Palmenhaus Schönbrunn
Encyclopedia
The Palmenhaus Schönbrunn is a large greenhouse in Vienna
, Austria
, featuring plants from around the world. It was opened in 1882. It is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in Schönbrunn Palace Park
, and is also among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world, with around 4,500 plant species.
and Joseph II
. The present building was opened in 1882, under Franz Joseph I
. Since 1918 it has been run by the Bundesgärten (Federal Gardens).
A heavy bomb attack
on Schönbrunn Palace in February 1945 destroyed most of the glazing of the Palmenhaus. Many plants died, although some were saved by being transferred to the nearby Sonnenuhrhaus
. The rebuilding began in 1948, and the Palmenhaus was reopened in 1953.
The building was closed to the public in 1976 as a safety measure following the collapse of the Reichsbrücke. Renovations were carried out between 1986 and 1990.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, featuring plants from around the world. It was opened in 1882. It is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in Schönbrunn Palace Park
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
, and is also among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world, with around 4,500 plant species.
History
Several forerunners were built in the Palace Park in the 18th and 19th centuries, under Emperors Francis IFrancis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
and Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. The present building was opened in 1882, under Franz Joseph I
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
. Since 1918 it has been run by the Bundesgärten (Federal Gardens).
A heavy bomb attack
Bombing of Vienna in World War II
The city of Vienna in Austria was bombed fifty-two times during World War II, and 87,000 houses of the city were lost . Only 41 civilian vehicles survived the raids, more than 3,000 bomb craters were counted...
on Schönbrunn Palace in February 1945 destroyed most of the glazing of the Palmenhaus. Many plants died, although some were saved by being transferred to the nearby Sonnenuhrhaus
Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn
The Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn is a desert botanical exhibit in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Sonnenuhrhaus , which was built in 1904 as the newest of the four botanical houses in Schönbrunn Palace Park...
. The rebuilding began in 1948, and the Palmenhaus was reopened in 1953.
The building was closed to the public in 1976 as a safety measure following the collapse of the Reichsbrücke. Renovations were carried out between 1986 and 1990.
Architecture
Built of steel, the Palmenhaus is 111 metres long, 28 metres wide and 25 metres high, and has 45,000 glass tiles. There are annexes on the north and south sides, serving as a coldhouse and a hothouse respectively.Notable features
- The oldest plant by some distance is a roughly 350-year-old olive treeOliveThe olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
donated by SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1974. - A wollemia, a so-called "living fossil" species, discovered in 1994. This one is on permanent loan from the Botanical Garden of the University of ViennaBotanical Garden of the University of ViennaThe Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna is a botanical garden in Vienna, Austria. It covers 8 hectares and is immediately adjacent to the Belvedere gardens....
and is one of the few to be cultivated outside AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - A coco de merCoco de merThe Coco de Mer , the sole member of the genus Lodoicea, is a palm endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It formerly also was found on St Pierre, Chauve-Souris and Ile Ronde in the Seychelles group, but has become extinct on these islands...
, donated by the SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
in 1990 and not expected to blossom for around 50 to 100 years. - A victoria waterlilyVictoria (waterlily)Victoria is a genus of water lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, with very large green leaves that float on the water's surface. Victoria amazonica has a leaf that is up to 3 m in diameter, on a stalk 7–8 m in length...
, which blossomed in 2001 for the first time in more than 40 years. - The centre of the building has traditionally been the location for the tallest plant. The current centrepiece, planted in 2008, is a Livistona chinensisLivistonaLivistona is a genus of 36 species of palms , native to southern and southeastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa...
known as the "Mirna palm" after the Austrian swimmer Mirna JukićMirna JukicMirna Jukić is an retired former Austrian swimmer of Croatian origin who won a bronze medal in both short course and long course at the world championships in swimming. She is trained by her father Željko Jukić, a former basketball player...
. - Other notable collections include the azaleaAzaleaAzaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s and the cyathealesCyathealesThe order Cyatheales is a taxonomic division of the fern subclass, Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicates that the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth...
.
See also
- Wüstenhaus SchönbrunnWüstenhaus SchönbrunnThe Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn is a desert botanical exhibit in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Sonnenuhrhaus , which was built in 1904 as the newest of the four botanical houses in Schönbrunn Palace Park...
(Desert House), featuring succulent plants and desert fauna, located in the nearby Sonnenuhrhaus. - There is another Palmenhaus in the Vienna Burggarten.
External links
Further reading
- Gerhard Deimel, Kurt Vogl and Ingrid Gregor: Palast der Blüten – Das Schönbrunner Palmenhaus, Holzhausen, Vienna, 2002, ISBN 3-85493-052-6.