The Palace of Schonbrunn
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The Imperial Palace of Schonbrunn, with its adjacent buildings and vast gardens, is among the most important Baroque structures of its type in Europe. The origins of Schonbrunn go back as far as the Middle Ages when the estate came into Imperial ownership via Maximilian in 1569. Then, in the 17th century, a hunting lodge was built, and the existing zoological garden was expanded. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach planned the new construction of a hunting lodge in 1696, which Empress Maria Theresia had converted into her residential palace around the middle of the 18th century, under the direction of her court architect, Nikolaus Pacassi.
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The attractiveness of Schonbrunn Palace lies in its largely original interior from the 18th century, as well as in the Baroque garden landscape which remains scarcely altered. The furniture, fixtures and fittings impressively reflect the lifestyle of the Palace residents.?
Today, Schonbrunn Palace with its gardens and zoological garden (Tiergarten), integrated into the Palace complex (total area, c. 1.2 square kilometres), is owned by the Republic of Austria. Indeed, Maria Theresia's Last Will and Testament formed the basis for administration of the Palace, divided up into the building itself and its maintenance operations by the Court Treasury. Since the formation of the Republic in 1918, the Ministry of Economics, now the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, has been responsible for administering the Palace.
You can take a virtual tour of the palace at the following web-address
In English at:
www.schoenbrunn.at/e/homepage.htmlIn Japanese at:
www.schoenbrunn.at/jp/homepage.html