Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens

History of Schonbrunn Palace

• The Palace of Schonbrunn, located in Vienna, Austria, is a sight to see.
• Schonbrunn, meaning ‘beautiful spring’ was used as a hunting and recreational ground.

Eleonora Gonzaga

• It was Eleonora Gonzaga, the Archduchess of Austria who spent most of her time hunting at Schonbrunn.
• She donated the place as a widow’s residence after the death of her husband.

Gardens of Schonbrunn

• Schonbrunn has beautifully sculpted gardens. The French garden occupies a large part of the area.
• It also contains a maze in a garden which leads to a separate children’s museum, an English style garden, a botanical garden, a palm house and also an enclosure for keeping orangutans.

10 Facts about the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna

1. From 1805 till 1809, the Schonbrunn Palace was Napoleon Bonaparte’s headquarters. The Palace was a part of the Habsburg Dynasty of Austria.
2. Napoleon became the owner of the Palace after he married the Archduchess, Marie-Louise. Napoleon had a son with Marie-Louise and named him Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph or Napoleon II.
3. Napoleon II spent his entire life in this golden prison called the Schonbrunn Palace. Room number five of the Imperial Treasury holds a throne shaped cradle, in which the newborn son was placed right after his birth.
4. The cradle had a little eagle sitting on the edge. Thus, Napoleon II was widely known in France as L’Aiglon or ‘The Eaglet’ meaning ‘a young eagle.’
5. He was given the title of Emperor by his father, Napoleon I who declared him as the true heir. After the decline of Napoleon I, the fate of the young Emperor was also sealed, who lived under strict supervision of the Habsburg Court.
6. It was at the young age of 21, that the young Napoleon II died in Schonbrunn Palace due to lung disease.
7. Thus the Schonbrunn Palace is also known as the ‘Prison of the Young Eagle.’
8. Till date there are objects in the Palace of Schonbrunn that remember the young Emperor; like the room with some personal belongings of Napoleon II and the beautiful children’s coach in the Carriage Museum.
9. Today the immensely beautiful Schonbrunn Palace is one of Austria’s most visited sights completing a record of 2.82 million visitors in 2012.
10. The Palace is a part of world cultural heritage.

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