Monday, August 16
Schonbrunn! I had been looking forward to this day since I first decided to take this class. Since it was a three day weekend, Diane and I were able to dedicate the entire day at the summer palace of the Habsburgs. I was first introduced to the palace when I was in grade school and reading about Marie Antoinette growing up in Austria. Of course, right away I wanted to visit. And then a little later I learned about Schonbrunn again when I read about Empress Elisabeth. Now finally, I have been to Schonbrunn!
Schonbrunn was first discovered by Emperor Mattias II while he was hunting. The name Schonbrunn comes from its original name of Schoner Brunen, which means “beautiful spring”. In 1569, Mattias acquired Schonbrunn as a hunting ground. Ferdinand II built a palace here in 1637 but it was destroyed by the Turks in 1683 during their siege of Vienna. Later Leopold I commissioned Fischer von Erlach to build a summer palace but Leopold never followed up on his extravagant plans. Maria Theresa brought Schonbrunn to fame and greatness when she developed it as the seat for her royal court. She had the architect Nikolaus Pacassi complete the renovations from 1744 to 1749. When it was completed it had 1,441 rooms with her favorite Rococo interior.
Schonbrunn! I had been looking forward to this day since I first decided to take this class. Since it was a three day weekend, Diane and I were able to dedicate the entire day at the summer palace of the Habsburgs. I was first introduced to the palace when I was in grade school and reading about Marie Antoinette growing up in Austria. Of course, right away I wanted to visit. And then a little later I learned about Schonbrunn again when I read about Empress Elisabeth. Now finally, I have been to Schonbrunn!
Schonbrunn was first discovered by Emperor Mattias II while he was hunting. The name Schonbrunn comes from its original name of Schoner Brunen, which means “beautiful spring”. In 1569, Mattias acquired Schonbrunn as a hunting ground. Ferdinand II built a palace here in 1637 but it was destroyed by the Turks in 1683 during their siege of Vienna. Later Leopold I commissioned Fischer von Erlach to build a summer palace but Leopold never followed up on his extravagant plans. Maria Theresa brought Schonbrunn to fame and greatness when she developed it as the seat for her royal court. She had the architect Nikolaus Pacassi complete the renovations from 1744 to 1749. When it was completed it had 1,441 rooms with her favorite Rococo interior.
Diane and I planned to go early so we could try and skip as much of the crowds as possible. First on our tour was the Grand Tour of the forty rooms open to the public. This covered the imperial apartments of Franz Josef and Elisabeth and the main living rooms. While the rooms were smaller than I expected, they were still exquisitely decorated. My favorite rooms were the Grosse Galerie and the Round Chinese Room. The Grosse Galerie held a ball for the delegates of the Congress of Vienna and Empress Maria Theresa held many secret governmental meetings in the Chinese Room. Then it was off to the gardens. The gardens truly amazed me, especially their expansiveness. The formal designs are so carefully laid out and manicured. After some time in the gardens we went to the Orangery (there weren’t very many orange trees), and then to the bakery for a taste of apfelstrudel! Next came a trip up to the Gloriette, which was really a hike. We reached the cafe just as it began to rain. After we rested with a glass of ice coffee, we went to the top of the Gloriette to enjoy the spectacular views of the palace, gardens, and city. Our last stop was the Privy garden, which is another perfectly manicured garden in the French style. While we were enjoying our last stop, it began to thunder and rain so we took it as a sign that our day at Schonbrunn had come to an end. 
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