SCHONBRUNN, Tour Of The Ceremonial Rooms

The Yellow Salon, with its Rococo style, is the first of the rooms that were used for official or family ceremonies. Observe the paintings of children hanging on the walls, which are also present in the subsequent Balcony Room: the former are portraits of children of bourgeois origin, while the latter are the children of Maria Theresa and Francis I.

You can admire some amazing white and gold stucco work in the adjacent Hall of Mirrors, made to appear even larger by the reflections produced by the huge glass mirrors. This room was used for concerts held for a just a small number of selected guests. This opulent setting, however, is but a foretaste of what awaits you in the Great Gallery: you'll find it after the three Rosa Rooms, named after the artist Joseph Rosa, who painted the bucolic canvases on display, and after the Lantern Room, where servants waited for royal members, to guide them through the darkness with their lanterns.

Now press pause, and press play again when you reach the Great Gallery.

It’s impressive, isn’t it? This huge Rococo-style hall, forty meters long and ten meters wide, is undoubtedly deserving of its name: just imagine the balls, receptions and banquets that were once held here, amid the glass mirrors and high windows, under the ceiling frescoed by the Italian artist Guglielmini, illuminated by the 140 candles placed on the two large gilded wooden chandeliers...

The next few rooms are a little less lavish. As you continue, you’ll encounter: the Carousel Room and the Horses Room, named after the subjects of the paintings on the walls; the Small Gallery, overlooking the park, and the commanding Hall of Ceremonies, where, among the monumental paintings depicting the wedding of the heir to the throne Joseph to Isabella of Parma, you can see the famous portrait of Maria Theresa depicted as "the first lady of Europe".

If you have a ticket for the Grand Tour, continue your visit with the apartments of Maria Theresa and Francis I.

An interesting fact: These magnificent halls have obviously been the scene of historical events! In the Hall of Mirrors, for example, Mozart performed for the first time when he was just six years old, while in the Great Gallery, a legendary meeting between Presidents Kennedy and Khrushchev took place in 1961.