The palace as it stands today is due to Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780). After the death of her brother, Maria Theresa ascended the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the age of 28 and ruled for 35 years. Living in Vienna wasn't as pleasant back then with its lack of sewage and running water, especially during the summer so Maria Theresa decided to renovate the newly-built Schonbrunn for use as a summer palace. She wanted it to compete with Versailles and to that end restored it in the rococo style, added a zoo (Tiergarten, the oldest zoo in the world), an orangerie (conservatory), several gardens in different styles, a garden maze, a gloriette structure (belvedere) on the hill behind the palace, a picturesque created Roman ruin, the Schlosstheater that was popular in the 18th century. The palace has 1,441 rooms and is 3,900 feet wide and 3,250 feet deep. Bob estimated the whole complex to be about a mile wide and three miles deep.
Maria Theresa, whom I find to be a fascinating historical character, had 16 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. All of them, except her oldest son and one daughter, disappointed her. All her daughters had the first name of Maria, and she forced all but one into royal, often distasteful, marriages, ignoring their pleas and begging - which is odd considering that she had one of the few royal love matches. Her favorite daughter was Maria Christina, the only one she allowed to marry for love. She also blatantly favored that daughter with affection, money and gifts, which caused the other children to resent Maria Christina and to avoid contact with her in adulthood. She forced another daughter, 16-year-old Maria Josepha, to go to pray at the tomb of her recently deceased sister-in-law. The tomb was improperly sealed, and Maria Josepha contracted smallpox from the dead princess and died three days later, the second of Maria Theresa's daughters to die of that disease. The poor girl had been supposed to leave for her wedding to the King of Sicily in three days, so the next daughter, 15-year-old Maria Karolina, was sent instead. Apparently, one princess was as good as another. Maria Theresa named three daughters Maria Karolina - the first two died young. I don't think I'd want that name, but the third one lived the longest of all the children and died at age 73. Maria Theresa's youngest daughter was Maria Antonia, otherwise known as Marie Antoinette, and we all know how she ended up.
Schonbrunn is famous for events in later times as well. Napoleon Bonaparte used it as his headquarters from 1805 to 1809 while he was marauding around central Europe. During the occupation of Austria from 1945 to 1955 the British army of occupation used the palace as its headquarters. The famous meeting in 1961 between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khruschev took place there. The palace has been featured in such films as "A Breath of Scandal" starring Sophia Loren and the James Bond movie, "The Living Daylights." Today the palace is a World Heritage Site. Many concerts are held in the gloriette and gardens behind the palace.
The front of the palace.
I love this fountain in the main courtyard.
Three pictures of us in the main courtyard.
The view of the back of the palace. Yes, we took a tour
of the interior, but no pictures were allowed.
The gloriette on the hill behind the palace.
A more distant view of the garden as it ascends the hill
to the gloriette where concerts are held in the summer.
You can walk on several paths through the different gardens.
After walking all day I was content to rest awhile. This
pigeon was totally unafraid and kept advancing closer and
closer, pausing to cock its head. Clearly this had worked
in the past to secure a tidbit.
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