Monday 23 May: The Baroque Empire

Today sees us back at Schloss Schönbrunn for a tour of the inside of the palace, so a bit more of the history if the palace won’t go amiss. The palace and gardens were established around the same time to show the Baroque figurations of “an ensemble of nature and art.” The Baroque style was about shock and awe, experiencing the bodily humors. Much of the gardens are arranged in matching geometric shapes interspersed with sculptures and fountains.

The Neptune fountain figures prominently in the configuration with twice life-size statues in marble of Neptune, half-fish Tritons, seahorses, and nereids. They evoke the sea winds with which Neptune pushed Aeneas to Italy thus evoking the Hapsburgs right to rule from the times of the Romans. If that were not enough, the ruins of Carthage are evident in the broken statues and fallen columns signifying the greatness of which the empire was built.

Although the symbolism about the connections of Rome are important, the use of Neptune might have been a bit too late, as the Hapsburgs’ lands were no longer on the sea after their loss of the Spanish lands and the Prussian King was threatening even more of their lands thus sending Maria Theresia almost into retreat.

The inside of the palace is decorated in a multitude of styles from the Rococo of Maria Theresia to the more austere and simplistic of Franz Joseph. The tour begins in the staircase leading into the royal residences of the palace on the main floor. It begins with the rooms decorated as they were during the reign of Franz Joseph in his reception room leading into his extreme simplistic bedroom/ office. Here you will find the militaristic desk at which Franz Joseph worked every day from 5am into the evening on affairs of the state. He was very much a no-nonsense emperor who belied hard work was the most important thing one could achieve with their life. Right off the study is the first bathroom installed in the palace during his reign. Following through the tour is the bedroom occupied by Franz Joseph and his wife Elizabeth “Sisi,” who was murdered by Italian anarchists. After her death Franz Joseph was thrown into a state of depress which he never recovered. The room is furnished in linens and fabrics of royal blue with designs of white and a gold clock with blue lettering.

From here the tour goes through a series of rooms used for family purposes before arriving in the room which the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first played for Maria Theresia and the royal family. At the early age of 6, Mozart played for the royal family on a tour of Europe organized by his father, violin pedagogue and composer, Leopold Mozart. It is recorded that after the concert, the young Mozart leapt from the piano jumping on Maria Theresia’s lap then planning a kiss upon her cheek!

The tour continued into the ballroom at the palace where grand parties were held. Guests attending these events before the advent of electricity knew how long the parties would last based upon how large the candle sticks were! Longer candles meant the parties lasted longer than shorter ones. As the candles burned lower, the guests knew their time was coming to an end.

The tour continued through a series of apartments that belonged to the parents of Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph inherited the empire from his uncle Ferdinand I who had a mental deficiency. (Ferdinand I was the son of Francis II/ I, who is an intriguing ruler within his own right.) Empress Sisi always complained of her mother-in-law in the court and how she was always being spied on.

While the palace is known as the poor man’s Versailles, with poor being relative, only around 40 of the some 2,000 or so rooms are on display.

Afterwards, I went back to the area where the hostel is to rest and explore the surrounding neighborhood.

Steps: 22,620/ 9.7 miles.