Sometimes the “touristy” thing to do is more authentic than you might think, for example at a concert in Schönbrunn Palace’s Orangery.
- Historic 18th-century venue
- Performances feature Strauss and Mozart highlights
- Book a concert experience* at the palace
- …look for dinner, tour & Xmas market add ons
- Sometimes shift location to inside the palace itself
- See also:
The concert venue
(A spring party on a winter’s day in the Schönbrunn Orangery on Feb 6th, 1785; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 179092, published by Johann Hieronymus Löschenkohl; reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
Sometime in the mid-18th century, someone decided that what the massive Schönbrunn palace complex needed was a place to grow oranges (we’ve all felt the same at one time or another).
And so they built the Schönbrunn orangery.
This was no small greenhouse. Its glassed arches stretched along a length of 189m, for example. Given the beautiful vaulted interior and warmth, the Orangery also made a wonderful venue to hold parties.
Of course, your average imperial party needed music.
Mozart’s opera The Impresario (German: Der Schauspieldirektor) premiered, for example, at one such festivity under Emperor Joseph II in 1786.
Such an arrangement was far from unusual. Historically, the nobility and aristocracy often put on musical events for private audiences in their Vienna homes.
Beethoven’s 3rd symphony, for example, premiered at the palatial townhouse of Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz. This was in the days before Vienna had such major public concert venues as the Konzerthaus or Musikverein.
The music
Fast forward almost 250 years and one enterprising company has reestablished this in-house concert tradition at the Schönbrunn home of the imperial Habsburg family: Mozart’s music drifts across the (fully-restored) Orangery once again.
Concerts typically feature highlights from Mozart’s repertoire of operatic and other compositions, followed by the best that the Strauss dynasty has to offer…all performed by the Schönbrunn orchestra or ensemble.
And, if you’re concerned about what to wear on such an occasion, I have some tips for you.
Tickets & visitor tips
Purchase your tickets and packages for the Schönbrunn orangery concerts on site or online from specialist ticket providers.
Note that on rare occasions, the concert shifts to alternative historical rooms in the palace itself.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
(Nothing on your dates? Try some alternative concerts*)
During the Schönbrunn Christmas market, you can purchase a special ticket* that combines concert attendance with food, drink & mug vouchers for the gastronomic stands at what is one of Vienna’s best seasonal markets.
The palace complex also offers much more than “just” a historical concert venue.
Consider the palace tour (pick the Grand alternative if you take a self-guided option: much more to see for a small upgrade price). A tour also takes you into the room where (probably) Mozart performed for the Empress when he was but a mere child.
Aside from the palace tour, you have the gardens and park, the zoo, and a whole host of other sights and entertainments.
You can make a day of it there; start with a slice of cake for breakfast and end with a slice of musical culture in the orangery…and possibly another slice of cake, because why not?
And Schönbrunn does have another concert option for you, which happens to be free to attend. Unfortunately, the summer night concert by the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra only takes place once a year.
How to get to the venue
See the detailed article on How to get to Schönbrunn. Reaching the venue is remarkably easy.
Once you leave the subway at the U4 station called Schönbrunn (the clue is in the name), take the western exit, which is the direction of the train if you’re coming from the centre of town. You come out pretty much opposite the Orangery entrance.
Address: Schönbrunner Schlossstraße 47, 1130 Vienna | Website (for concerts)