Places of Interest

Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) in Vienna is one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria and since the 1860s has also been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. In the year 1569 the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased the Katterburg which was located on a large area between Meidling and Hietzing where today Schönbrunn's parks and different buildings are situated. He showed interest in the newly founded zoo, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, and tried to establish not only a systematic maintenance of wild animals, but also a plantation of rare and exotic plants. He is justifiably called the creator of Schönbrunn's garden arrangement. The new name, Schönbrunn ("beautiful well"), has its roots in a water well from which water was consumed by the royal court in Vienna. During the next century many members of the royal family of Austria spent their summer vacations and hunting excursions in the Katterburg. In the days of the Turkish sieges the Katterburg was nearly destroyed and it appeared to be impossible to restore the castle. Emperor Leopold I gave architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach the order to design a new palace. His first draft was a very utopian one, dealing with different antique and contemporary ideals. His second draft showed a smaller and more realistic building. Construction began 1696 and after three years the first festivities were held in the newly built middle part of the palace. Unfortunately, not many parts of the first palace survived the next century because every emperor added or altered a bit on the inner and outer parts of the building. By order of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the architect Nikolaus Pacassi reshaped Schönbrunn Palace in a way of the style of the Rococo era. At the end of the so-called Theresianian epoch Schönbrunn Palace was a vigorous centre of Austria's empire and the royal family. In the 19th century one name is closely connected with Schönbrunn's, Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. He spent most of his life here and died on November 21, 1916 in his sleeping room. Through the course of his reign, Schönbrunn Palace was seen as a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) and remodelled in accordance with its history. The palace complex includes sets of faux Roman ruins and an orangerie, staple luxuries of European palaces of its type.

Tiergarten Schönbrunn (zoo)
Tiergarten Schönbrunn (German for Vienna zoo) is a zoo located in the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. It was founded as imperial menagerie in 1752 and due to its local continuity it is the oldest zoo in the world. It is one of the few zoos worldwide to house specimens of the giant panda. The zoo's pandas are named Yang Yang and Long Hui. Other zoo attractions include a rainforest house, in which the spectator is led through a simulation of the Amazon Rainforest, and an aquarium, which enables spectators to walk through underneath a simulation of the Amazon in flood. The new polarium for animals of the Arctic region was opened in early 2004. Since its privatisation in 1992, it has been led by Helmut Pechlaner, also president of WWF Austria, who managed to modernise most parts of the zoo and sustain its financial situation.

Hofburg
Hofburg Imperial Palace is a palace in Vienna, Austria, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was also known as the imperial winter residence, while Schönbrunn Palace was the preferred summer residence. The Hofburg faces the Heldenplatz ordered under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph, as part of what was to become a Kaiserforum that was never completed. Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese (the Leopoldinischer Trakt), Lodovico Burnacini and Martino and Domenico Carlone, the Baroque architects Lukas von Hildebrandt and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (the Reichschancelry Wing and the Winter Riding School), Johann Fischer von Erlach (the library), and the architects of the grandiose Neue Burg built between 1881 and 1913.

St. Stephen's Cathedral
The Stephansdom (Cathedral of Saint Stephen), in Vienna, Austria, is the seat of a Roman Catholic Archbishop, a beloved symbol of Vienna, and the site of many important events in Austria's national life. The cathedral was first built as a parish church, in 1147, and rebuilt and enlarged over the centuries, with major new work concluding in 1511, although repair and restoration have continued from the beginning to the present day. It was previously thought that the church had been built in an open field outside the city walls; but excavations for a long-awaited heating system during 2000 revealed graves that were carbon-dated to the fourth century, 8 feet (2.5 meters) below the surface. The 430 skeletons were then moved to the catacombs. Thousands of others must have been buried in the ancient cemetery of this neighbourhood, starting in Roman times; and this, instead of St. Ruprecht's Church, may be the oldest church site in Vienna. Growth of the Stephansdom: The Roman towers and Giant door from the burned-out first church were used as part of the Romanesque second church built to replace it. Forty years later, construction began on the Gothic Albertine Choir; 55 years after that, Duke Rudolf IV's additions enlarging the structure began, around and above the second church. The second church was then dismantled and removed from inside the completed building, leaving the third church as the Stephansdom seen today. Growth of the Stephansdom: The Roman towers and Giant door from the burned-out first church were used as part of the Romanesque second church built to replace it. Forty years later, construction began on the Gothic Albertine Choir; 55 years after that, Duke Rudolf IV's additions enlarging the structure began, around and above the second church. The second church was then dismantled and removed from inside the completed building, leaving the third church as the Stephansdom seen today.

Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School (de: Spanische Hofreitschule, literal translation: Imperial Court Spanish Riding School) of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses. It was established during the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1572. It was named for the Spanish horses that were, and still are, the mainstay of the riding school. Today the horses are bred in a court stud in Lipica (Italian: Lipizza), near Trieste in nowadays Slovenia, and at the Piber Stud in western Styria, Austria. The methods used by the Riding School, like those of the Cadre Noir, are based on the teachings of the French riding master François Robichon de la Guérinière. The standards are just as strict at the School as they were years ago. The young stallions are taught the basics first, then, as they strengthen, begin collected movements. They are then assessed to determine if they are suitable for the demanding 'airs above the ground.' The riders, too, are carefully schooled, working first without stirrups and reins on well-trained horses to teach a balanced and independent seat. Performances at the Spanish Riding School include individual and pas de deux (two horses at once) displays, as well as a Grand Quadrille consisting of 16 horses working in formation at the walk, trot, and canter, including flying changes, piaffe, and passage work. All riders wear the traditional brown frock coat uniform with bicorne hats, and all horses wear red and gold saddle cloths.

