Vienna

 

Chapel of the Imperial Palace (Burgkapelle)

The original chapel of the Palace, built in Gothic style 1447-1449, was made over in Baroque style. On Sundays and Catholic holidays of which the Austrians celebrate many, the Court Musicians perform here. This group is made up of members from the Vienna Boys Choir, as well as performers from the orchestra and choir of the Vienna State Opera.

Parliament

The guided tours in German or English language cost €4 2€ for students (http://www.parlament.gv.a...). Open only when not in use by Parliament.

Hundertwasserhaus

(http://www.hundertwasserh...) This interesting apartment/office complex is located 5–10 minutes east of the Wien Mitte U-Bahn stop. You can also take tram N, stop Hetzgasse.

Haus des Meeres Aquarium Zoo

(http://www.haus-des-meeres.at) is a marvelous zoo, with a rain forest glasshouse, tiny apes, aquariums with sharks, and terrariums with reptiles and venomous snakes. It is situated in one of the leftover second world war air raid shelter, a so-called "Flakturm" (http://ww2panorama.org/pa...) check out these links: (http://www.airpower.at/news03/0813_luftkrieg_ostmark/flaktuerme.htm, (http://www.bezirksmuseum....) and (http://www.turbo.at/gehei...). The building carried formerly one of the first radar equipments and is designed to stand a direct bomb hit, an earthquake, and wind speeds up to an overpressure of ten bar. Now there is also a platform on top to allow nice views over the roofs of Vienna. Take U3, stop Neubaugasse.

Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Pavilion

This city tram stop, designed by Otto Wagner, is located near the Secession Building and Naschmarkt. It is a good example of functional turn of the century architecture – ornate, yet useful. Wagner was one of the most influential architects in Vienna and his style was widely copied.

Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper)

(http://www.wiener-staatso...) — The Opera House is probably the most-beloved symbol of Viennese arts, and one of the first buildings to be rebuilt in the postwar era. It was built from 1861-1869 under the direction of architects Eduard van der Nüll and August von Siccardsburg for then-emperor Franz Josef I. The first performance was Don Giovanni, an opera by Austrian native Mozart, on 25 May 1869. Though now as well-loved as any member of the family, the architecture of the Opera was barely tolerated by the picky Viennese when it opened. Van der Nüll did not take these criticisms of his work lightly and committed suicide. A few weeks later, von Siccardsburg died of a heart attack. Doubly cursed, the Opera building succumbed to bombs less than 100 years later, during WWII. After ten years of Allied control after the end of the war, many cultural institutions reopened to celebrate the birth of the new Austrian state. This time the Opera opened with an adopted son of Vienna's work: Beethoven's Fidelio. The lush curtains and overall elegance contribute to the atmosphere of the Opera even the nosebleed seats, so steeply pitched and close to the ceiling a nosebleed becomes a distinct possibility. Inexpensive standing room tickets are made available for every performance and sold the day of the performance. The line forms about 2 hours prior to the performance. Post-performance, have some torte at the nearby Sacher Hotel see entry. Guided tours in a number of languages are offered throughout the desk. The line at the front side door forms about 1/2 hour before the tour.

Prater (Park) including the Giant Ferris Wheel,

The Prater Park began its life, as so many European parks did, as a carriage-riding area for the nobility. It is still a popular place to spend a weekend afternoon with family. An English engineering firm Walter Basset built the Giant Ferris Wheel Riesenrad from 1896-97. Others of the same era, built for world exhibitions and other parks in Chicago, London, Paris, etc. have long since been torn down. The Riesenrad has become a well-known symbol of Vienna, featured in many movies most famously The Third Man; also Before Sunrise and Ethan Hawke and picture postcards. It has 15 gondolas, some of which are incredibly ornate and large enough to host an extended family inside, offering a spectacular panorama of the city. The weirdest attraction in the Prater, though, is the Kugelmugel (http://www.republik-kugel...), a spherical house diameter 7.68m that, after failing to get a planning permit, declared independence from Austria. Originally built elsewhere, it was forcibly carted off to the Prater by Austrian authorities and now sits uninhabited and fenced off with barbed wire.

