Schönbrunn Palace – a side of Austrian culture

Schönbrunn Palace is one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria; the palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

In the 19th century, Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria spent the majority of his life there. Through the course of his 68-years reign, Schönbrunn Palace was seen as a “Gesamtkunstwerk” (total work of art) and remodelled in accordance with its history.

As you may see in these photographs the western part of  Schönbrunn, turned into English garden style and, lining the Great Parterre, some of the 32 sculptures which are allegories of deities and virtues.

Open-air musician in Vienna

The Viennese Festival Weeks, founded in 1927, is a cultural festival that takes place annually for 5 weeks in May and June. However, open-air concerts may be found all-year round in places such as Schönbrunn Palace Gardens and performers like the one I captured in the photograph below may be admired on sunny days.

Tulips and magnolia of Salzburg

Salzburg’s “Old Town” is world famous for its baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. The city is noted for its Alpine setting and is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

I took these photographs at the wide gardens full of flowers from Palace of Mirabell.

Magnolia is also a very common view in Salzburg, enriching the beauty of old town streets or small house gardens.

Innsbruck – the bridge over the Inn

Innsbruck, located in the Inn Valley, is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria.

As shown in these pictures, the valley is surrounded by high mountains, namely the Nordkette (Hafelekar, 2,334 m) in the north, Patscherkofel (2,246 m) and Serles (2,718 m) in the south.

The photos represent three views over the same scenery (the mountains and Innsbruck’s valley, zoomed out).