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Emperor Leopold I, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, commissioned a hunting lodge at Schönbrunn ("Beautiful Fountain") on Vienna's outskirts in 1695. What was surprising was the grandiosity of his vision: He ordered Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the greatest architect of the Baroque Era, to design a palace larger than Versailles. Fortunately for the Austrian Treasury, the emperor balked when the architect's estimate came in, and the Habsburg family settled for a more modest dwelling with only 1,441 rooms. |
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Schönbrunn Palace is one of Vienna's most popular attractions, receiving some 1.3 million visitors a year.
Millions of people -Viennese citizens as well as tourists-explore the surrounding gardens and Schönbrunn's other attractions, which include a zoo, the Palm House, the Gloriette, a coach museum, cafés, restaurants, classical-music concerts in the Orangerie, a theatre, catered and the inevitable gift shop. |
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