 

Secession Building

(http://www.secession.at/b...), Friedrichstraße 12 U-Bahn U1, U2, U4 (Karlsplatz), Tel. 587 53 07-0, Tu-Fr 10-18, Tue-Sun 10AM-6PM, Thurs 10AM-8PM, Guided Tours Sat 3PM and Sun 11AM and by appointment. Architect Josef Maria Olbrich built this Jugendstil German-style Art Nouveau building 1897-98 as a display space for artists working in the new Secession artistic movement. It is topped by a giant, frothy golden ball, lovingly called "Krauthappel" by the Viennese, but the building was definitely not loved when it first opened. Notice a reactionary Viennese pattern here? The Opera building too was hated at first, but at least it wasn't called a "temple for bullfrogs" or "a bastard begot of temple and warehouse" as the Viennese Secession building was. The entryway features the motto of the Secessionist movement: Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst ihre Freiheit To the time, its art, to the art, its freedom. Olbrich's mentor Otto Wagner, and also Gustav Klimt, whose astounding Beethoven Frieze is partially preserved in the basement, inspired the building’s design. The ceremonial front entrance is separate from the functional glass and steel exhibit hall in back. Entrance fee included with entrance to Belvedere Palace.

The Schmetterlinghaus Hofburg Wien 1010 tel 01/5338570 or 01 5332018 fax 01 5322872 email [email protected] April - October : Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 10 - 16.45 Saturday Sunday & all public holidays 10 - 18.15 November - March: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 10 - 15.45 Saturday Sunday & all public holidays 10 - 15:45 Adults €5:50 Seniors €5 Students with ID €4:50 Children 3 - 16 years €3 (http://www.schmetterlingh...), a tropical greenhouse with an amazing collection of live butterflies, will delight both children and adults.

Spanish Riding School - Spanische Hofreitschule

(http://www.srs.at) was first mentioned in a document dated 1572 and is the only equestrian institute in the world which follows a Renaissance model of classical schooling. Eleves, or students, begin their training immediately after completion of Austrian primary education age 15 or 16, and are expected to be both sporty and clever. The school takes its name from a Spanish breed of horse first mentioned in Roman writings. In 1562, Emperor Maximilian II brought some of these Spanish horses to Austria to found a royal stud farm in Kladrub Bohemia, housing them for a time in the "Stallburg" oldest section of the Imperial Palace. The present school location was built in 1572. In 1580, Maximilian's brother, Archduke Karl, founded the stud farm in Lipizza near Trieste now Slovenia. Interest in elegant riding had been growing for about fifty years at that point. During Renaissance times, powerful gentlemen who had already conquered the worlds of finance and politics looked to the writings of antiquity for new learning and an educated lifestyle to which they could aspire. Horsemanship which followed the ancient models described by Socrates and others became the fashion. Xenophon 430 – 354 BC wrote "Men who understand the art of horsemanship, in truth, look magnificent." Who wouldn't want that? In the new Winter Riding School built 1729-35, tournaments, masked balls, and other entertainment was held, but this would soon draw to a close – the royal stud farms at Lipizza were threatened by Napoleon several times and twice the precious stud horses were evacuated to Hungary. No photos or video taping allowed.

The Ring

The Ringstrasse, or Ring Street, circles the very heart of Vienna. Built on the location of the original city walls, its size is a good indication of how much the city has expanded since medieval times, but more importantly it is the most posh area of downtown. Elegant individuals stroll down the street there really is no other way to move when walking along the Ring and play the fashion-do/fashion don’t game under their breath before pausing at one of the innumerable cafes lining the way. A traditional Jause morning coffee break, around 10AM and then back to the business at hand, seeing and being seen: Vienna’s favorite pastime.

