Schloss Schönbrunn

Schönbrunn was the Habsburgs’ summer residence on the western edge of Vienna. The estate goes back to a 16th-century imperial hunting ground; the palace took its present form in the 18th century under Maria Theresa, when it became the centre of court life, and its gardens rise behind it to the Gloriette on the hill. Since 1996 the palace and gardens have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For the Vienna Philharmonic it is an outdoor stage: since 2004 the orchestra has given its Summer Night Concert each June in the palace park, with the podium set in the Baroque gardens and the palace and Gloriette as the backdrop. Admission is free, and the concert draws a very large crowd on the lawns and a television audience around the world.