The history of the palace and its vast gardens spans over 300 years, reflecting the changing tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

[1] In 1569, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased a large floodplain of the Wien river beneath a hill, situated between Meidling and Hietzing.

Eleonora Gonzaga, who loved hunting, spent much time there and was bequeathed the area as her widow's residence after the death of her husband, Ferdinand II.

The Schönbrunn Palace in its present form was built and remodelled during the 1740–50s during the reign of empress Maria Theresa[2] who received the estate as a wedding gift.

Following the downfall of the Habsburg monarchy in November 1918, the palace became the property of the newly founded Austrian Republic and was preserved as a museum.

[3] UNESCO catalogued Schönbrunn Palace on the World Heritage List in 1996, together with its gardens, as a remarkable Baroque ensemble and example of synthesis of the arts (Gesamtkunstwerk).

[5] At the outmost western edge, a botanical garden going back to an earlier arboretum was re-arranged in 1828, when the Old Palm House was built.

The fashion for picturesque ruins that became widespread with the rise of the Romantic movement soon after the middle of the 18th century symbolized both the decline of once great powers and the preservation of the remains of a heroic past.

The Roman Ruin consists of a rectangular pool enclosed by a massive arch with lateral walls, evoking the impression of an ancient edifice slowly crumbling into the ground.

Dutch violinist André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra, along with the Opera Babes used it as the backdrop for a version of the European Anthem, "Ode to Joy" in 2003.

In the third leg of The Amazing Race 4, the palace hosted a Fast Forward task where one team had to carry trays of champagne glasses across a ballroom floor of waltzing couples.

[11] The Disney animated TV show series Little Einsteins featured the Schönbrunn Palace during the Season 2 episode The Glass Slipper Ball, featuring the orange fish based on two clownfish, Marlin and Nemo from the 2003 Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo and the painting by Andy Warhol and the music The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss II, based on the 1950 Disney animated fairy tale film, the title character and the book Cinderella by Charles Perrault which first aired in January 2007.