Schönbrunn Palace (German: Schloss Schönbrunn [ˈʃlɔs ʃøːnˈbʁʊn]) was the main summer home of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name Schönbrunn, which means "beautiful spring," comes from an artesian well that provided water for the royal court.

The palace has 1,441 rooms and is one of the most important historical and cultural sites in the country. The palace and its large gardens have been around for more than 300 years, showing the changing tastes and interests of the Habsburg rulers over time. It has been a popular tourist attraction since the mid-1950s.

History

In 1569, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II bought a large area near the Wien River that often flooded, located under a hill between Meidling and Hietzing. The previous owner had built a mansion named Katterburg in 1548. The emperor ordered the area to be enclosed with fences and filled with animals like pheasants, ducks, deer, and boar to create a hunting ground for the royal court. A small section of the area also housed "exotic" birds, such as turkeys and peafowl. Fishponds were dug in the area as well.

Over the next century, the land remained a hunting and recreation site. Eleonora Gonzaga, who enjoyed hunting, spent much time there. After her husband, Ferdinand II, died, she was given the area as her home. Between 1638 and 1643, she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion. The name "Schönbrunn" first appeared on an invoice in 1642. The origins of the Schönbrunn orangery are also linked to Eleonora Gonzaga. The current version of Schönbrunn Palace was built and redesigned during the 1740s and 1750s under Empress Maria Theresa, who received the estate as a wedding gift. Franz I later redecorated the palace’s exterior in the neoclassical style, which it retains today.

Franz Joseph, the longest-serving Emperor of Austria, was born at Schönbrunn and lived there for much of his life. He died at the palace on November 21, 1916, at the age of 86. After the Habsburg monarchy fell in 1918, the palace became part of the newly formed Austrian Republic and was turned into a museum.

During World War II, the palace was bombed by American planes in February 1945. During the Allied occupation of Austria (1945–1955), the palace was used as office space for the British Delegation and the British Military Garrison in Vienna. When Austria regained independence in 1955, the palace returned to being a museum. It has occasionally hosted important events, such as the 1961 meeting between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Since 1992, the palace and gardens have been managed by Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H., a company owned by the Republic of Austria. This company maintains and restores the palace without government funding. In 1996, UNESCO added Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens to the World Heritage List as an example of a remarkable Baroque design and a synthesis of the arts (Gesamtkunstwerk).

• Schloss Katterburg and Gonzaga's Palace, 1672
• Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach's first design, 1688
• Fischer von Erlach's second design, after 1693
• Soviet troops in the Schönbrunn Palace gardens, 1945
• Schönbrunn during British occupation, 1951

Gardens

The garden area between the palace and the Neptune Fountain is named the Great Parterre. In 1695, Jean Trehet, who was a student of André Le Nôtre, designed the French garden.

The complex includes many important features common in European palaces of that time, such as the Tiergarten, an orangerie built around 1755, and a palm house. By 1882, the palm house replaced about ten smaller glass houses in the western part of the park.

To the west of the palace lies an area called Meidlinger Vertiefung (English: depression of Meidling). In the 19th century, this area was used as a play area and drill ground for the children of the Habsburg family. At that time, it was typical to use parks for military training of young royalty. Although the small fortress built for this purpose no longer exists, the garden pavilion used as shelter remains. It was turned into a café in 1927 and is now known as Landtmann's Jausen Station since 2013.

At the far western edge of the area, a botanical garden that originated from an earlier arboretum was redesigned in 1828 when the Old Palm House was built.

The garden’s main path leads to a hill that is 60 meters high (about 200 feet). Since 1775, this hill has been topped by the Gloriette structure. Maria Theresa ordered the Gloriette to be built to honor Habsburg power and the concept of a Just War, which is a war fought out of necessity to achieve peace. She also instructed builders to use leftover stone from the near-demolition of Schloss Neugebäude.

Originally called the Ruin of Carthage, the Roman Ruin is a group of decorative buildings designed by architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg. These structures were built as a new feature in 1778.

During the Romantic movement in the late 18th century, people became interested in creating or restoring ruins to represent the past. The Roman Ruin includes a rectangular pool surrounded by a large arch and walls, giving the appearance of an ancient building slowly falling apart.

Activities at Schönbrunn today

Schönbrunn Palace is the most visited place in Vienna. In 2017, it welcomed 3,800,000 visitors. The entire area, including Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Palmenhaus, Wüstenhaus, Wagenburg, and the Schoenbrunn Palace Concerts, had over five million visitors in 2009. Tickets for tours can be purchased online in advance. In addition to tours, classical concerts featuring music by Mozart and his contemporaries are held in the palace’s halls, Orangerie, or Schlosstheater.

The Vienna Philharmonic performs in the palace gardens during the Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn every year since 2004. The Schönbrunn Palace Orchestra, established in 1997, performs concerts at the palace. Maestro Guido Mancusi has led the orchestra since 1998. He also started the Chamber Opera program as part of the concert series.

In Vienna, daily concerts are held at the site of the famous 1786 contest between Mozart and Salieri. The orchestra has experience working with singers and dancers and regularly tours worldwide.

The palace and gardens have been used in many films and TV shows, including the Sissi trilogy from the 1950s, A Breath of Scandal with Sophia Loren, and The Living Daylights, where Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara ride through the palace garden. The palace also appears in the end credits of the film. The Great Race (1965) and Armour of God (featuring Jackie Chan) were filmed there. The 2006 TV drama The Crown Prince and the Austrian series Kommissar Rex were also shot at the site.

In Kuroshitsuji episode 2, Sebastian Michaelis mentions attending Schönbrunn Palace soirees before his contract with Ciel. Dutch violinist André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra, along with the Opera Babes, performed a version of the European Anthem, "Ode to Joy," at the palace in 2003.

In The Amazing Race 4, teams completed a Fast Forward task by carrying trays of champagne glasses across a ballroom filled with waltzing couples. In The Amazing Race 23, teams raced through the garden’s maze to find the Pit Stop at the Gloriette.

Gallery

• A garden pavilion, Kammergarten pavilion
• Great Gallery
• Cafe Gloriette Schönbrunn
• Gloriette located in the gardens
• The Roman Ruin
• View from the Great Parterre towards the Gloriette (approximately towards the South)
• View of the gardens
• View of the gardens in autumn
• Orangery located in the northeast part of the gardens
• Columbary
• Palm Pavilion located in the western part of the gardens
• The Palm House
• Sundial House
• Privy Garden in winter
• View of Schönbrunn through the Neptune Fountain
• Schönbrunn

The Schönbrunn Palace silver coin

The palace was chosen as the main design of a special coin with high value: the Austrian 10-euro silver coin, created on October 8, 2003. The front side of the coin shows the front part of the palace behind a large fountain in an open area.