Vienna Trip Report, Day 8: Schönbrunn palace and Hofburg

DAY 8, 24 NOVEMBER 2017, Friday:

This full day was the big palaces day for us. Planned to visit both Hofburg and Schönbrunn palaces. Since Schönbrunn palace opens at 8 am, we planned to go there first, also it's far from the city.

Following 3 pics are from the Imperial Furniture Museum

TICKET OPTION:

SISI TICKET € 29,90: 

1 ticket for 3 imperial attractions / Ticket entitles holder to single admission (fast-track admission to the tour of Schönbrunn Palace) to each of the three museums within one year of purchase date. Viewing is also possible on different days.

Schönbrunn Palace: Tour of the Palace - Grand Tour with audioguide

This tour includes 40 rooms and takes approximately 50 minutes. Besides the 22 rooms seen on the Imperial Tour we'll also see the precious 18th-century interiors from the time of Maria Theresa

Vienna Hofburg: Imperial Apartments - Sisi Museum - Imperial Silver Collection with audio guide
Visit the historic apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Elisabeth and admire the magnificent Habsburg collections of silver and porcelain!  (1010 Vienna, entrance Michaelerkuppel, U3 station Herrengasse)

Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn): 8.00 am - 5.00 pm

Park is free 6.30am-5.30pm; rest closed in winter.

Transport options: Underground: U4, Trams: 10 and 60, Bus: 10A, all Schönbrunn station;

For us, 13A from Skodagasse and then U4 from Pilgrimgasse.

We started off early, had a little doubt where the 13 A stop is near our apt. Entered a pharmacy nearby and asked them. The counter lady was so kind to come out and point us in the right way as the stop is in a diagonal street and our German is not good enough to follow very complicated instructions. A customer was supplementing in English. Just a sample of the kind strangers we encountered!

The spectacular 18th-century Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) is worth visiting not only for its magnificent architecture, but also for its beautiful park-like setting.

Contains more than 1,441 rooms and apartments, including those once used by Empress Maria Theresa. Tour highlights include a chance to see the Imperial Apartments, including Emperor Franz Joseph's Walnut Room and his Bedroom, which still has the small soldier's bed in which he died.

Of Empress Maria Theresa's rooms, highlights include her richly furnished and decorated garden apartments, along with her Breakfast Room with its floral artwork created by her daughters.

As planned we bought the Sisi ticket, scanned it at the turnstile and started our tour on our own. We were alone in most rooms and LOVED the experience. After the 22 rooms of the other tour, we again showed the ticket to a counter girl and toured the other special rooms, the Indian room, Chinese room, Porcelain room etc were fabulous. I had read our tour is with a guide and the 22 room ticket is on our own but we toured on our own. Suited us fine.

Schönbrunn Park and Gardens is another must see here. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its sumptuous Baroque gardens and numerous attractive outbuildings are well worth exploring, in particular the Palm House from 1883. for us this option was not available. 

There was a christmas market and we enjoyed looking at the crafts in the stalls. 

We had our picnic meal and left the grounds. 0.50 € to use the toilet. 

We had had an early start, so there was no crowd and we had a great time. Crowds were milling around by the time we left. If traveling with kids, visit the Children's Museum for a chance to see them dressed up as a prince or princess.

We went to Hofburg palace next.

Hofburg Palace: 9-5.30

We had to take the U4 from Schonbrunn, then U3 

Though the website says not allowed to bring in bulky objects or luggage. no options for left-luggage storage, there is a manned facility for storing bags and coats free.

For more than six centuries the seat of the Habsburgs - and the official residence of every Austrian ruler since 1275 - the Hofburg is the most historically significant of Vienna's palaces.

The official seat of the Austrian President, this sprawling complex consists of numerous buildings reflecting various periods, the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo

The complex covers 59 acres with 18 groups of buildings, including 19 courtyards and 2,600 rooms. Its main attractions are the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum, and the Silver Collection, while other notable sites within the complex

include the Imperial Chapel (Burgkapelle), the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), the Austrian National Library, and the Hofburg Treasury with its large collection of Imperial regalia and relics of the Holy Roman Empire.

It was used as the winter residence of the Habsburg emperors since the very beginning of the dynasty up to its end. In the latest building, the Nue Burg, Hitler had proclaimed the Anschlus - the joining of the East Kingdom/Oesterreich to the German kingdom. Since an empire spanning over half Europe and including 50 million citizens was ruled from this palace, it is very grand.

The Sisi Museum, Imperial Apartments and Imperial Silver Collection can be visited with a single ticket! We entered the silver collection first.

Imperial Silver Collection(Silberkammer): 

September to June Daily 9.00 am - 5.30 pm, last admission at 4.30 pm

Valuable porcelain and crystal glasses, magnificent centerpieces and services, as well as simple kitchenware made from copper can be seen in the Imperial Silver Collection. 

The most impressive exhibit is the 30 meter-long "Milan centerpiece", which was created for the coronation of Emperor Ferdinand I as king of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia in 1838.

Also on view are porcelain from East Asia, from Sèvres (a gift from Louis XV of France to Maria Theresa) and from Vienna, as well as panoramic plates, glazed earthenware, gold- and silverware. This includes the Vienna court table silver and the gold-plated "Vermeil service", an extensive showpiece service for 140 people.

This is Emperor Franz Josef and his queen Sisi in Austrian national costume.

 This is Emperor Franz Josef and his queen Sisi in Ball costume.

EVERY PIECE IS EXQUISITE!

The Sisi Museum, Imperial Apartments  were next. All were LOVELY.

St. Michael's Church ( Michaelerkirche):

St. Michael's Church (German: Michaelerkirche) is one of the oldest churches in Vienna, Austria (1217), and also one of its few remaining Romanesque buildings. 

Dedicated to the Archangel Michael, St. Michael's Church is located at Michaelerplatz across from St. Michael's Gate at the Hofburg Palace. St. Michael's used to be the parish church of the Imperial Court

The high altar was designed in 1782 by Jean-Baptiste d’Avrange. 

It has monumental stucco alabaster Rococo sculpture Fall of the Angels (1782) by sculptor Karl Georg Merville.

  It represents a cloudburst of angels and cherubs, falling from the ceiling towards the ground. It was the last major Baroque work completed in Vienna. 

The centerpiece of the high altar is Maria Candida, a Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary,  

This is Staircase to Heaven sculpture! NICE!

Most people don't make it to the other included attraction Imperial Furniture Collection as it's not near by. The pamphlet they give with the Sisis ticket clearly mentions address and metro station for all included attractions, VERY HELPFUL!

We made it there and again got guided by locals from the metro station. It was TERRIFIC!

Imperial Furniture Collection:

On display at the museum (1070 Vienna, Andreasgasse 7, U3 station Zieglergasse).is a unique exhibition of furniture ranging from the Baroque to Biedermeier, Historicism, the Vienna Modernist movement and contemporary Austrian furniture design. 

A specially dedicated Sis(s)i Path leads you through the exhibition "Sissi in the movie - Imperial Furniture for the set".

This is the carriage seat of emperors

Wheelchair of Queen

Coral and ivory chess pieces

This is Mother of pearl

It had been a very satisfying day; I've 100s more pics of terrific furniture, I'll give the link later

Our next post on Melk, Durnstein, Wachau valley is here:

https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2017/12/vienna-trip-report-day-9-day-trip-to.html

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