Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Early history
The history of Schönbrunn and the previous buildings that stood on this site goes back to the Middle Ages. The whole estate was referred to as the Katterburg from the beginning of the 14th century and belonged to the manor of the monastery at Klosterneuburg. Over the following centuries the names of numerous tenants are documented, including a few prominent figures such as, in 1548, Hermann Bayer, who was mayor of Vienna and who extended the buildings, transforming the property into a manorial estate.
In 1569 the estate came into Habsburg possession through Maximilian II, and according to the title deeds included a house, a watermill and stabling as well as a pleasure garden and an orchard. Maximilian was primarily interested in extending the game park, which was principally intended for the breeding of native game and fowl. However, the pheasantry also contained exotic fowl such as peafowl and turkeys.
Following the sudden death of Maximilian II in 1576 the Katterburg passed to Rudolph II, who did little except sanction the necessary funds for its upkeep. Emperor Matthias used the estate for hunting, and according to a legend is supposed to have come across the Schöne Brunnen (meaning 'fair spring'), which eventually gave the estate its name, while on a hunting excursion in 1612.
His successor, Emperor Ferdinand II, and his wife, Eleonora von Gonzaga, both passionately keen on hunting, chose Schönbrunn as the venue for their hunting parties. After Ferdinand's death in 1637 the estate became the dower residence of his art-loving widow, who needed the appropriate architectural setting for her busy social life. She therefore had a château de plaisance built around 1642, which was accompanied by the renaming of the Katterburg as Schönbrunn, a change of name first documented in the same year.
In 1683 the château de plaisance and its deer park fell victim to the depredations of Turkish troops during the siege of Vienna. From 1686 the estate was in the possession of Emperor Leopold I, who decided that he would make the estate over to his son and heir, Joseph, and have a splendid new residence built for him. Soon afterwards the Rome-trained architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach arrived at court on the recommendation of aristocratic patrons. In 1688 he presented the emperor with a preliminary set of designs for a new palace, the so-called Schönbrunn I Project, with which he sought to display his architectural abilities and gain the emperor's interest. Fischer was promptly engaged as tutor for architecture to the heir to the throne in 1689 and subsequently enjoyed a brilliantly successful career as architect to the court and nobility.
The 17th century
In 1693 Leopold I commissioned concrete plans from Fischer for the construction of a grand hunting lodge, on which work started in 1696. The new edifice was partly built on the existing foundations of the château de plaisance that had been destroyed by the Turks.
By the spring of 1700 the central section had been completed and was ready to be occupied. The construction of the lateral wings was delayed from 1701 as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession and the attendant financial constraints, coming to a complete halt after Joseph's sudden death. Fischer von Erlach was responsible not only for designing the palace; the construction work was also carried out under his immediate supervision. It was probably in connection with this huge and prestigious project that he was invested with the mark of nobility by Emperor Leopold, being subsequently known as Fischer von Erlach.
Unlike Fischer's first more or less Utopian design which comprised extensive inclined approaches, colonnades and elaborate waterworks covering the entire area from the banks of the river Wien right up to the palace on the crest of Schönbrunn Hill, this palatial hunting lodge at the foot of the hill was completed. In keeping with Baroque architectural principles, the whole complex is arranged around a central axis. The compact structure of the palace with a monumental external stairway in front of the central projection was flanked by lateral wings accommodating the stabling. These buildings enclosed a cour d'honneur or parade court which terminated on the north side in an obelisk gate surmounted by an eagle with groups of statuary representing the Labours of Hercules.
The state rooms of this palatial hunting lodge lay on the side of the parade court, with Joseph I's private suite lying on the garden side in the west wing of the palace, while the east wing was used to accommodate guests. An Empress Stairway in the west wing, probably planned at a later stage, was intended to provide access to the empress's suite.
The unfinished palace then became the dower residence of Wilhelmine Amalie. In 1728 Emperor Charles VI acquired Schönbrunn, but used the estate only for shooting pheasants. Eventually he made a gift of it to his daughter, Maria Theresa, who is documented as having always had an especial fondness for the palace and its gardens. Maria Theresa's reign marked the opening of a brilliant epoch in Schönbrunn's history, with the palace becoming the centre of court and political life. Under her personal influence and the supervision of the architect Nikolaus Pacassi, Joseph I's grand hunting lodge was rebuilt and extended into a palatial residence.
