Peter von Braun

He was the son of Johann Gottlieb von Braun, a court councillor. He entered the civil service in 1777, which he later left to found a silk factory in 1789. The business was successful. From 1794 until 1807, he was director of the two Vienna court theatres, the Burgtheater and the Theater am Kärntnertor; this period was regarded as a golden era for these theatres.^[1][2][3]

He was raised to the rank of Freiherr (baron) in 1795, and in 1796 he became a court banker. In that year he bought the lordship of Schönau an der Triesting, near Vienna. He laid out a park there, which was open to the public, and created a "Temple of the Night", a mystical garden grotto which became a meeting place for the nobility. It contained inscriptions by August von Kotzebue, and Antonio Salieri, who often visited, composed music for the temple.^[1][3][4]

Von Braun was an important patron of the arts. He was a pianist, and composed music for the piano. He performed in 1801 an arrangement of Mozart's The Magic Flute with a new text by Christian August Vulpius.^[1][3]

He married Josephine von Högelmüller (c. 1766 – 1838). Piano works by Joseph Haydn, Anton Eberl and others were dedicated to her.^[3][5]

• Schloss Schönau