 Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna is one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria and since the 1860s has also been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. UNESCO catalogued it together with its gardens as a World Heritage site as a remarkable Baroque ensemble and example of synthesis of the arts (Gesamtkunstwerk). The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.
In the year 1569, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased the Katterburg, which was located on a large area between Meidling and Hietzing where today Schönbrunn's parks and different buildings are situated. He showed interest in the newly founded zoo, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, and tried to establish not only a systematic maintenance of wild animals, but also a plantation of rare and exotic plants. He is justifiably called the creator of Schönbrunn's garden arrangement. |
