TOP 10

Schönbrunn Palace

A popular Viennan tourist attraction , the palace dates back to 1569 , when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased floodplain land containing the Katterburg mansion to be used as the court ’ s recreational hunting grounds . The mansion was converted to the impressive Baroque palace of today in the mid-17th century by the wife of later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II , a keen hunter .

Built in 1842 by King Ferdinand II , it is the oldest European example of a Romantic-style castle . It was built on the remains of a monastery destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake . It sits atop a hill overlooking the town of Sintra , and is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal . ( See previous page for picture )

38 November 2014