Before refrigeration and container shipping, fruits like oranges were a big deal. And tropical trees an even bigger one. A properly-stocked glasshouse, like the Schönbrunn Orangery, stood out as a mark of wealth and prestige.
- Remarkably-long orangery
- Built in 1754
- Home to exotic (for Austria) plants
- Also a vineyard and rare apple varieties
- 2026 season: Mar 27 – Nov 2
- Also hosts concerts & events (all year)
- Book a Schönbrunn concert, tour & more*
- See also:
Orangery and garden
(Schönbrunn Palace orangery garden; press photo © Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur und Betriebsges.m.b.H., Alexander Eugen Koller)
Emperor Franz I Stephan, husband of Empress Maria Theresa, left quite a legacy in Vienna.
Franz’s curiosity and scientific interest laid the foundations for many of the city’s globally-important museal collections, such as the Natural History Museum.
And it was during the couple’s reign that Schönbrunn’s Orangery appeared in 1754.
Its purpose? To offer a winter home for a growing collection of potted plants from around the world, but particularly the ornamental, crop, and citrus plants from the Mediterranean.
Think of the Orangery as an Olympic-sized glasshouse, with whitewashed stone walls, underground heating, huge arches and, of course, plenty of windows.
(The composer Anton Salieri performed at events in the Orangery. As did Mozart. Print by Heinrich Eduard von Wintter from 1815; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. W 5671; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
Second only to the Orangery at Versailles in length, the accessible west part of the 189m building still houses exotic plants today. The summer sees the collection move out into the Orangery garden, which turns into an open-air botanical display case.
Great towering palm trees rub shoulders with figs, pomegranates and other exotics, such as the Illawara Flame Tree. The trees and shrubs often seem impossibly large for their pots.
The east part of the building finds use as a venue, hosting regular palace concerts that hark back to the days of Mozart and Strauss.
The orangery made an excellent party location back then, and the Emperor no doubt felt better about drunk aristocrats spilling red wine in an “outbuilding” rather than on the precious inlaid floors of the actual palace. Vienna features many classical concerts in such historical locations.
(Find tickets and experience options for the palace and zoo)
You might find other events in the orangery, too, such as Vienna Citrus Days.
Last time I visited, the garden area also featured a small vineyard, which was new but harks back to baroque predecessors on the same site. Vienna actually has a long winemaking tradition.
A growing collection of rare apple varieties adjoined those vines; the trees sported such splendid names as the Steierische Schafsnase (Styrian sheep’s nose).
I felt a flare of delight at seeing English varieties included, particularly one from my old home county (Schöner von Wiltshire – Wiltshire beauty: not a description ever applied to me) and the London Pepping, whose heritage dates back as far as 1580.
Tickets & visitor tips
The Orangery garden and west end only opens in the warmer months. The 2026 season runs from March 27th to November 2nd.
Those Orangery concerts continue through the year, however, usually with a range of packages that can include dinner or a tour of the main palace.
Schönbrunn offers various ticket options for seeing the gardens (when open) and snatching a peek into the public part of the building: consider a relevant combination pass for the palace.
Last season, Schönbrunn actually had a special gardens ticket, which also included the Gloriette viewing platform, the privy garden and the mazes.
Although the biggest, Schönbrunn’s version is not the only palace orangery in Vienna.
Lower Belvedere palace, for example, has its own (smaller) equivalent. However, the only plants you ever find inside come in painted form: the building serves as one of the venues for Belvedere’s special art exhibitions.
Getting to the Orangery
Once you’ve found Schönbrunn, stand outside the main tour entrance to the palace on the left side of the building as you face it.
Now look left.
Go down that road, under the arch, past the privy gardens on your right, and on past the Marionette Theatre on your left. The entrance to the Orangery is just after the theatre.