That is where a young Austrian, Frederick Staps, tried assassinating Napoleon on October 12, 1809. Beside his funeral mask, the visitor finds a touching souvenir: a small lark is presented in a glass cage: it was the child's only companion during its solitary existence at Schoenbrunn.Ī great many parades, especially of the Imperial Guard, were held in the yard next to the garden. A painting by Sales portrays him aged five when he arrived in Vienna.

In 1948, the former library was turned into a museum commemorating the Duke. This room, in which his son, the Duke of Reichstadt, breathed his last breath, is decorated with paneling and tapestries from 18th century Brussels. On the right hand side is the entrance to the theatre Napoleon had restored during his two stays at Schoenbrunn and where he saw many performances.Īmid the rooms of the palace is the room Napoleon occupied during both of his stays, on November 14 and 15, 1805, and from May to October 1809. He died aged 21 on July 22, 1832, in the room that had been his father's.Īt either side of the entrance leading into a huge courtyard there are two obelisks crowned by eagles which the Emperor is reported to have had erected. He who became Duke of Reichstadt was to spend the remaining years of his life in this “golden cage”. Schoenbrunn is where their son, the King of Rome, was sent after the Fall of the Empire. And this occupation was to last, since Napoleon allied himself with the Habsburg dynasty by marrying the Archduchess Marie-Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis I. It was there he signed the treaty that was named after the palace on October 14, 1809. Under the French occupation, in 18, Schoenbrunn Palace was Napoleon's headquarters.

Schonbrunn palace vienna austria