Tuesday 7 July 2009

A Midsummer Dream


Once upon a time,

in a faraway land,

there lived a young prince

who not only did not
have the looks of a Prince Charming,
but was also poor and, withal, refused service
in his own country's army.

Having dared
and been refused twice by his King
the opportunity to prove himself
as the commander of a 40 men army company,
he decided to flee
and seek his fortune elsewhere.

He launched a very successful career
in the service of three Emperors
of the country that offered him the opportunites
he was seeking.

This is the summer palace
that was built for him - by one of
most talented architects of his time -
three decades after arriving
as a pennyless refugee.

Schloßhof Palace
Built 1725-1729
by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt
for François-Eugène,
Prince of Savoy-Carignan
(18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736)

This video
on Youtube offers an interesting synopsis
of the life of Prince Eugene of Savoy
and his role in the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

For a more extensive biography
of Prince Eugene, the "Edle Ritter"
- "The Valiant Knight" -
click here for Wikipedia.

Clicking on the title
will take you to images of
Prince Eugene's other palaces.

Photographs and text
by Merisi -
July 2009

21 comments:

  1. indeed a dream place, fitted for princes and princesses... Austrians know best ;)!

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  2. Fantastic....congratulations

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  3. A fascinating story, delightfully illustrated!

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  4. Ich war doch in Schloß Hof (mit der Schule meiner Tochter). Aber deine Bilder eröffnen mir trotzdem so schöne neue Einblicke! Wunderschön :-)

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  5. Lara,
    I agree! :-)

    Adelino Marques,
    thank you! :-)

    Wandring Star,
    thank you! :-)

    Bulgariana,
    danke, I love the place! :-)

    When I was a little girl,
    my father told me many stories of Prince Eugene's - dem "Edlen Ritter" - adventures. I was quite surprised to find out later that he had really lived! I was head over heels in love with that prince for years (as a child, I used to fall in love with all these heroes, real or fairy tale ones, quite easily, but Eugene was a long and deep one, outlasting my brief infatuation with Napoleon).

    .

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  6. Merisi, may we ask who is your current infatuation?

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  7. What a romantic setting .. and story .. sort of ... and as always romantically charming photos!

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  8. Amazing.
    And, um...
    does he have a great, great,great grandson?
    'Cuz my daughter is still single.....
    and she is very cute and very nice and not royal.....
    :-P

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  9. Fascinating and beautiful post, Merisi. Thank you.

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  10. So much to see here...really amazing. I think I will have to move in for an extended period. Glad you caught this wonderful place in such glorious sun as well.

    K.
    More please...encore, encore!

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  11. Passing through a set of gates like that would really make you feel like you're entering a magic kingdom.

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  12. .
    Estelle des Chevaliers,
    that's an easy one: Eugene, still! His love and support of the arts, his magnificent collection of books, who could resist? ;-)

    Daryl,
    thank you! :-)

    The Retired One,
    he did not have children and his heiress proofed to be a rather unworthy brat.

    willow ,
    you are welcome! :-)
    .

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  13. Merisi, I always enjoy very much all your photos (about the various subjects), from first to last.
    Have a nice evening!

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  14. An interesting tale! And I was somewhat surprised to see what looks like a castor bean plant (from which castor oil is made) in the foreground the photo near the end! These grow wild here where I live. They are actually native to Ethiopia but can now be found all over the world in temperate and tropical climates.

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  15. Stunning style and story-telling Merisi. A wonderful and beautiful travelogue.

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  16. .

    Kurwenal,
    yes, that would be the only way to document more of the beauty of this magnificent place! ;-)

    Charles Gramlich,
    it does indeed feel like entering a magic place, a place that lifts you up!

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  17. .
    Pietro,
    grazie for your kind words! :-)

    Sara,
    an interesting and a true tale!
    I did not know about castor bean plants, thank you! :-)

    photowannabe,
    thank you! :-)

    .

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  18. Ah, Eugene of Savoy! He was beloved in Hungary too, non? I had to write a paper about his statue in Heldenplatz and I recall stumbling across a similar statue in Budapest. Have never seen his palace before, thanks!

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  19. What a great story and a beautiful palace.

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  20. A lovely historical fairytale and such beautiful palaces.

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  21. I love the architecture from the past with its graceful lines.

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