Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-02-08
THE HISTORIC sCHoENBR0NN.
Austria's Royal Palace the Scene of
Many Dramatic Events.

Austria's Royal Palace the Scene of
Many Dramatic Events.
Less than three miles southwest of
the Ringstrasse, which surrounds the
inner city of Vienna. is the impressive
pile of masonry known as Schoenbrunn,
where some Of the most dramatic cpl
sodes in the history of Austria have.
been staged and where Emperor Fran.
els joseph's death brought to Il close a
phenomenal reign of sixty-eigl4t years.
A National Geographic society l~alletin
gives the following description of the
royal summer residence and some Of
the episodes which have had a regal
setting there:
with it's more than 1,4O0 rooms
S%choenbrunn Is n splendid example of
imperial residence modelled on the
standard of the great palace at Yer
sailles. One of the striking pe%culiari-
ties Of this home Of Austria's royal
family, however, is that instead Of
browning ali eminence 1t is built on low
ground, while the magnificent park of
nearly 500 acres occupies the high
ground, rising gradually from the pal
ace doors until 1t terminates on a hill
adorned with n beautiful ~eolonnade
called the Gloriette.
"Three important events of the Ma
poleonic era We're staged In the i'm
perial apartments of Schoenbrunn. The
first was the treaty of 1893, signed here
by Napoleon and HaugWitz, the latter
acting for the king of Prussia. BY this
document Napoleon inflicted a humiliat-
ing diplomatic defeat on the prussian
statesman, who agreed to surrender
Cleves, Ansbach and Neuchatel to
France in exchange for Hanover,
whereas he had come to see the en-
ering an ultimatum demanding the
return of Hanover. In the same year
(Dec. 20 Napoleon issued the procla-
nation of Schoenbrunn, in which the
Bourbon dynasty in Naples was declar-
ed ut an end.
-Four years after IIaugwitz's hnmili-
alton Il second treaty of ~Schoenbrunn
was signed, the principals this time
being Napoleon and Francis l., the
Austrian emperor, who less than Il year
later was to become the father in-law
of the 'upstart Corsican.
con this occasion the emperor of the
French again drove a hard bargain.
but this time his antagonist had no
alternative, for the Austrian army had
just sustained the crushing defeat at
Wagram. The vanqn!sifed nation was
forced to give up Salzburg. n portion
of upper Austria and extensive terri
tory in Carinthia. C%arliola, Croatia and
along the Adriatic scaboard. III addi-
ton, Francis was compelled to rein
quish that share of the booty which
had fallen to Austria in the third dis
memberment OF Poland Q795).
".One of the most pathetic scenes ever
witnessed within the walls OF this
palace erected by Maria Theresa was
the final hour in the life Of the ur.
happy Duo de Reichstadt, son OF Ma
poleon and the Austrian archduchess
Marie Louise. The 'Eaglet,' as he was
called, was just twenty-one WREN he
died of tuberculosis in "A room once
occupied by his illustrious father on
II of the occasions when lie held
S~cloenbrunn as his military %headquar-
ters. A perhaps too highly colored and
Historically warped but supef5Iy APP
peallng picture of this deathbed has
been given to the world by the distin-
guished poet-playwright Of France.
Edmond Rostand, in his widely known
drama of 'L'Aiglon.'
"One of the novel features of Schoen-
brsinn is its amazing number of kitch-
ens.l39."
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