Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Crossing the Danube in the steps of Marcus Aurelius to visit to the newly-restored Baroque Garden and Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the highly successful general of the Imperial Austrian Army.

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Usually I would avoid another photographer’s shoot but these guys made this shot!

Ziesel, Schloß Hof, Austria

This is a Ziesel (rhymes with diesel), one of the permanent residents of the Schloß Hof estate.

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Schloß Hof, Austria

Visit  to the newly-restored Baroque Garden and Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, on high ground in the Marchfeld, the marshlands near the Danube downstream from Vienna and close to the border between Austria and Slovakia.
To my eye, the parterres, and formal gardens of Schloß Hof laid out in 1725 by architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, echo and surpass the palaces at Versailles and Fontainebleau, and must have been specifically intended to cock a snoot at the Bourbon French, whose armies Prince Eugene vanquished on several occasions.
The site slopes towards the Danube and takes advantage of a diverted stream to power the cascades and fountains. This is the first summer that the whole of the gardens have been open to the public, following an extensive and detailed restoration project. The palace was used by the Austrian military for many years but the chapel, dining hall and many of the formal rooms are in relatively original condition, including the suite of rooms used by Maria Theresa in her retirement.
Prince Eugene of Savoy was a General and eventually the highly successful military commander of the Imperial Austrian army in many battles from the Siege of Vienna (1683) onwards, principally against the Grand Vizier, Kara Mustafa Pasha of the Ottoman Empire but also the Bourbon French. Prince Eugene was rewarded handsomely by the Holy Roman Emperors whom he served, Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI, and he became the richest man in Austria. Prince Eugene bought land to build his retirement home, which became Schloß Hof.
We crossed the Danube at Hainberg near the Roman legionary fortress of Carnuntum, said to be the same crossing as used by Marcus Aurelius for his punitive expedition to Thracia in about 169 AD.
The layered chocolate and orange küchen is the Schloß Hof version of Prinz Eugen torte, also on offer was Esterházy torte, layered and looking similar to a millefeuille in France.