Hofburg Palace

Why the Hofburg Palace is special
A fair portion of Europe was ruled for over six centuries (1279-1918) from Vienna's Hofburg Palace, the winter residence of the royal Habsburg family.

Hofburg Palace tips and insights
How the Hofburg Palace evolved
It began as a modest-sized 13th century fortified castle. Succeeding emperors added and enlarged structures. Today the Hofburg Palace is a huge, sprawling complex of buildings.

What to see at the Hofburg Palace
You can visit only a small fraction of the 2,600 rooms. The others are mainly used as offices for the Austrian President and 5,000 governmental workers.

The ones you can visit are quite interesting and include:

• Chapel
  Where the renowned Vienna Boys Choir sings Sunday Mass.
  
• Library
  One of the most photogenic libraries on earth.
  
• Museums
  Many focuses: Musical instruments, weaponry, ethnology, and a host of other special-interest fields.
  
• Royal apartments
  The luxurious residence and state rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth.
  
• Spanish Riding School
  The celebrated white Lipizzaner horses perform here.
  
• Silver collection
  Dining table items (more interesting than it sounds).
  
• Treasury
  Showcases precious jewels, historical crowns, and other items accumulated through the centuries by the Habsburg rulers.
  

The most popular tour takes you to the Royal Apartments, Silver Collection, and Treasury.

Hofburg's summer residence
Click Schonbrunn Palace to read my web page on it.

Location in Austria