2025250 Year Anniversary of the Gloriette - Set

Schönbrunn Palace, with its Gloriette and palace gardens, is Austria’s most visited tourist attraction. To mark its 250th anniversary, the Gloriette is now being honoured with a commemorative stamp.

Empress Maria Theresa transformed Schönbrunn into her summer residence and had it significantly extended. The Gloriette atop the Schönbrunn Hill was built in 1775 as one of the final additions to the palace complex, forming a visual end point to the axis running from the palace through the Great Parterre and the Neptune Fountain. Designed by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg, the early Neoclassical colonnade commemorates the victories of the Habsburg armies. It is crowned by an imperial eagle perched on a globe, while the side staircases are adorned with trophy sculptures by Johann Baptist Hagenauer, featuring lions, armour and shields. Once used as a dining room, the glazed interior of the Gloriette now houses a café. Both Schönbrunn Palace and the Gloriette are also featured in the Stamp Edition 20.