| 1842 print PALMENHAUS, SCHLOSS SCHÖNBRUNN, VIENNA, AUSTRIA (26) |
Nice print titled Serres chaudes a Schonbrunn, from steel engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring, approx. image size is 14 x 9 cm. Print was published in a volume in series L'Univers Pittoresque. Histoire et Description de Tous les Peuples, de leurs Religions, Moeurs, Coutumes, Industries.
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Schönbrunn, Schloss,
Rococo-style 1,440-room summer palace of the Habsburgs in Vienna. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach's first design for the building, meant to rival France's Palace of Versailles, was done in 1690. A second, somewhat less ornate, plan, however, dating from 1695-96 was adopted, and the palace was finished by 1711.
It was first modified in 1737 by Johann's son Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach and again in 1744 by Nikolaus Pacassi. The formal gardens were originally laid out c. 1705-06 by Jean-Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey and from 1765 were redesigned by Ferdinand von Hohenberg. Schönbrunn Tiergarten, perhaps the oldest zoo in Europe, was founded within the grounds in 1752. The entire park complex, open to the public since 1918, covers more than 2 sq km (3/4 sq mi).
Palmenhaus Schönbrunn
The Palmenhaus Schönbrunn is a large greenhouse in Vienna, Austria, featuring plants from around the world. It was opened in 1882. It is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in Schönbrunn Palace Park, and is also among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world, with around 4,500 plant species.
History
Several forerunners were built in the Palace Park in the 18th and 19th centuries, under Emperors Francis I and Joseph II. The present building was opened in 1882, under Franz Joseph I. Since 1918 it has been run by the Bundesgärten (Federal Gardens).
A heavy bomb attack on Schönbrunn Palace in February 1945 destroyed most of the glazing of the Palmenhaus. Many plants died, although some were saved by being transferred to the nearby Sonnenuhrhaus. The rebuilding began in 1948, and the Palmenhaus was reopened in 1953.
The building was closed to the public in 1976 as a safety measure following the collapse of the Reichsbrücke. Renovations were carried out between 1986 and 1990.
Architecture
Built of steel, the Palmenhaus is 111 metres long, 28 metres wide and 25 metres high, and has 45,000 glass tiles. There are annexes on the north and south sides, serving as a coldhouse and a hothouse respectively.
Notable features
- The oldest plant by some distance is a
roughly 350-year-old olive tree donated by Spain in 1974.
- A wollemia, a so-called "living fossil" species,
discovered in 1994. This one is on permanent loan from the
Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna and is one of the
few to be cultivated outside Australia.
- A coco de mer, donated by the Seychelles in 1990 and not
expected to blossom for around 50 to 100 years.
- A victoria waterlily, which blossomed in 2001 for the first
time in more than 40 years.
- The centre of the building has traditionally been the location
for the tallest plant. The current centrepiece, planted in 2008,
is a Livistona chinensis known as the "Mirna palm"
after the Austrian swimmer Mirna Jukić.
- Other notable collections include the azaleas and the
cyatheales.
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