Most
people visit Vienna with a vivid image of the city in their
minds: a monumental vision of Habsburg palaces, trotting
white horses, old ladies in fur coats and mountains of fat
cream cakes. And they're unlikely to be disappointed, for
the city positively feeds off imperial nostalgia –
High Baroque churches and aristocratic mansions pepper the
Innere Stadt, monumental projects from the late nineteenth
century line the Ringstrasse, and postcards of the Emperor
Franz-Josef and his beautiful wife Elisabeth still sell
by the sackful.
Just
as compelling as the old Habsburg stand-bys are the wonderful
Jugendstil and early Modernist buildings, products of the
era of Freud, Klimt, Schiele, Mahler and Schönberg,
when the city's famous coffeehouses were filled with intellectuals
from every corner of the empire. Without doubt, this was
Vienna's golden age, after which all has been decline: with
the end of the empire in 1918, the city was reduced from
a metropolis of over two million, capital of a vast empire
of fifty million, to one of barely more than 1.5 million
and federal capital of a small country of just eight million
souls.
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Hofburg
The huge Hofburg (Court Palace) is the most important secular
building in Vienna, once the center of the powerful Habsburg
Empire. The old Hofburg, with its many different sections
and courtyards, was built (and renovated many times) between
the 13th and the early 19th centuries. The Neue Burg (New
Palace) was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
despite the dwindling power of the Habsburg Empire. Today,
the Hofburg is home to various museums (Völkerkundemuseum,
Schatzkammer, Nationalbibliothek, Albertina, Theatermuseum,
Prunksaal, Lippizanermuseum, Spanische Hofreitschule and
Kaiserappartments) and the library, as well as the offices
of the Austrian President.
Stephansdom
The "Steffl" is arguably one of the world's most
enchanting Gothic cathedrals. A 12th-century construction
at heart, it was renovated in Gothic style between 1304-1433.
Its Northern Tower, standing at a height of 70m, was redesigned
according to Renaissance aesthetics in 1579 and the interior
was given a baroque slant following the Counter Reformation.
St. Stephen's Cathedral's famed bell, the "Pummerin,"
weighing no less than 21 tons, suffered considerable fire
damage in World War II. It has since been repaired and is
now used to mark special occasions, such as to ring in the
new year.
Schloß Schönbrunn
Schönbrunn Palace in its present form is one of Vienna's
most popular tourist attractions, hosting thousands of visitors
a week. This rococo Palace was finished in 1700 under Leopold
I, and is a much diminished version of an incredible Imperial
project first planned by Johann Fischer von Erlach. The
Palace was renovated and extended under Maria Theresia,
and at that time had 2,000 rooms, a chapel plus its own
theatre. Like all the imperial buildings associated with
Maria Theresia, the Schönbrunn complex is today painted
in rich yellow. Napoleon lived here from 1805 to 1809 and
Emperor Francis Joseph I, who was born here in 1830, spent
the last years of his life in the palace. Usually the complex
only served as a summer residence to the Habsburgs. Take
at least one day for this trip through the palace and the
vast surroundings.
Parlament
Situated on the south side of Rathausplatz, this edifice
designed by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen, is one
of the most striking examples of the Ringstrasse era's architecture.
From street level, it is difficult to see past the giant
Corinthian portico and its accompanying wings and pavilions.
Stand back, though, and it becomes clear that the main body
of the building—home to the Bundesrat (Federal Council)
and Nationalrat (National Council) of the Austrian parliament—is
mostly hidden behind the projecting facade. Between the
two ramps, decorated with Roman horse-tamers and seated
historians, stands a gargantuan statue of Athene, Goddess
of Wisdom. She presides over a fountain served by four writhing
mermen, representing the rivers Danube, Inn, Elbe and Moldau.
Spittelberg
Few areas in the Vorstädte (once the suburbs, but now
part of the city center) have managed to preserve their
original 18th- or 19th-century appearance. The exception
is the Spittelberg quarter, a district consisting of half
a dozen narrow, cobbled streets between Siebensterngasse
and Burggasse. In decline since the late 19th century, the
area was saved from demolition in the 1970s. Its baroque
and Biedermeier houses were carefully restored and many
of the streets pedestrianised. The district makes for a
charming walk, particularly on Saturdays when a little craft
market is held in the streets around Spittelberggasse. Spittelberg
also boasts one of the city's densest concentrations of
bars, cafes and restaurants. |
