco and gold twirls are in abundance. There are 2000 rooms in the palace, along with a chapel and a theater. The Mirror Room is where Mozart, at the age of 6, played his first royal concert in 1762. After his performance, he is said to have jumped onto the lap of Empress Maria Theresa and kissed her. The luxurious Great Gallery is where numerous famous balls were held. Another interesting room to see is the Round Chinese Cabinet, which had a table that could be drawn up and down through the floor for serving food so that servants did not enter during secret consulations.

Numerous historical events occurred in Schonbrunn. It was the summer residence of Marie-Antoinette, future Queen of France. It was where Mozart gave his first royal concert and where Napoleon set up his headquarters in 1805-06. Also, it was where famous balls were given during the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15. November 11, 1918 saw the last of the Habsburgs abdicate, turning the palace over to the new Republic of Austria and finishing its reign as an imperial palace.

The Schonbrunn Park also forms part of the World Heritage site. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Austria. The gardens were already open to the public even when Schonbrunn was still a royal palace. Its sculpted gardens are laid out in classical French style and feature vast formal flowerbeds, fountains, and statues. The park is built on a hillside and has a fantastic panoramic view of Vienna. A monument, called the Gloriette, was built on the top of the hillside as a focal point for the palace grounds. Its outline suggests a triumphal arch.

Numerous attractions are located in the park, including Roman ruins, a labrynth, a botanical garden, and a greenhouse featuring over 4000 plant species from around the world. In addition, a carriage museum has a large display of imperial carriages, coaches, and sleighs. The Park also has the oldest zoo in world, which was established in 1752 by Maria Theresa’s husband.

Our Impressions:
We had varied impressions of Schonbrunn Palace. We didn’t get as much out of our visit as we might have because the cost was prohibitive. To take a tour of the Imperial Apartments and see everything that the park has to offer would have cost about 20 Euros (23.50 USD) per person. You have to pay for each attraction separately. So we unfortunately did not tour the State Apartments. The exterior and interior of the palace, is however, one thing that I do remember quite well from my first time to Europe 12 years ago. What struck me about the palace interior was its luxuriousness and its unbridled lavishness (probably also the fact that it was one of the first palaces I had ever seen). I remember the ceilings being covered in paintings of heroes and angels on clouds. I also remember limitless gold ornamentation and swirls. And the glittering Mirror Room with its crystal chandeliers. The interior of Schonbrunn is really a study in what can be accomplished with the limitless wealth and limitless egos of kings and emperors.

From what I remember of the Mirror Room in Schonbrunn, it is astoundingly similar to the great Mirror Room of Versailles Palace in Paris. Schonbrunn is similar to Versailles in other ways, as well. Even though we did not tour the palace, Stephane and I drew the comparison with Versailles immediately, just from seeing the palace exterior and the French gardens. Even to the casual observor, the comparison cannot be missed. And as we found out later on, the Austrian Emperor was consciously competing with the Sun King Louis XIV from France, whose name is inextricably linked with that of Versailles.

However, as in many things that are copied, the imitation pales in comparison. At least, that was our opinion just from touring the extensive grounds and studying the palace exterior. The interior, I remember, was just as sumptuous and lavish as you could want it to be. It was the exterior that unimpressed us. Although striking because of its sheer size, we did not find it beautiful. If Emperor Josef I was competing with King Louis XIV, King Louis won out. The building itself is enormous, but is flat and plain, without detail or ornamentation. It is painted the Schonbrunn Yellow, as are all buildings associated with Maria Theresa, and it is covered by large, green-shuttered windows. A grand staircase is at the front of the palace, but other than that, there is no ornamentation aside from a few statues on the roof.

The front side of the palace looks as if it is well-maintained, however, the back side is in obvious need of some work. Quite a large portion has chipped and peeling paint. It will take a lot of work to bring the palace back to its former glory. A good sign, however, was the construction crews which were at work. We assumed they probably did a majority of the repair and maintenance work during the winter season, when there are less tourists. It highlighted the need to preserve our common heritage, and this site in particular.