Large Rosa Room

The portrait in the middle of the front wall of the Large Rosa Room shows Franz Stephan of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa. While she ruled the Habsburg Hereditary Lands as queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria, and so on and so forth, Franz Stephan ruled over the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1745 he was elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Nonetheless, Franz Stephan is remembered not as a politician or military commander but as a financial expert and patron of the sciences. He founded the menagerie at Schönbrunn, the oldest zoo still in use in Europe. Franz Stephan was also in charge of the remodelling of the palace park. Appropriately enough, the windows of this room offer a splendid view of the gardens.

The full-length portrait of the emperor shows the monarch standing at a table surrounded by various artefacts and collector’s objects that allude to his artistic, historical and scientific interests.