Schönbrunn, Schloss

▪ palace, Vienna, Austria

  Rococo-style 1,440-room summer palace of the Habsburgs in Vienna. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach's first design for the building, meant to rival France's Palace of Versailles, was done in 1690. A second, somewhat less ornate, plan, however, dating from 1695–96 was adopted, and the palace was finished by 1711. The palace and its gardens were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.

 It was first modified in 1737 by Johann's son Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach and again in 1744 by Nikolaus Pacassi. The formal gardens were originally laid out c. 1705–06 by Jean-Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey and from 1765 were redesigned by Ferdinand von Hohenberg. Schönbrunn Tiergarten, perhaps the oldest zoo in Europe, was founded within the grounds in 1752. The entire park complex, open to the public since 1918, covers more than 2 sq km (³/₄ sq mi).

 

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