The Magic of Schönbrunn Palace at Christmastime

A place of delight in Vienna, Austria: Peaceful walks, magnificent views, and one of the best Christmas markets in the city

I have a special place in my heart for Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. Not for the huge palace building (1,441 rooms consisting of 334,284 square feet of floor space), but for the 400 acres of gardens that surround it. The gardens are absolutely beautiful at all times of year. In the spring and summer, they are filled with masses of cheerful flowers in every shade imaginable. In the fall, mounds of leaves beg to be shuffled through. And in the winter, one of Vienna’s best Christmas Markets sets up shop.

During the five years that I lived and worked in Vienna, I spent the first three living in Hietzing (the 13th District), which is where Schönbrunn is located. My apartment was only a 15-minute walk away, so I used to spend hours in the park enjoying all of its beauty.

One thing that strikes me is how much Viennese enjoy the park at all times of the year. Families push baby strollers along the paths, athletes jog up and down the hills, and people of all ages wander through the beautiful forested paths or sit quietly on a bench while warming themselves in the sun.

So every time my husband, Gerhard, and I visit Vienna, I make what feels like a pilgrimage to walk the paths again and say hello.

Since we are in Vienna now, I made my visit two days ago on a gloriously sunny winter afternoon. The great thing about the timing is that I also got to wander through one of my favorite Viennese Christmas markets!

Schönbrunn Palace: A bit of history

Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence of the Habsburg emperors from the mid-18th century to 1918. Its name in German means “beautiful spring,” which came from the name for an artesian well that provided water for the residents there.

The palace was built during the 1740s-50s in late-Baroque (Rococo) style during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. The intention in designing the palace, gardens, additional buildings and statuary was to demonstrate the splendor of the House of Habsburg, as well as to pay homage to nature.

Maria Theresa reigned over the Austrian Empire from 1740 until her death in 1780, and she was the only woman to do so in her own right. She and her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, apparently loved each other, and she bore him sixteen children, ten of whom grew to adulthood. One of these was Marie-Antoinette, the last queen of France.

The longest-reigning Emperor of Austria—Franz Joseph—was born in Schönbrunn Palace on August 18, 1830. He married his beloved Elizabeth (Sisi) on 4 April 1854, and they remained together until she was assassinated by an Italian anarchist in Switzerland in 1898. (The anarchist apparently had nothing against Sisi in particular, he was just looking for someone of royal blood to assassinate.)

Franz Joseph died in Schönbrunn Palace on November 21, 1916, at the age of 86. The Habsburg monarchy fell in November 1918, and the palace then became the property of the newly founded Austrian Republic and was preserved as a museum. In 1996, UNESCO catalogued Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens on the World Heritage List as a “remarkable Baroque ensemble and example of synthesis of the arts.”

Some of the major buildings and monuments in the park include:

Palmenhaus (The Palm House)

The Palmenhaus Schönbrunn, which opened in 1882, is a very distinctive iron-framed greenhouse that is 114 m (374 ft.) long. Within its three sections, it contains around 4,500 plant species, making it one of the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world.

The Gloriette

I actually did not know what a gloriette was until just now, when I looked it up! According to Wikipedia, it is “a building in a garden that is erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings.”

The Schönbrunn gloriette stands on a 60-metre-high (200 ft) hill, directly opposite from the palace, and contains a dining hall where the emperors used to eat their breakfasts. Today the hall hosts a cafe where people can enjoy delicious coffee and pastries while gazing on a magnificent view of Vienna.

The original gloriette was built in 1775, just a year before Empress Maria Theresa died. She dedicated the monument to Just War, the kind that leads to peace. The gloriette was unfortunately destroyed during WWII, but it was restored in 1947 and again in 1995.

Roman Ruin

Although Schönbrunn’s Roman Ruin appears to be ancient, it was actually designed by an architect and built in 1778. It is a good example of the influence of the Romantic movement, which became popular in the middle of the18th century. The Romantics viewed ancient Greece and Rome as heroic and began to construct picturesque ruins that symbolized the decline of the once great powers as well as preservation of their remains.

For some reason, I really like the Roman Ruin, which appears suddenly when you are walking along a forested path at the foot of the hill where the gloriette is located. I love the intricacy of the detail, the variety of colors, and the two graceful statues in the center.

Schönbrunn Zoo

Entrance to the Vienna Zoo

Schönbrunn’s gardens also provide a home for the Vienna Zoo. Established in 1752, it is now the world's oldest zoo still in operation. The facility’s 17 hectares/42 acres provide a home for hundreds of species of animals, including giant black and white pandas, African Bush elephants, penguins, walruses, koalas, flamingoes, and tigers, cheetahs and leopards.

The Christmas Market

Christmas in Vienna is magical—from the lights to the seasonal foods and drinks to the amazing Christmas markets (over 20 and counting). I haven’t been to nearly all of them, but I have definitely been to all of the major ones, and Schönbrunn is one of my two favorites. (I’ll write about my absolute favorite in the next post.)

I can remember walking to Schönbrunn one December from my apartment to visit the market. The wind was blowing so strongly that I literally could not stand up straight! I got to the entrance of the market and said “I don’t think so.” Then I turned around, climbed on a street car, and went home.

It is often so cold during the Christmas season that I feel sorry for the salespeople, trying to stay warm with just a small heater nearby (if they’re lucky). But so far this year, the temperatures have been in the 40s, with almost no wind, and some days have had full sun—absolutely perfect weather for the salespeople and customers alike!

Different Christmas markets specialize in different kinds of products, and they tend to attract the same vendors year after year. At Schönbrunn, the emphasis is more on seasonal foods, but there are some wonderful crafts booths as well.

My favorite booth is the one above with all of the candles made out of beeswax. In particular, I love the rounded candle holders (see the lighted display to the left of the woman) because they have flowers and leaves embedded in them. When you place a lighted tea candle inside, the flowers light up, and the glow—and scent—are heavenly.

Unfortunately, they do eventually melt. When I lived in Vienna, I just bought new ones each Christmas. Now that I live in Ireland, I keep four of the candles on display in my bookshelves and no longer light them.

All of the beautiful, delicate decorations above are made of lightweight wood by craftspeople in Tyrol—a western state of Austria in the midst of the Alps.

The booth above specializes in gingerbread in every form imaginable!

This one focuses on confections made from marzipan, which is made from ground up almonds and sugar.

Clearly, this one specializes in different kinds of Austrian brandy.

This booth offers many different kinds of drinks, including Glühwein (mulled wine), a hot spiced wine that appears everywhere in Austria in the winter. It literally means “glow wine,” which refers to the warm feeling you have after drinking it!

You can buy both red and white wine versions of Glühwein, both of which are delicious.

The vendors in all of the Christmas markets sell drinks in real ceramic cups. The price includes a deposit (usually around five euros) that you get back as soon as you return the cup to the vendor.

The item in the white paper is a crepe filled with marmalade jam. The Austrians call it “Palatschinken,” and it is the most popular dessert in the country. (Because it is so delicious!)

What about you?

Have you been to Schönbrunn before? Have you visited its Christmas market? What were your favorite parts?