Under the French occupation, in 1805 and 1809, Schoenbrunn Palace was Napoleon's headquarters. It was there he signed the treaty that was named after the palace on October 14, 1809. 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.
Schoenbrunn is where their son, the King of Rome, was sent after the Fall of the Empire. He who became Duke of Reichstadt was to spend the remaining years of his life in this “golden cage”. He died aged 21 on July 22, 1832, in the room that had been his father's.
At 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. 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.
Amid 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. This room, in which his son, the Duke of Reichstadt, breathed his last breath, is decorated with paneling and tapestries from 18th century Brussels. In 1948, the former library was turned into a museum commemorating the Duke. A painting by Sales portrays him aged five when he arrived in Vienna. 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.
A great many parades, especially of the Imperial Guard, were held in the yard next to the garden. That is where a young Austrian, Frederick Staps, tried assassinating Napoleon on October 12, 1809.
The Wagenburg, on the right hand side of the palace, is the current museum of the Imperial Coaches. The ceremonial berlin built by Jacquin in 1805 for Napoleon's coronation in Italy is kept there alongside the phaeton of the King of Rome that was given to him by his aunt Caroline Murat. It was pulled by a team of two white sheep especially trained at Franconi Circus to perform this task.
Schoenbrunn Palace
