Palais Augarten

The Palais Augarten is a baroque palace in the Viennese district of Leopoldstadt. Despite extensive damage from the Second World War, the palace has been maintained almost in its original appearance, and many of the original furnishings can still be found there.

The Palais Augarten is especially well-known as the home and rehearsal space of the world-famous Vienna Boys' Choir, who also have their own school there.

When, in 1712, Emperor Charles VI hired the landscape gardener Jean Trehet to redesign the baroque park of the Augarten in the French style, many palaces were built on the grounds. The largest of these palaces had been built earlier, towards the end of the seventeenth century, by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach for the councilor Zacharias Leeb. In 1780 this palace came into the possession of Emperor Joseph II. Until the beginning of the twentieth century it remained in the possession of the Habsburg family. During this period, and especially in the nineteenth century, many balls were held in the palace, and a salon was opened. Among the guests at that time were Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Hans Makart.

The greatest ball in the Palais Augarten took place on the occasion of the Viennese World's Fair of 1873; among the guests were Emperor Francis Joseph I and Czar Alexander II of Russia. In 1897 the palace was significantly remodelled for the family of Archduke Otto, the nephew of Emperor Francis Joseph.

From 1934 to 1936 the palace was inhabited by the Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg. During the Second World War, the estate was badly damaged, but after the war it was completely restored. In 1948 it was given to the Vienna Boys' Choir. The porcelain manufacture Augarten Porzellan is also located there. Today the palace, along with the rest of the Augarten, is in the possession of the state of Austria.