The Garden Palace in Vienna’s present-day Rossau district was constructed during the reign of Prince Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein (1657-1712), who was one of the greatest builders of his day. He also oversaw the construction of castles and palaces in Feldsberg (Valtice), Eisgrub (Lednice), Aussee, Sternberg, Landskron, Prague, Plumenau (Plumlov), Butschowitz (Bucovice) and Kolodej.

The thorough renovation of the Garden Palace, begun in 2001 and by now largely completed, was conceived from the outset with the return of a significant portion of the Princely Collections from Vaduz in mind. With the opening of the LIECTHTENSTEIN MUSEUM on 28 March 2004, a long-held dream of the Princely Family became a reality.

From the late 17th century onwards, gardens became a major object of princely interest. As a consequence, they also came to play a significant role in both economic and artistic life.

Prince Johann Adam Andreas I, who built the Garden Palace, dreamed of decorating the entire building with a continuous scheme of frescos by Bolognese artists. Yet his first choice, Marcantonio Franceschini (1648–1729), with whom many letters were exchanged, disappointed his would-be patron. He could not be persuaded to travel to Vienna to execute the frescos himself.

Even though Prince Johann Adam Andreas I failed in his attempt to attract Marcantonio Franceschini to Vienna to paint his frescos, he was eventually able to persuade him to produce almost all of the oil paintings required for the palace.

The stuccowork throughout the palace has been preserved in a uniquely complete state. It was crafted by Santino Bussi (1664–1736), who placed his signature on the stuccoed collar of a dog parading a hunting trophy on the ground floor. The interior is undoubtedly one of Vienna’s finest examples of high baroque stucco decor.

Since April 2006 the now fully restored stairways of the Liechtenstein summer palace are again open to the public. During the course of restoration work on the palace the frescos by Johann Michael Rottmayr in the two stairways were rediscovered. After long and through consideration, Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein decided to have these frescos, which are of major art-historical importance, restored and the missing portions reconstructed.