Gasometer

(http://www.wiener-gasometer.at), Directly at subway station U3 Gasometer, 8 minutes away from town-center and St. Stephens Cathedral. If you are interested in the combination of new modern with old historic architecture, take a trip to the gasometers that has been revitalized from gas-tanks to new multi-functional buildings. The gasometers are four former gas tanks, built as part of the Vienna municipal gas works Gaswerk Simmering in 1896-1899. They are located in the 11th district called Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 as gas storage tanks. After the changeover from town gas to natural gas they were no longer used and were shut down. In the time between 1984 and 1997 the gasometers were used as a film location James Bond: The Living Daylights and as the location for raves known as Gazometer-Raves. They were revitalized from 1999 to 2001 by the architects Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelblau, Manfred Wehdorn, and Wilhelm Holzbauer. Each gasometer was divided into several zones for living, shopping and entertainment. The historic outside wall was conserved. Several other facilities including a music hall, cinema, student accommodation, municipal archive, etc. are located inside the Gasometers. There are special guided tours with experts available for visitors.

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Simmeringer Hauptstrasse 234, phone 760 41. Graves of honor of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Schönberg and others. Nov-Feb 8AM-5PM, March-April, Sept-Oct 7AM-6PM, May-Aug 7AM-7PM. Take tram 71 from the city center Schwarzenburgplatz which was specially retrofitted during the wars to carry corpses there's even a Viennese expression "taking the #71 tram" as a euphemism for death. For a quicker route take the U3 to Simmering and then tram 71 or 6 from there. The tram stops are named after the cemetery gate next to it, "Zentralfriedhof 1. Tor" is where the old Jewish section is, "Zentralfriedhof 2. Tor" is the main gate. There bus route 106 (http://www.richard.at/ric...) €0.60 or regular ticket runs in the cemetary connecting all of the gates and areas. Mozart, Beethoven and other luminaries of the musical world Schubert, Brahms, Strauss are buried, or at least memorialized, here. Mozart's body is in a mass grave as required by the law at that time in another cemetery – but his memorial is located here with the others. The graves of the composers and other "Ehregräber" graves of honor are located in section 32C, near the main road leading from the church. The cemetery has served as a giant park for weekend ramblings since its creation. There are immense monuments shaped like 10ft tall iron canopy beds within eye shot of the musicians memorial and other unique shapes. Though it takes some time to get out to the Zentralfriedhof 25 to 30 Minutes total from Stephansplatz, it is worth the trip.

Lainzer Tiergarten

It's a beautiful natural reserve at Vienna's border with the woods. This reserve used to be the Emperor's private hunting wood with the fancy "Hermesvilla" - the favorite mansion of Empress Sisi in Vienna. Nowadays, the major part of the park is closed in the winter time, but in summer you can see wild pigs, deer, and many Viennese families. For the easiest park entrance take tram 49 to its last stop. Then you need to walk for about 5 minutes until you reach the Nikolaitor. However in Winter or when you want to visit the mansion you have to take tram 60 or 62 to Hermesstrasse station and then change to bus 60B This bus goes only every half hour during the week. Take the bus to the final stop - just a 5 minute ride - to reach the "Lainzertor" actually the main gate of Lainzer Tiergarten, which also features a small visitors center. The park is usually open from 8 until dusk precise opening timetables are posted at each entrance but all gates - except Lainzertor - are closed for a winter break from mid-November until mid-February.

Hietzing

A residential area which used to be a village once, but gained importance as the Schönbrunn Palace, was erected nearby. A very beautiful area for a stroll among old villas. Stop - Hietzing U4, trams 10, 58 and 60, then walk.

Türkenschanzpark

A very beautiful park commemorating the Austrian victory on the Turks near the city boundary. Nowadays, a tranquil resort in the heart of a nice cluster of villas. Take tram 41 or bus 10A, get off at Türkenschanzpark.

The Danube Island

(http://www.donauinsel.at/), only in German] — Home to Europe's biggest Rock festival. In Summer, this is a very nice park with a lot of Viennese bathers. There are also floating pubs on the Danube. A nice experience! Take U1, stop Donauinsel.

Karl Marx-Hof

is a socialist building complex from the beginning of the 20th Century and is fascinating for people interested in architecture. Take tram D or U4 to Heilgenstadt.

Soviet Victory Monument

An imposing Soviet style monument near Karlsplatz commemorates the Soviet victory in Vienna over the Nazi army. Take trams 1, 2, 71, D, J stop at Schwarzenbergplatz.