| This painting shows the family of Emperor Franz II (I) in the park at Laxenburg with the Franzensburg in the back-ground. Begun in 1798, this knight’s castle resembled a Gothic fortress and was intended to form the centrepiece of a separate section of the park extending eastwards over land that had been acquired especially for this purpose. Franz II (I) ordered its appearance to be based on the Swiss castle of Habsburg. Spolia from all over the empire were collected as building materials, including for example parts of the famous Capella Speziosa in Klosterneub-urg. The interiors of the Franzensburg – the name by which this building quickly became known – were decorated in appropriately chivalric manner. |
 |
|
|
|
