Travel
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna From a modest hunting lodge to a breath-taking palace and now a museum, Schönbrunn ranks among Austria’s top attractions, claiming seven million visitors a year. Restored, extended and embellished over time on the edge of Vienna, it survived a turbulent past to become the favourite summer residence of Austrian emperors for almost three centuries. Named ‘beautiful fountain’ after an artesian well, it is celebrated as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its ‘remarkable Baroque ensemble and synthesis of the arts’. Beyond the wrought iron gates, the elegant façade, painted ‘Schönbrunn yellow’, rises across a vast courtyard where horse-drawn carriages invite visitors to explore the grounds in style. But first of all, the palace beckons with over 1,000 rooms filled with chandeliers and gold, paintings, tapestries, imperial portraits, Rococo furniture and more. Much of what we see today is the legacy of Maria-Theresa, the 18th century empress and only female ruler in the Habsburg dynasty. So Schönbrunn enjoyed a golden age as palace and gardens were remodelled for the pleasure of the empress and her court. Most impressive is the dazzling Hall of Mirrors where, they say, six year old Mozart performed for the empress before ‘springing onto her lap and kissing her heartily’. The Blue Chinese Salon with its rice paper hangings, the Porcelain Room and the Millions Room decorated with Indo-Persian miniatures are also due to Maria-Theresa, reflecting her love for all things exotic. A day would barely suffice to do justice to every room opened to the public, but of special note are the Walnut Room, used as audience hall by Emperor Franz Joseph, his wife Sisi’s apartments where a secret
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staircase allowed her to escape from the pressures of the Court, the 43 metre long Great Gallery which hosted banquets and balls, the Hall of Ceremonies and its monumental paintings, the Chapel and the Napoleon Room where the French Emperor stayed when he occupied Vienna. Beyond this palatial treasure-filled interior, the Habsburg displayed their wealth and power in extensive grounds, from the botanical garden and Europe’s oldest zoological park to the orangerie, the palm house and the English and French gardens, the latter by a disciple of Le Nôtre who designed Versailles. Nature reserve, pristine gardens and recreation area all in one, the figures speak for themselves: 25 km of trees along the avenues, 30 km of hedges, 300,000 plants and 20 hectares of lawns mowed up to 21 times in season. Entry to the gardens is free and locals and visitors alike come to relax, gazing in wonder at the blazing colours of superb flower beds, listening to the cool gurgling of Neptune’s fountain or rambling through dark mysterious woods. There’s a manicured maze, a set of 18th century follies named ‘Roman ruin’, 32 neo-classical sculptures and a triumphal arch, or gloriette, on the hill top with panoramic views over palace and garden and the city beyond. It’s no wonder this is acclaimed as the best preserved Baroque garden in the world. The Austrian Empire came to an end after the first Word War but with its palace and gardens, Schönbrunn remains for all to enjoy and an enduring magnet for television and film crews, as seen in James Bond ‘The Living Daylight’ or the legendary Sisi By Solange Hando trilogy.
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