Großes Palmenhaus Schönbrunn - Sisi’s Plants on Show

1 day ago3 min read

This week we shall visit a very special museum that goes back over 140 years. Join us for a visit to the largest palm house in Europe, the Great Palm House that Emperor Franz Joseph I built in 1882.

The Grand Palm House at the Schönbrunn Castle in Vienna was the largest glasshouse in the world at the time of its opening in 1882 with a total area of 2,500m². It still is the largest of its kind in Europe, a 113 metres long, 28 metres wide and 25 metres high glass building made with prefabricated parts.

The Pavillon houses examples of the imperial plant collection in three houses, the warm house (18 °C), the temperate house (12 °C) and the cold house (6 °C). A steam heating system maintains the varying temperatures.

The core of the exotic plant collection, including the original fan palm, "Maria Theresa Palm" was bought in Holland in 1754. Thanks to the Habsburgs' passion for collecting, the greenhouse was extended with two wings and three additional glasshouses under Joseph II. These were later followed by two more buildings.

We shall visit the building that was received in different ways by the press, including the following exuberant, hymn-like report, such as "Wie lieb ich Euch Dächer, o gläserne Hülle, ihr berget des Erdenrunds Vielfalt und Fülle…" - or in English "How I love you roofs, o glass shell you shelter the earth's diversity and abundance..."

With the end of the monarchy, the Imperial and Royal Court Gardens became Federal Gardens. During WWI, the Palm House was used to grow vegetables and some of the income was paid to the "Support Fund for Needy Gardeners and Their Widows.” On 21 February 1945, more than 200 bombs fell on the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace breaking the glazing almost completely. The reconstruction began in 1948 with five wagon loads, 55 tons, of window putty used to install the 45,000 double panes of glass. The ceremonial opening took place in 1953 when the later-named Sisi Palm was placed in the centre of the house.

By 1976, the Palm House was closed to the public because the condition of the building had gone so bad. Even the gardeners were only allowed to work wearing protective helmets. After some serious political debates, a restoration was carried out in 1986 and following a significant structural renovation the house reopened in 1990.

The oldest plant in the house is an olive tree estimated to be at least 350 years old. It was as late as in 1994 that a rarity was found, the Wollemia nobilis or a "living fossil" that hardly met outside Australia. The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna received the plant in 2004 on permanent loan for its 250th anniversary - the first ever to be given abroad.

The house also has a Seychelles palm that was grown from one of the nuts that the Republic of the Seychelles gave as a gift when it reopened in 1990. The germination of the seed took around nine months, and it is expected to take 50 to 100 years for the palm to bloom for the first time.

The house is generally accessible. There is a step at the main entrance with a ramp. The floor can be wet and the natural earth paths difficult to move on in a wheel chair. It might be a good idea to visit with a friend.

There is no museum shop nor café but you might wish to check one of the several options around Schönbrunn Palace just next to the Palm House.