The story of this place
Begun in 1696 and reshaped by Empress Maria Theresa in the 1740s, Schönbrunn became the summer seat of the Habsburgs and the beating heart of an empire. Here Maria Theresa raised sixteen children, including Marie Antoinette; here a six-year-old Mozart performed in 1762 and, legend says, proposed marriage to the young Marie Antoinette after slipping on the floor. Napoleon made the palace his headquarters in 1805 and 1809, and in 1918 Emperor Karl I signed away his role from these rooms, ending 640 years of Habsburg rule. Its 1,441 rooms and vast Baroque gardens are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.