Welcome to Schonbrunn Palace, which translates to "beautiful spring." It's one of the biggest tourist attractions in Vienna, and deservedly so. The tourists simply mob the place when it is open. Happily, there's a lot of space available.
The royal family bought the land way back in 1569, and used it as a hunting and recreation area for a century. Eventually, the first structure was placed on it, and the another followed, and ... before we knew it, the palace with more than 1,400 rooms popped up. When the Habsburg monarchy lost its job in 1918 at the end of World War I, the space was purchased by the Austrian Republic and turned into a museum. Still, the odd special event pops up. Remember when Kennedy and Khrushchev met in Vienna in 1961? It was right here.
The building is over the top, of course - along the lines of Versailles. Like the French equivalent, the gardens are truly huge and magnificent. I chose to use a photo of the main area of the latter here. Summer concerts are given here, which must be terrific.
You probably want to see the rest of the place by now.
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