On New Year's Eve 2006 our son Stefan took this photo of the Schönbrunn Palace, from the top of the Gloriette.
Here is a link to another photo (an older one) of the Schönbrunn Palace, this time with Stefan!
This is how Canaletto saw Schönbrunn in 1759/61. The original is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Actually, the painter was called Bernardo Bellotto. His uncle, his mother's brother, was the already famous Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), to our confusion also called Canaletto.
In the background you can see Vienna with St. Stephen's Cathedral surrounded by the city wall..
Directly in front of the castle you will find a fountain at the picture; you won't find it today..
Gardeners are eager at work, yesterday as well as today. Instead of hedges, trees are now forming the the lateral conclusion of the large parterre and the many litte boxwood trees, in row and member no longer exist. But the todays statues of the Greek mythology are missing in the picture.
The fashion has changed and instead of the strolling court society now Tourists populate the plant.
Canaletto also painted the castle from the courtyard side. For comparison, click with the mouse on the picture to see what it looks like today.
In the castle park there are about 40 statues from Greek mythology, as an example a picture of Perseus with the Gorgonian head.
If you are interested in the adventurous saga of Perseus filmed by Hollywood, you will find a link here to DANAE. Perseus is a demigod, Danae and Zeus are the parents.
In the winter panorama photo (taken from Neptun Fountain in January 2011) you can see many of these statues. On the far right is Paris with the apple.
This "beautiful fountain" (Schöner Brunnen) gave its name to the park and the castle. It was renovated in 2014.
