In Vienna and London I fell witness to the three interesting palaces Schonbrunn (sorry about not putting the umlauts), Kew and Hofburg. Schonbrunn and Hofburg are both palaces where the Austrian Emperor and Empress lived while Kew is the palace where King George the 3rd resided. Schonbrunn and Hofburg are similar in the way that they are both made to impress guests and display power but differ in the method used to accomplish the goal. The Hofburg uses more of a masculine touch to show power with it's large paintings and sculptures of Franz Joseph to show guests that he was the "man of the house". This design decision was also reflected in the layout of the palace with there being larger rooms and Franz's office residing next to his bedroom. These decisions show the palace off as the place for business and display Franz as the center of power. Schonbrunn however showed power more subtly through sophistication and beauty. It had a huge garden behind the palace and many more rooms with less hallway space. Also Schonburnn had more of a comfortable feeling to it than Hofburg which added to its sophistication aesthetic. Schonnbrunn overall felt less private and said that the royal family has nothing to hide. Schonbrunn was utilized more to show guests how great royalty lived in Austria.
The last palace Kew was completely different from the other two because it felt more like an actual family home. It also had a large garden which surrounded the compund but the house itself was not nearly as big as the other two structures. Kew palace had ample oppurtunity for privacy and a personal life rather than the other two. By comparing and contrasting the various palaces one can see the priorities as well as the mindset of both royal families and how they interpreted power.
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