The 18th century
Work on the unfinished building began in the winter of 1742/43 and eventually culminated in a huge rebuilding project which gave the palace the appearance it still largely retains to this day. The first construction phase from 1743 to 1749 carried out in close collaboration with Nikolaus Pacassi, whose practical skills led to him becoming the leading architect on the project. He was eventually appointed court architect in 1749. The audience chamber and residential apartments of Maria Theresa and Franz Stephan in the east wing were extended and were ready to be moved into by 1746.
One year previously the newly-refurbished court chapel had been consecrated. In terms of its spatial structure and proportions it remained largely unaltered from Fischer von Erlach's design. The rebuilding of the east wing included the laying out of the two inner quadrangles and the construction of the so-called Chapel Staircase which afforded access to the piano nobile.
The following phase in 1746 included the removal of the central exterior flight of stairs that Fischer had built on the Parade Court front in order to create a spacious carriageway out of the ground floor of the central projection, together with the Great and Small Galleries above it on the piano nobile. During the same phase the Blue Staircase was constructed in the west wing out of the former dining room designed by Fischer von Erlach in order to provide a suitably imposing entrance to the piano nobile, whereby the original ceiling frescoes by Sebastiano Ricci from 1702/03 were preserved.
The steady growth of the imperial family made new alterations in the east wing necessary by 1747, a new mezzanine floor being inserted between the piano nobile and the upper storey to serve as the apartments for the imperial children and their retinues.
The two galleries at the centre of the palace provided space for large-scale festivities, with the Small Gallery being used for more intimate family celebrations. At this stage the two rooms were as yet unadorned with the rich stucco decoration and the ceiling frescoes that were later to grace them. On private occasions, the Great Gallery could also be accessed directly via the sweeping flights of the newly-constructed Parade Court Stairway. On official occasions visitors had to take the long way round from the Blue Staircase to the audience chambers of the emperor and empress in the east wing, in order to comply with court ceremonial.
Other alterations at this time included the arcades connecting the side wings – known as the 'Cavalier Wings' – along the Parade Court which housed the upper ranks of the court servants. Adjacent to these and extending both eastwards (including the Orangery) and westwards a complex of working quarters was constructed. These were urgently needed, as Schönbrunn had now become an imperial residence, and including the imperial family and the court, more than 1,000 people had to be provided for and accommodated.
At Maria Theresa's express wish a theatre was also built in the north Parade Court wing and ceremonially opened in 1747. Among the singers and actors who trod its boards were the numerous children of the empress. She also distinguished herself here as a talented singer.
Soon after 1750 Maria Theresa again felt compelled to embark on a new phase of rebuilding, the planning and execution of which lay entirely in the hands of Pacassi. The imperial family was steadily growing, and the corresponding need for more room led to the insertion of a mezzanine floor in the west wing. This meant that the external symmetry of the building had been restored and that the completion of the façade could now be taken in hand. The paintings of Schönbrunn palace by Bernardo Bellotto dating from 1759/60 show the Parade Court and garden façades with the detailed articulation and rich ornamentation that is typical of the Rococo age.
The building work of this second phase was not limited to creating more room in the upper storeys and the outbuildings of the palace but also included the decoration of the ceremonial and state rooms. The two galleries were given vaulted, frescoed ceilings and exuberant stucco-work decoration, becoming one of the most important Rococo interiors ever created. The frescoes were executed by Gregorio Guglielmi between 1755 and 1761, while the stucco decoration was created by Albert Bolla in 1761/62. Most of the rooms on the garden side of the palace were also given typical Rococo decoration displaying exuberant, playful forms known as rocailles, with mirrors and paintings set into the walls.
Following the sudden death of Emperor Franz Stephan in 1765, which was a devastating blow to Maria Theresa, a new phase of refurbishment and alterations ensued. The widowed empress had several rooms in the east wing of the palace appointed as memorial rooms and spared no expense in fitting them out with precious Chinese lacquer panels and costly wooden panelling which have been preserved to this day.
