High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Palais Rothschild refers to a number of palaces in Vienna built and owned by the titled Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking family. Apart from their sheer size and elegance they were famous for the huge collections of paintings, statues, furniture, books, and armour they housed, another reflection of the family's vast wealth and position.The collections were confiscated by the Nazis in 1938, the palaces stripped and ruined during World War II. After the war the heirs received little compensation and what remained of the buildings were sold off or destroyed, to be replaced by modern office buildings. The history of these palaces and the art collections they contained is symbolic of the rise and fall of Austria's Rothschild family.