The Laxenburg castles stand in the town of Laxenburg, just outside Vienna, and the Habsburgs held the site from 1333. It served as an imperial summer retreat alongside Schönbrunn Palace. The Old Castle was extended in the seventeenth century by Lodovico Burnacini, and the Blauer Hof was built around 1745 under Maria Theresa, with a Rococo interior.
The Laxenburg church was built from 1693 to 1703 by Carlo Antonio Carlone and continued by Matthias Steinl until 1724. It is High Baroque and the first building north of the Alps with swung facade components. After 1780 the gardens were rearranged as an English landscape garden. The Franzensburg stands on an island and is named for Emperor Franz I.
Since 1972 the castle has housed the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. It is also used for events, concerts and a museum.
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