Schönbrunn: the gardens as an extension of the palace

Useful to know

Schönbrunn's palace and gardens form a Baroque ensemble associated with the Habsburg residence from the 18th century to 1918. UNESCO named the architects Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Nikolaus Pacasi and highlighted the richness of decorative art. The subject is described as an example of Gesamtkunstwerk - a combination of different arts in a common work. This is a useful framework when we want to understand why the building and gardens should not be viewed completely separately. [1]

The overall work does not mean that each part performs the same function. Architecture, decorative work and open space are involved by various means. The historical source places emphasis on their combination. [1] For our own reading, we can ask how to transition from interior to facade and from facade to garden. This question points to relationships instead of competition which part is the most richly decorated or most impressive of solo photography.

The plan of a palace ensemble can be considered first through the main directions. Then it is useful to see how these directions are experienced on a human level. Open perspective and close detail have a different role. One allows the general organization to be perceived, and the other slows down the view on a specific part. When we distinguish them, it becomes clearer why the large ensemble cannot be exhausted with either a general scheme or a series of rich interior shots.

The historical framework of the residence covers an extended period. [1] This is a reason not to attribute the entire visible complex to a single moment or to a single author. For a separate room, facade or garden area, there should be specific information. The general architectural text can explain the principle of the ensemble without inventing detailed dates. Accuracy is especially important in a place where generations of work come together in a seemingly unified representational image.

For observation, we can choose a transition between built and open space. We note what remains in the center of view and what appears in the periphery. Then we compare the opposite direction - a look from the garden to the building. Thus it becomes apparent that the facade is both a boundary of the palace space and a part of the landscape. It is not necessary to seek a symbolic explanation for each line in order to appreciate this interdependence of viewpoints.

Schönbrunn shows how representative architecture can be organized as a collaborative work of multiple arts and spaces. The historical context explains the resident function, and the architectural reading traces the connections. When the palace, the garden and the detail are seen as different levels of a common ensemble, the place becomes more understandable. It ceases to be only a large building with a beautiful park and reveals itself as a sequence of complementary solutions for movement, viewing and representation.