The early history of Schönbrunn
The
history of Schönbrunn and the buildings that previously stood on this
site dates back to the Middle Ages. From the beginning of the fourteenth
century, the estate as a whole bore the name of Katterburg and belonged
to the manor of the abbey at Klosterneuburg. The estate boasted a
corn-mill together with an arable farm and vineyards. Over the following
centuries numerous lessees are documented, including a reference in
1548 to one Hermann Bayer, mayor of Vienna, who extended the property,
transforming it into a substantial country estate.
In 1569 the estate came into Habsburg possession through Maximilian II, and according to the title deeds included a house, a watermill and stabling as well as a pleasure garden and an orchard. Maximilian was primarily interested in extending the game park, which was principally intended for the breeding of native game and fowl. However, the pheasantry also contained exotic fowl such as peacocks and turkeys.
Following the sudden death of Maximilian II in 1576 the Katterburg passed to Rudolph II, who did little except sanction the necessary funds for its upkeep. Emperor Matthias used the estate for hunting, and according to a legend is supposed to have come across the Schöner Brunnen (meaning ‘fair spring’), which eventually gave the estate its name, while out hunting in 1612.
In 1569 the estate came into Habsburg possession through Maximilian II, and according to the title deeds included a house, a watermill and stabling as well as a pleasure garden and an orchard. Maximilian was primarily interested in extending the game park, which was principally intended for the breeding of native game and fowl. However, the pheasantry also contained exotic fowl such as peacocks and turkeys.
Following the sudden death of Maximilian II in 1576 the Katterburg passed to Rudolph II, who did little except sanction the necessary funds for its upkeep. Emperor Matthias used the estate for hunting, and according to a legend is supposed to have come across the Schöner Brunnen (meaning ‘fair spring’), which eventually gave the estate its name, while out hunting in 1612.
His successor, Emperor Ferdinand II, and his wife, Eleonora von Gonzaga,
both passionately keen on hunting, chose Schönbrunn as the venue for
their hunting parties. After Ferdinand’s death in 1637 the estate became
the dower residence of his art-loving widow, who needed the appropriate
architectural setting for her busy social life. She therefore had a
château de plaisance built around 1642, which was accompanied by the
renaming of the Katterburg as Schönbrunn, a change of name first documented in the same year.
In 1683 the château de plaisance and its deer park fell victim to the depredations of Turkish troops during the siege of Vienna. From 1686 the estate was in the possession of Emperor Leopold I, who decided that he would make the estate over to his son and heir, Joseph, and have a splendid new residence built for him. Soon afterwards the Rome-trained architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach arrived at court on the recommendation of aristocratic patrons. In 1688 he presented the emperor with a preliminary set of designs for a new palace, the so-called Schönbrunn I Project, with which he sought to display his architectural abilities and gain the emperor’s interest. Fischer was promptly engaged as tutor for architecture to the heir to the throne in 1689 and subsequently enjoyed a brilliantly successful career as architect to the court and nobility.
In 1683 the château de plaisance and its deer park fell victim to the depredations of Turkish troops during the siege of Vienna. From 1686 the estate was in the possession of Emperor Leopold I, who decided that he would make the estate over to his son and heir, Joseph, and have a splendid new residence built for him. Soon afterwards the Rome-trained architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach arrived at court on the recommendation of aristocratic patrons. In 1688 he presented the emperor with a preliminary set of designs for a new palace, the so-called Schönbrunn I Project, with which he sought to display his architectural abilities and gain the emperor’s interest. Fischer was promptly engaged as tutor for architecture to the heir to the throne in 1689 and subsequently enjoyed a brilliantly successful career as architect to the court and nobility.
At the end of the seventeenth century Emperor Leopold I commissioned the Baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, who had received his training in Rome, to design an imperial hunting lodge for his son, Crown Prince Joseph, later to become Emperor Joseph I. Replacing the château de plaisance built on this site for the dowager empress Eleonora of Gonzaga in 1642, it was to grow into a palatial imperial residence over the course of the eighteenth century.
The Park and Gardens
In
1569 it passed into imperial possession through Emperor Maximilian II.
The Roman-German emperor was mainly interested in laying out pleasure
gardens and a game preserve in order to indulge his twin passions for
collecting and hunting, the latter a passion which was shared by many
other members of the Habsburg dynasty. The gardens created by Maximilian
were thus not only intended for the keeping of native game and fowl but
also provided space for exotic birds such as peacocks and turkeys, a
standard feature in princely gardens of the time.
After the enclosed gardens of the Katterburg were destroyed by Hungarian forces in 1605, the damage was provisionally repaired and the estate was subsequently only used by Emperor Matthias for hunting.
According to a legend, it was on one of these hunting excursions in 1612 that Matthias discovered the ‘fair spring’ (schöner Brunnen) that was later to give the estate the name by which it would be known. Matthias’s successor, Ferdinand II and his wife Eleonora of Gonzaga, both passionately fond of hunting, also used the park for their hunting parties. Following Ferdinand’s death in 1637 it became the empress’s dower residence and a splendid château de plaisance was built, known from then on as Schönbrunn, a name first documented in 1642.
After the enclosed gardens of the Katterburg were destroyed by Hungarian forces in 1605, the damage was provisionally repaired and the estate was subsequently only used by Emperor Matthias for hunting.
According to a legend, it was on one of these hunting excursions in 1612 that Matthias discovered the ‘fair spring’ (schöner Brunnen) that was later to give the estate the name by which it would be known. Matthias’s successor, Ferdinand II and his wife Eleonora of Gonzaga, both passionately fond of hunting, also used the park for their hunting parties. Following Ferdinand’s death in 1637 it became the empress’s dower residence and a splendid château de plaisance was built, known from then on as Schönbrunn, a name first documented in 1642.
Eleonora
of Gonzaga, who had a rare understanding of art, had magnificent formal
gardens laid out around the palace which became the setting for
frequent court celebrations and festivities. Her niece and successor,
another Eleonora of Gonzaga, widow of Emperor Ferdinand III and like her
aunt a keen patron of the arts, continued to extend the gardens. In the
mid-seventeenth century numerous open-air performances took place in
the ‘famose parco di Scheenbrunn’, occasions on which Emperor
Leopold I displayed his artistic talents as composer and actor. This glittering lifestyle came to an abrupt end when Vienna was besieged by Ottoman forces in 1683, and the palace and park at Schönbrunn were devastated.
Leopold I displayed his artistic talents as composer and actor. This glittering lifestyle came to an abrupt end when Vienna was besieged by Ottoman forces in 1683, and the palace and park at Schönbrunn were devastated.
Links
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/about-schoenbrunn/the-palace/history/
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/about-schoenbrunn/gardens/history/
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/schloss-schoenbrunn
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