Laxenburg

Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: Laxnbuag) is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about 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.

== History == 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. thumb|left|Blauer Hof 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 by her court architect Nicolò Pacassi with a Rococo interior. Laxenburg became the favourite residence of Maria Theresa and her descendants.