Ring Boulevard
The Ringstraße is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights. It is typical of the historical style called Ringstraßenstil (Ringstraße Style) of the 1860s to 1890s. The street was built to replace the city walls, which had been built during the 13th century and reinforced as a consequence of the First Turkish Siege in 1529, and instead of the glacis, which was about 500m wide. The fortification had been obsolete since the late 18th century, but the Revolution of 1848 was required to trigger a significant change. In 1850, the Vorstädte (today the Districts II to IX) were incorporated into the municipality, which made the city walls a simple impediment to traffic. In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria issued his famous decree "It is My will" (Es ist Mein Wille at Wikisource) ordering the demolition of the city walls and moats. In his decree, he laid out the exact size of the boulevard, as well as the geographical positions and functions of the new building. The Ringstraße and the planned buildings were intended to be a showcase for imperial Habsburg grandeur and the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the practical level, Emperor Napoléon III of France already demonstrated with his boulevard-building in Paris how enlarging the size of the streets effectively made the erection of revolutionary barricades impossible. Since the Ringstraße had always been meant primarily for show, a parallel Lastenstraße (burden road) was built on the outside of the former glacis. This street is commonly known as 2-er Linie, named after the index "2" in the identifiers of the tram lines which used it. It is still important for through traffic. After some disputes about competence between the government and the municipality, a "City Extension Fund" was created, which was administered by the government. Only the town hall was planned by the city. During the following years, a large number of public and private opulent buildings were erected. Both nobility and the moneyed aristocracy rushed to build showy mansions along the street. One of the first buildings was the Heinrichshof, owned by the beer brewer Heinrich Drasche, which was located opposite the opera house until 1945. Sigmund Freud was known to take a daily recreational walk around the Ring.

Wurstelprater
The Wurstelprater is an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park) in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt. The best-known attraction is the Riesenrad, a ferris wheel. The park also features various rides, bumper cars, carousels, and more. The mascot for the park is Calafati, a 9 m-tall sculpture of a Chinese man, which stands near the Riesenrad. The park is open from 10:00 am to 1:00 am daily in its season, which runs from March 15 to October 15. Some attractions, as well as the food stands and restaurants, are open throughout the year. There is no entrance fee to get into the park; instead, each attraction charges its own fee, the attractions being individual businesses mostly owned by local families.

Vienna Opera House (Oper)
The original State Opera House, a neo-romantic building severely criticised when it was built, was inaugurated on May 25, 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni. During World War II, the stage was destroyed by Allied bombs and the building gutted by fire on March 12, 1945. The foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room were spared. Almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes were destroyed. The State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Volksoper. The rebuilt theatre, seating more than 2200, reopened on November 5, 1955 with Beethoven's Fidelio with Karl Böhm conducting. For many decades, the opera house has been the venue of the Vienna Opera Ball.

Burgtheater (National Theatre)
The Burgtheater (en: Castle Theatre or Imperial Court Theatre), originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1920 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austria's federal theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world. It was created on 14 March 1741 by Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to be a theatre next to her palace, and her son, emperor Joseph II called the "German National Theatre" in 1776. Beginning in 1794, the theatre was called the "K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg". The theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße on 14 October 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer. After it was burned out in 1944, the castle theatre was restored in 1955. The classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater German language were trend-setting for German language theaters.

Danube Island
The Donauinsel (Danube Island), an island of about 20 km in the river Danube, is known to most visitors to Vienna, Austria as a recreational mecca with bars, restaurants and nightclubs, a wealth of sports opportunities from rollerblading, cycling and swimming to canoeing and a beach that looks and feels so good that it has been nicknamed the "Copa Cagrana/Copa Kagrana" (as it lies in the 22nd District of Vienna named Kagran). For over 20 years, at the end of June, several million people (in 2005, it was 3 million) have gathered at the Donauinsel to attend the biggest open air festival in Europe, the Donauinselfest. The festival, which charges no admission fee, is very popular among the Viennese population and beyond.

Danube Tower
The Vienna Donauturm (English: Danube Tower) was created in 1964 by architect Hannes Lintl in the course of the Viennese International Horticultural Show (WIG 64). Since then it has become a part of the Viennese skyline and has become a popular lookout point and a tourist attraction. It is situated in the middle of the Donaupark, which was built to host the horticultural fair in Vienna's 22nd District, Donaustadt, near the northern bank of the Danube. With a height of 252 meters, it is one of the tallest buildings in Vienna. 776 steps lead to its viewing platform, which is at a height of 150 meters. It can be reached by means of two elevators, which take visitors upwards in only 35 seconds. The platform also bears a bungee site, used at times during summer.Two rotating restaurants (at a height of 160 and 170 meters) offer a varied view over the Austrian capital. It takes the platform either 26, 39 or 52 minutes per revolution. The Danube Tower also carries antennas of cellular phone networks, private VHF radio stations and several other radio communication services. Despite its similarity to TV towers elsewhere, however, it is not used for TV broadcasting – the major TV transmitter for the Vienna area is situated on Kahlenberg. Source: Wikipedia

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