Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn was the summer palace of the Habsburg emperors, a vast baroque residence of fourteen hundred rooms in Vienna, set in enormous formal gardens rising to the Gloriette arch on the hill. A UNESCO site where Mozart played as a child and the emperors held court, its state rooms and grounds are among the grandest in Europe.

Background

The palace stands in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna, and its name, meaning "beautiful spring", comes from an artesian well that supplied the court with water. Its story begins in 1569, when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II bought a floodplain of the Wien river below a hill, where a mansion called Katterburg had been built in 1548. A palace was added to it from 1638 to 1643, and the name Schönbrunn first turns up on an invoice in 1642. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach drew a first design in 1688, and the present palace of 1,441 rooms took shape in the 1740-1750s. Jean Trehet, a pupil of André Le Nôtre, laid out the French garden in 1695.

Source: Wikipedia, "Schönbrunn Palace"

What's there

• The state rooms - the imperial apartments and the dazzling Great Gallery.
• The formal gardens - the vast parterre rising to the Gloriette arch.
• The Gloriette - the hilltop colonnade with a view over the palace and Vienna.
• The zoo and maze - the oldest zoo in the world and the garden maze in the grounds.

When to go

Spring to autumn for the gardens in bloom and the full grounds; the palace is worthwhile year-round. Book a timed palace ticket ahead in the busy season.

Practical notes

The palace interior is a timed, ticketed visit that books up and is busy, so plan ahead. The gardens are largely free and vast, a highlight in themselves. It is a major attraction, so expect crowds, especially in summer.

Nearby

The zoo is in the grounds; central Vienna and the Belvedere are a short U-Bahn ride.

Key facts