Saturday 21 April 2012

S is for Schönnbrunn (Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna)



Schönnbrunn (Schönnbrunn means, 'beautiful spring') Palace is one of the most beautiful and historical sites to visit in Vienna. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens, fountains, statues and mazes, which illustrate the interests and tastes of the Habsburg Monarchy. 



Palace

At the end of the 17th century Emperor Leopold I commissioned the gifted Baroque architect Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to built a palatial hunting lodge for the heir to the throne. On the site of the old imperial château de plaisance a splendid edifice was to arise.

Half a century later under Maria Theresa Schönbrunn Palace was to become the magnificent focus of court life. From that time onwards it played host to the leading statesmen of Europe. Although Austria is now a republic, Schönbrunn has remained a place of political encounter at the highest level.

The magnificent architecture and the exquisite décor of its state rooms marks Schönbrunn out as a cultural treasure and tourist attraction of the first order.
Who owns the palace?

In the possession of the Habsburg dynasty since Maximilian II, the palace passed to the ownership of the Republic of Austria at the end of the monarchy in 1918. source

The History of Schönnbrunn is quite extensive, and goes way back to the beginning of 14th century. Click HERE for more info.





The Palm House which is located in the the Schönbrunn gardens. It hosts mediterreanean, tropical and subtropical plants.

Emperor Franz Joseph commissioned the construction of the Palm House in 1882. Architect Franz Segenschmid had his hands full: with a length of 111 meters, 2,500 square meters in area and 4,900 square meters of glass, it is the largest Palm House on the European continent. 45,000 glass panes were installed.

The Palm House is divided into three pavilions and three climate zones, which are connected to each other by tunnel-like corridors. The tallest room exhibits plants from the Mediterranean region, the Canary Islands, South Africa, America and Australia. The northern room houses plants from China, Japan, the Himalayas and New Zealand. Tropical and subtropical plants grow in the third area. Plants on display in the Palm House include a23 meter-tall palm and in spring/summer the largest water lily in the world (with a leaf diameter of 1.20 meters). Temperatures range between 8 and 17 degrees Celsius. Source

8 comments:

  1. i love that mirror room--such exotic places

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  2. This is the one place that I really wanted to go to when I was in Vienna, but we got a bit lost and ended up running out if time - the closest we came was passing it on the bus tour. But one day - or it might take longer - I will definitely go there. So glad you posted about it :D

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  3. Oh, you always list the best places to visit! Or possibly live too! I would love to go.

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  4. Oh wow, such beauty. I hope to be able to see this place one day.

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  5. Our family visited the palace over 6 years ago...we never saw the other half of the property and gardens. Thanks for the photos, Cecelia...and enjoy the remainder of the Challenge.

    MakingTheWriteConnections

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  6. @ Lynn: Oh, the mirror room is beautiful. Love the reds and golds and the baroque furniture. stunning!

    @Kate: I really hope when you come back we can meet and go visit. Would be fun. Last time I went my kids were in a hurry. Never saw much :D

    @Mina : Thank you. :) The place is exquisite! You are welcome to visit.:) I'm obsessed with the historical sites.

    @Savannah: It is gorgeous. you are ewelcome to visit.

    @ Jarm: Oh, you were here? Wish we'd have met then. would have joined you. The gardens are huge and beautiful. Glad you enjoyed looking at the photos. :)

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  7. What is the Liebster Blog Award? Well it's recognition from a fellow blogger, namely me. Come visit my site for more details.

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  8. What a beautiful place!! I loved reading the history too, so interesting. Great post for S. :)

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