Laxenburg

Laxenburg
Main square with parish church and town hall
Coat of arms
Laxenburg Location within Austria
Coordinates: 48°4′N 16°21′E / 48.067°N 16.350°E / 48.067; 16.350Coordinates: 48°4′N 16°21′E / 48.067°N 16.350°E / 48.067; 16.350
Country	Austria
State	Lower Austria
District	Mödling
Government
• Mayor	Robert Dienst (ÖVP)
Area
• Total	10.59 km2 (4.09 sq mi)
Elevation	177 m (581 ft)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	2,859
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal codes	2351, 2361
Area code	02236
Website	www.laxenburg.at

Laxenburg is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about 20 km (12 mi) south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, beside Schönbrunn, served as the most important summer retreat of the Habsburg monarchs.

Laxenburg became a Habsburg possession in 1333. Duke Albert III (1349–1395) had a hunting lodge erected here (today called Altes Schloss) and vested the settlement with market rights. The castle again decayed afterwards, until in the 17th century it was restored at the behest of Emperor Leopold I. Rebuilt in a Baroque style by the master builder Lodovico Burnacini, it became the centre of extended gardens and pleasure grounds.

From 1710 onwards the Baroque Blauer Hof (Blue Court), also named Neues Schloss (New Castle), was built according to plans designed by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt as the residence of the Habsburg vice-chancellor Friedrich Karl von Schönborn. Later Empress Maria Theresa acquired the palace and from 1756 onwards had it lavishly rebuilt her court architect Nicolò Pacassi with a Rococo interior. Laxenburg became the favourite residence of Maria Theresa and her decendants.

The parish church of Laxenburg was erected vis-à-vis between 1693 and 1703 by Carlo Antonio Carlone. Emperor Leopold I himself laid the founding stone. Consecrated in 1699, construction works continued between 1703 and 1724 supervised by the architect Matthias Steinl. It was the first building north of the Alps containing swung facade components (characteristics of the High Baroque architecture).