On the ground floor Maria Theresa had the so-called Bergl Rooms painted with exotic landscape murals between 1769 and 1777, and used these rooms as her apartments during the hot summer months.
The last project initiated by the empress during the 1770s was the designing and laying out of the gardens under the supervision of court architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg, who constructed architectural features in the park such as the Gloriette, the Neptune Fountain, the Roman Ruin and the Obelisk Fountain. In addition the avenues, fountains and open spaces were enhanced with statues and sculptures in the antique style executed by Wilhelm Beyer and his studio. The remodelling of the palace and gardens was not finally completed until just before Maria Theresa died.
The 19th century
After Maria Theresa died Schönbrunn Palace remained unoccupied and its use as a summer residence was only resumed during the reign of Emperor Franz II/I. During this intervening period Schönbrunn was occupied twice in 1805 and 1809 by Napoleon, during which the French emperor used the memorial rooms to Franz Stephan in the east wing as his quarters. On the occasion of the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15 it had become clear that Schönbrunn urgently needed refurbishing. During the course of these improvements Franz I/II had the façade altered between 1817 and 1819 to designs by the court Johann Aman which considerably changed its appearance. Aman removed Pacassi's elaborate Rococo decoration from the façade, reducing it to much plainer forms with only a small number of decorative elements. It was probably during this period that the palace was painted in the shade now known as 'Schönbrunn Yellow', giving it the characteristic appearance it still retains today.
In 1830 Franz Joseph was born in the east wing of the palace, in the apartments occupied by his parents, Franz Karl and Sophie. Trained by his mother from infancy for his future role as emperor, Franz Joseph spent the summers of his childhood and youth at Schönbrunn. When he succeeded to the throne in 1848 the palace was once again to experience a brilliant epoch as he chose Schönbrunn as his favourite residence and was to spend the major part of his life there. At the beginning of his reign Franz Joseph moved into apartments in the west wing facing the Parade Court which he was to continue to occupy until his death on 21st November 1916.
His apartments were a suite of communicating rooms comprising an audience chamber, a study and a bedroom. In the audience chamber the precious walnut panelling dating from Maria Theresa's reign was retained and Franz Joseph continued to use the furniture made for his predecessor and uncle, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. The emperor's private rooms were redecorated and refurnished during the 1860s.
In preparation for his impending marriage to Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, in 1854, work had begun the previous winter on adapting apartments for the future empress in the west wing facing the Hietzing privy garden. Elisabeth's apartments also consisted of several rooms centred on the empress's salon in which she received her personal visitors. The adjacent rooms to the north such as the marital bedroom, the dressing room and the Stairs Cabinet served Elisabeth as private rooms and were furnished with heavy palisander wood furniture. The so-called Stairs Cabinet was her study. In 1862 a spiral staircase was built into this room giving direct access to the rooms below on the ground floor. It was removed after the fall of the monarchy.
The rooms lying below her apartments were refurbished as her private rooms, becoming a 'garden apartment' to which she could retreat, rather like the apartments she later had at Gödöllö. These rooms consisted of a large salon and most probably the obligatory exercise room. The walls were hung with silk and the furniture upholstered in her favourite shade of lilac. The apartments of the children of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth were also on the ground floor.
Adjoining the empress's apartments were the rooms of her eldest daughter Gisela, while in 1867 Crown Prince Rudolf was given his own suite of rooms known as the Crown Prince Apartments, which were located beside the Privy Garden on the Meidling side of the palace. In all these apartments on the ground floor the ceiling stucco decoration from the time of Maria Theresa together with the white and gold-painted wooden panelling and the landscape paintings executed on canvas were largely preserved.
From 1869, in preparation for the impending World exhibition to be held in Vienna in 1873, work was undertaken on the 18th-century Rococo interiors, which were either repaired or replaced with neo-Rococo features as an expression of imperial style. This restoration work affected the two galleries and the rooms in the east wing, which were to be used for high-ranking visitors. The walls of these guest rooms were hung either with tapestries from the imperial collection or refurbished with new red silk pineapple damask wall-hangings