Last month, Alex and I were in Vienna with friends and visited Vienna’s #1 attraction, the Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens, located about 20 minutes outside of Vienna. This palace with its beautiful gardens is the former imperial summer palace of several generations of the Hapsburg family from the end of the 17th to early 20th century. It is considered one of the world’s best preserved Baroque properties. Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens was placed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.
The original intention, when they were laid out the property in the 18th century, was to combine the glorification of the House of Habsburg with an homage to nature. The impressive building has 1,441 rooms!
Interestingly, the Orangery on the east side of the main palace building is the longest in the world, measuring, 186 meters. We were not able to see it or the Palm House while we were there, unfortunately. We needed more time!
As with other gardens in this part of the world, many of the beds were planted with red and white begonias. The beds reminded very much me of the gardens at Nymphenburg Palace, which I visited last year in Munich.
Schönbrunn hasn’t really changed much since the Republic of Austria assumed the property in 1918. The property is currently managed by a company owned by the state, and the garden maintenance is managed by the Federal Gardens Service. Their objective is to maintain the property and grounds as much in the original condition of Franz Joseph’s era, as possible. While this property is very much in pristine condition, its unimpeded vistas from the property are threatened by the new high-rise development happening in Vienna.
Helen and I loved running around to see it all during our brief visit. We wished we had more time to explore the entire property. I believe we will all return to Schönbrunn the next time we’re in Vienna and allot more time for our visit.
