Schlosspark Schönborn

Schloss Schönborn stands south-east of Göllersdorf in Lower Austria, 25 kilometres north of Vienna. A Baroque three-wing palace, it replaced a medieval fortress called Mihlberg. Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt designed the new building between 1712 and 1717 for Friedrich Carl Graf von Schönborn, then Reich Vice-Chancellor in Vienna. The architect also laid out the surrounding park, an Orangerie and a chapel. Today the palace houses a prison, but the park remains in private hands. The park covers about 104 hectares and is recognised as an important Austrian garden monument. It contains a Johannes-Nepomuk chapel by Hildebrandt and a pavilion decorated with frescoes by Jonas Drentwett. Maximilian von Welsch collaborated on the landscape design. The layout echoes the grand French model of Versailles, with terraces and avenues radiating from the palace. Visitors walk beneath ancient trees and past the remains of the old Mühlburg foundations. Paths lead to the Orangerie, a rectangular ensemble of single-storey buildings arranged around two courtyards. The pavilion once held exotic plants in winter. A Fasanerie and hunting grounds once supplied game for the owner’s table. The park still offers long shaded walks and distant views over the Marchfeld plain.