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Great Gallery

On selected dates, the concerts take place in the Great Gallery located in the main building of Schönbrunn Palace. With its imperial atmosphere the Great Gallery is the ideal alternative venue for the daily classical concerts.

The Great Gallery is over 40 metres long and almost 10 metres wide and provided the ideal setting for court functions back at the time of the emperors. From the mid-eighteenth century onwards, it was used for balls, receptions and as a banqueting hall.

This most magnificent Rococo ceremonial hall has tall windows and crystal mirrors, a white-and-gold stucco decoration and ceiling frescos by the Italian artist Gregorio Guglielmi.

Since the foundation of the Republic of Austria the Great Gallery has been used as a venue for concerts and official receptions. In 1961 the legendary encounter between the American president John F. Kennedy and the Russian head of state Nikita Khrushchev took place in this room.