Vienna – A Taste of Schönbrunn Palace

I’m not in Vienna this week, but I am working on a travel guide to the city. In my quest to recall all the best things to do, I’ve been digging through photos. I’ve realized I never wrote about Schönbrunn Palace — so allow me to give you a taste today.

This legendary Habsburg site was begun in 1696 and became home to Empress Maria Teresa. Franz Joseph was born here in 1830. Schönbrunn Palace became the summer home of his wife Empress Sisi, and if you like grand palaces with opulent, endlessly extravagant furnishings, decadent, labyrinthine gardens and private zoos, you should definitely check it out.

Schönbrunn Palace is sometimes anglicized as Schoenbrunn Palace, because the English hate umlauts. (false) (maybe)

Until 1992, the downstairs was heated by statues like these:
…as in, steam came out of the lion’s mouth. How cool is that?

Here’s a peek inside the upstairs — the only photo I got before they kindly told me “no pictures.”
Holy mother of pearl, right? See the ceiling frescoes? During World War II, a bomb fell through one of them (and thankfully did not explode). Guess what the fresco depicted? War.

Chills, anyone?