{"id":141,"date":"2015-08-19T10:41:18","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T08:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=141"},"modified":"2025-04-14T16:52:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T15:52:43","slug":"palmhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/palmhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Palmenhaus at Sch\u00f6nbrunn"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/palmhousesmall.jpg\" alt=\"Trees and branches\" class=\"wp-image-15767\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/palmhousesmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/palmhousesmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Palmenhaus in the Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace park is a giant palm house with the kind of shrubs and trees you&#8217;d expect from a monumental glasshouse managed by the experts of the Austrian Federal Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Built in 1882 under Emperor Franz Joseph<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Around 111m long, 28m wide and 25m high<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes a tropical section with various fruit trees<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Often decorated with colourful flower displays<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take all the paths inside for little surprises<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a Sch\u00f6nbrunn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/schonbrunn-palace-tickets-l145516\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LGSchPalVenue\" rel=\"sponsored\">concert, tour &amp; more<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn tickets &amp; visitor info<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"inside-the-palm-house\">Inside the palm house<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"353\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/palmhouse.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/palmhouse.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/palmhouse-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Sch\u00f6nbrunn palm house as shown on this section of a postcard from around 1898 manufactured by C. Ledermann jun.; Sammlung Wien Museum; reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of its 1882 construction, the Sch\u00f6nbrunn palm house was the largest of its kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to newspaper reports, Emperor Franz Joseph visited the new building at 2pm on June 17th of that year for a tour led by, among others, architect Franz Segenschmid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The builders &#8211; Firma Ignaz Gridl &#8211; survive today, albeit under a different name: Waagner Biro bought up the original company in 1934 and helped repair, for example, the roof of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"294\">Stephansdom cathedral<\/a> in Vienna&#8217;s city centre after WWII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company still contributes to iconic buildings, such as the roof of the Louvre Abu Dhabi or the dome of London&#8217;s &#8220;Gherkin&#8221;. They even renovated some of the stage systems at Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/opera\/staatsoper\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1071\">State Opera House<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather aptly, Waagner Biro also helped with the Sch\u00f6nbrunn palm house&#8217;s renovation back in 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Find tickets and experience options for the palace and zoo)<\/p><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"venue\" data-content-ids=\"145516,141990\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_SchPal\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After you pass through the main entrance, you find yourself in the middle section (the largest) consisting of a temperate, Mediterranean climate with suitable specimens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go to the right to eventually reach the tropical section at one end of the building. Or go left to eventually reach the &#8220;cold&#8221; section at the other end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The huge palms that give the building its name dominate that first central part. The federal garden service usually enhances the trees and shrubs with pot plants around a theme or exhibition topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So a blaze of colour might well greet you as you walk in through the entrance and throughout the building; on my visit one May, hydrangeas and lilies popped up everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to explore the paths leading off toward the sides of the building; they reveal such mini delights as a carnivorous plant section (featuring a selection of the hundreds of &#8220;flesh-eating&#8221; plants in the wider collection maintained by the authorities).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"288\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/palmenhaus1910.jpg\" alt=\"1910 watercolour of the inside of the Sch\u00f6nbrunn glasshouse\" class=\"wp-image-70846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/palmenhaus1910.jpg 288w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/palmenhaus1910-192x300.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A view inside the Palmenhaus on a postcard from around 1910, as painted by Rudolf Konopa and produced by Br\u00fcder Kohn KG (B. K. W. I.); Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 157487; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The real highlights grow in the tropical section. For example (on my last visit):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Two plants with absolutely enormous leaves: a Lodoicea palm (Coco de Mer) and <em>Ravenala madagascariensis<\/em> (the Traveler&#8217;s Palm)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Various names you recognise, but may never have seen outside the supermarket shelves, such as banana, lychee, fig, cacao, star fruit, papaya and oil palm trees as well as the vanilla orchid<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The English names did not appear on plant labels on my last visit, so take your botanical dictionary with you (or a smartphone).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets-visitor-tips\">Tickets &amp; visitor tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of writing, a standard adult ticket cost \u20ac9, with the palm house opening daily all through the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Frequent seats and benches mean you can sit down and enjoy the atmosphere immersed in tropical greenery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The tropical section is warm and wet: watch your camera when taking photos upwards as drops of water fall down regularly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It won&#8217;t take much more than 30 minutes to get around, even if you dawdle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you visit and like your hothouse botany, you might also consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/butterfly-house\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2664\">Butterfly House<\/a> in central Vienna&#8217;s Hofburg complex and Burggarten park (not huge but has gorgeous butterflies)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The palm house at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/hirschstetten\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34465\">Hirschstetten<\/a> (smaller than the Sch\u00f6nbrunn version and a bit out of the way, though the surrounding gardens have a lot to offer, too, including animals)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Since you&#8217;re practically next door to it, spare a moment for Sch\u00f6nbrunn&#8217;s small <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/japanesegarden\/\">Japanese garden<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The palm house also sits opposite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/wuestenhaus\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"170\">desert house<\/a> and just up from the famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/vienna-zoo\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn zoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, of course, all of this is embedded in the wider Sch\u00f6nbrunn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/gardens-park\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"15260\">park and landscaped gardens<\/a>, which has other exotic plant varieties to see, for example in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/orangery-2\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"15245\">1754 orangery<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-get-to-the-palm-house\">How to get to the palm house<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just go to the article with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/gettingthere\/\">directions to Sch\u00f6nbrunn<\/a> and follow the instructions given under the section, &#8220;Hietzing station&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Schlosspark Sch\u00f6nbrunn, 1130 Vienna | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bundesgaerten.at\/schlosspark-schoenbrunn\/das-grosse-palmenhaus.html\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1oN2SutdbrqOx-JViFyKk3v-X_Kw\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Palmenhaus in the Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace park is a giant palm house with the kind of shrubs and trees you&#8217;d expect from a monumental glasshouse managed by the experts of the Austrian Federal Gardens. Inside the palm house (The Sch\u00f6nbrunn palm house as shown on this section of a postcard from around 1898 manufactured by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-schonbrunn","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82309,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions\/82309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}