In which I finally get to photograph inside a Baroque palace and go a little nuts, part II

23.05.13

After the playground, I told the students about a planet-themed garden closer to the castle that we had just enough time to see before we were supposed to meet out front to take a guided tour.

The palace itself is full of astronomical symbolism.  This garden was originally an herb garden but has since been replanted to fit the astronomy theme.

There is a fountain surrounded by a hedge that represents the moon and its reflection.

This is from the Venus garden.

This was just a type of tree I didn't recognize and thought was neat.

This arbor was a part of the Jupiter garden.

After the garden, we hurried back to the entrance, which was flanked by statues.

Above the entrance.

Ironwork detail above the entrance.

The front gate from the inside where we waited for our tour guide.

This is a tower on the back part of the palace viewed from the opposite side of the courtyard.  This part of the building contains parts of the original building the palace was built over.

The sides of the courtyard are lined with arches.

The second floor of the palace is now a museum and the third contained the "Prunkräume" or impressively decorated rooms designed impress visitors.  Schloss Eggenberg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to it's intact Baroque interior design.

A view of the courtyard from the third floor.

A group of schoolchildren got there right before us, so here our tour guide is explaining a bit about the history of the palace while we wait for them to move on out of the main room.  The palace has 365 external windows and there are 12 rooms on either side of the ballroom and the chapel on this floor symbolizing the hours of the day.  The colors in the rooms also reflect this theme.

This window is part of the original Gothic chapel.

The first room was huge.  All the ceilings in all the rooms are decorated with paintings.

The chandeliers contain real candles.  There is no electric light on this floor.

The paintings in this room represent the known planets of the time and their associated gods.

Between the paintings, the ceiling is decorated with reliefs of flowers, fruit, people, etc.

Here's the whole room.