Gilded Ambition: a Tour of Schönbrunn Palace

Born in Switzerland, raised in Austria from childhood Gabriela has been fascinated by history, art and people in general. After language studies in England, France, Italy and Mexico, Gabriela studied Interior Design in London. She then continued her studies at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, which opened up a new window to all arts. With a degree in Interior Architecture and Industrial Design Gabriela has been sharing her passion for the arts and the city of Vienna since 1999 with visitors as a licensed guide. She also works in adult education in the field of contemporary architecture. Her special interests are in contemporary art, design, architecture and lifestyle. Gabriela is also Involved in the Vienna Design Week and the AZW, Architektur Zentrum Wien, which she frequently works for. Alpine sports is just another aspect of a very active life that she shares with a husband a two children in one of Viennas nicest neighborhoods, the Servitenviertel in 9th district.

Bulgarian by birth, Marieta has lived in Vienna since childhood. She has a degree in Informatics and is a licensed guide for Vienna and all of Austria. After having worked in the IT business for over 20 years, she decided to dedicate herself to leading tours, and in particular to the transfer of knowledge about history, art, culture and the way of life to the visitors of Austria, mainly Vienna. Her area of specialty is Music in Vienna, Jewish Vienna, Vienna around 1900, and wine culture. Marieta focuses very much on continuous education on her specialties and actively deepens her knowledge by conducting independent research, attending lectures at various institutions like the Institute for Jewish history, exhibitions and museums in Vienna and abroad.

Reinhard studied literature, cultural science and pedagogy at the Universities of Salzburg, Graz and Vienna. His PhD thesis was about Henri Michaux and French post surrealistic literature and art, and he has published literary criticism articles in multiple scientific journals. Since 1986, Reinhard has been working in the field of cultural tourism and cultural pedagogy and has also taught as a lecturer at Graz University. His main research topic is Italian and European Renaissance, Baroque and the Fin-de-siècle. At present, he is working on a study about late Italian Renaissance and the Counter Reformation. His research activities have always been very stimulating for his practical and professional work as a cultural historian.