Vienna: Schloss Schönbrunn

1,441 Rooms
40 Rooms

The first number is the total number of rooms in Schloss Schönbrunn, and the second number is the number of rooms shown during the Grand Tour, which is the short tour of the Schloss. This tour took about 2 hours. It was impressive! It is hard to imagine the scope of the entire palace. Schloss Schönbrunn served as the summer residence of the emperors of Austria since 1569, when emperor Maximilian II of the Holy Roman Empire purchased the land and built a palace on it. It was continually added on to for the next century. The grounds are also home to a large zoo and many beautiful gardens.

The rooms inside are over-the-top opulent, which I guess is to be expected of a palace. But if you were wondering where all the gold has gone, just visit any palace or cathedral in Europe. The amount of gilded wood and stone carvings is overwhelming! And its not just the gold, on the walls, the floors, even the ceilings use many different exotics woods, most often rosewood. One room, called the Rich Room, was paneled floor to ceiling with exceptionally rare pieces of rosewood. Inset in the walls were rare Mongolian paintings set in gilded and lacquered frames. The Great Ballroom was covered in white lacquered panels with gilded trim and large murals. On the ceiling were three large murals depicting various aspects of Franz Josef's rule. Perhaps the most stunning room though, was the Mourning Room. This room was commissioned by Kaiserin Elisabeth after her son Rudolf died. The walls and ceiling are covered with black lacquered panels set within gold trim. The floor was dark red rosewood. The effect was stunning, especially after so many rooms done in white or brown themes.

This is the left end wing of the Schloss. 

A view from the rear balcony looking out over Schlosspark Schönbrunn.

A portico at the other end of the park.

Part of the grounds, notice how the trees are pruned flat on the top. In other places in the park they are trimmed to form arches, or shaped to form walls.

A view of the main Schloss looking at the back of the building.