Schloss Hetzendorf is a baroque palace in Meidling, Vienna that was used by the imperial Habsburg family. The building was originally a hunting lodge. It was refashioned by the architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. Empress Maria Theresa had it enlarged in 1743 by Nicolò Pacassi for her mother, Empress Elizabeth Christine, who lived here from 1743 until her death in 1750. A prominent feature of the palace is the entrance hall.
It was here that Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples died in 1814. She was the favourite sister of Marie Antoinette.
The youngest daughter of Emperor Francis II, Archduchess Maria Anna, lived here from 1835 until her death in 1858. She is said to have been mentallly retarded and to have suffered from a hideous facial deformity.
It was at Hetzendorf that future Empress Zita gave birth to her daughter, Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, in 1914. Adelheid was the second child of Empress Zita and future Emperor Charles I of Austria.
Today it houses a fashion school.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.