Château de Laxenburg

1544 is reported by a Freihof, which was located on the site of the present castle and Melchior Arguello, the keeper of the Old Castle, belonged. The Blue Court owes its name not to the blue color, but to Sebastian von Ploenstein (Blauenstein), who owned the residence until his death in 1623. From 1705, Reich Vice-Chancellor Friedrich Karl Reichsgrave von Schönborn was the owner, who had the existing building generously extended between 1710 and 1720 by Lukas von Hildebrandt. In 1729 his successor Adolf Graf Metsch acquired the building and passed it on to his son-in-law Khevenhüller-Metsch. At the time of Maria Theresa it was owned by Field Marshal Leopold Joseph Count Daun. The old castle in the park of Laxenburg had long since become too small for the great family of the Empress. In 1762 it acquired the Blauensteiner-Hof and the adjoining Prucknerische Haus. Her court architect Nicoló Pacassi was commissioned with the large-scale conversion. He moved the main facade with the entrance from the east to the north side, ie to Schlossplatz. When Franz Stephan of Lorraine died in 1765, the new Blue Courtyard was only partially available. But that was the end of the festivities. Maria Theresa mourned her husband and Emperor Josef II did not have much of a party going on anyway. After all, he had the park remodeled in English style. It was not until Emperor Franz that Laxenburg, once again chosen as a summer residence, was to experience its last heyday. In 1794 the emperor had bought the rule from private means. Especially at the time of the Congress of Vienna, once again brilliant festivals were celebrated here. Emperor Franz Joseph preferred Schönbrunn as a workplace or Bad Ischl as a summer residence and showed no great interest in Laxenburg, but in 1853/54 a number of rooms were adapted for the Empress Elisabeth.burgen-austria.com/archive.php?id=143