Heinrich Maier, which provided the Allies with plans for V-1,
V-2 rockets, Peenemünde,
Tiger tank Tiger tank may refer to:
*Tiger I, or ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf. E'', a German heavy tank produced from 1942 to 1944
*Tiger II, or ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf. B'', a German heavy tank produced from 1943 to 1945, also known as ''Kön ...
s,
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War a ...
,
Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...
and other aircraft. The information was important to
Operation Crossbow
''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme.
The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched against Brit ...
and
Operation Hydra, both preliminary missions for
Operation Overlord. In addition, factory locations for war-essential products were communicated as targets for the Allied Air Force. The group was exposed and most of its members were executed after months of torture by the Gestapo in Vienna. The group around the later executed
Karl Burian Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
even tried to blow up the Gestapo headquarters in the Hotel Metropole.
On 2 April 1945, the
Soviet Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
launched the
Vienna Offensive
The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945.
After several days of street-to-street f ...
against the Germans holding the city and besieged it. British and American air-raids, as well as artillery duels between the Red Army and the
SS and
Wehrmacht, crippled infrastructure, such as tram services and water- and power-distribution, and destroyed or damaged thousands of public and private buildings. The Red Army was helped by an Austrian resistance group in the German Wehrmacht. The group tried under the code name Radetzky to prevent the destruction and fighting in the city. Vienna fell eleven days later. At the end of the war, Austria again became separated from Germany, and Vienna regained its status as the capital city of the Republic of Austria, but the Soviet hold on the city remained until 1955, when Austria regained full sovereignty.
Four-power Vienna
After the war, Vienna was part of
Soviet-occupied Eastern Austria until September 1945. As in Berlin, Vienna in September 1945 was divided into sectors by the four powers: the US, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union and supervised by an
Allied Commission
Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far East ...
. The four-power occupation of Vienna differed in one key respect from that of Berlin: the central area of the city, known as the first district, constituted an ''international zone'' in which the four powers alternated control on a monthly basis. The control was policed by the four powers on a ''de facto'' day-to-day basis, the famous "four soldiers in a jeep" method. The
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
of 1948 raised Western concerns that the Soviets might repeat the blockade in Vienna. The matter was raised in the UK
House of Commons by MP
Anthony Nutting
Sir Harold Anthony Nutting, 3rd Baronet (11 January 1920 – 23 February 1999) was a British diplomat and Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1945 and 1956. He was a Minister of State for Foreign Affairs fro ...
, who asked: "What plans have the Government for dealing with a similar situation in Vienna? Vienna is in exactly a similar position to Berlin."
There was a lack of airfields in the Western sectors, and authorities drafted contingency plans to deal with such a blockade. Plans included the laying down of metal landing mats at Schönbrunn. The Soviets did not blockade the city. The
Potsdam Agreement included written rights of land access to the western sectors, whereas no such written guarantees had covered the western sectors of Berlin. Also, there was no precipitating event to cause a blockade in Vienna. (In Berlin, the Western powers had introduced a new currency in early 1948 to economically freeze out the Soviets.) During the 10 years of the four-power occupation, Vienna became a hotbed for international espionage between the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern blocs. In the wake of the Berlin Blockade, the
Cold War in Vienna took on a different dynamic. While accepting that Germany and Berlin would be divided, the Soviets had decided against allowing the same state of affairs to arise in Austria and Vienna. Here, the Soviet forces controlled districts 2, 4, 10, 20, 21, and 22 and all areas incorporated into Vienna in 1938.
Barbed wire fences were installed around the perimeter of
West Berlin in 1953, but not in Vienna. By 1955, the Soviets, by signing the
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...
, agreed to relinquish their occupation zones in Eastern Austria as well as their sector in Vienna. In exchange they required that Austria declare its permanent neutrality after the allied powers had left the country. Thus they ensured that Austria would not be a member of
NATO and that NATO forces would therefore not have direct communications between
Italy and
West Germany.
The atmosphere of four-power Vienna is the background for
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's screenplay for the film ''
The Third Man
''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotte ...
'' (1949). Later he adapted the screenplay as a novel and published it. Occupied Vienna is also depicted in the 1991
Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
novel, ''
A German Requiem''.
Austrian State Treaty and afterwards
The four-power control of Vienna lasted until the
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...
was signed in May 1955. That year, after years of reconstruction and restoration, the
State Opera and the
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
, both on the Ringstraße, reopened to the public. The Soviet Union signed the State Treaty only after having been provided with a political guarantee by the federal government to declare Austria's neutrality after the withdrawal of the allied troops. This law of neutrality, passed in late October 1955 (and not the State Treaty itself), ensured that modern Austria would align with neither
NATO nor the
Soviet bloc, and is considered one of the reasons for Austria's delayed
entry into the European Union in 1995.
In the 1970s,
Austrian Chancellor
The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies.
Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aust ...
Bruno Kreisky
Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
inaugurated the
Vienna International Center
The Vienna International Centre (VIC) is the campus and building complex hosting the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV; in de-AT, Büro der Vereinten Nationen in Wien). It is colloquially also known as UNO City.
Overview
The VIC, designed ...
, a new area of the city created to host international institutions. Vienna has regained much of its former international stature by hosting international organizations, such as the United Nations (
United Nations Industrial Development Organization,
United Nations Office at Vienna
The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of th ...
and
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
, the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
, and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
.
Demographics
Because of the industrialization and migration from other parts of the Empire, the population of Vienna increased sharply during its time as the capital of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
(1867–1918). In 1910, Vienna had more than two million inhabitants, and was the third
largest city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...
in Europe after London and Paris. Around the start of the 20th century, Vienna was the city with the second-largest
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech ...
population in the world (after
Prague). After World War I, many
Czechs
The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...
and
Hungarians returned to their ancestral countries, resulting in a decline in the Viennese population. After World War II, the Soviets used force to repatriate key workers of Czech, Slovak and Hungarian origins to return to their ethnic homelands to further the Soviet bloc economy. The population of Vienna generally stagnated or declined through the remainder of the 20th century, not demonstrating significant growth again until the census of 2000. In 2020, Vienna's population remained significantly below its reported peak in 1916.
Under the Nazi regime, 65,000
Jews were deported and murdered in concentration camps by Nazi forces; approximately 130,000 fled.
By 2001, 16% of people living in Austria had nationalities other than Austrian, nearly half of whom were from former
Yugoslavia; the next most numerous nationalities in Vienna were
Turks (39,000; 2.5%),
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Cen ...
(13,600; 0.9%) and Germans (12,700; 0.8%).
, an official report from Statistics Austria showed that more than 660,000 (38.8%) of the Viennese population have full or partial migrant background, mostly from Ex-Yugoslavia, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Romania and Hungary.
From 2005 to 2015 the city's population grew by 10.1%. According to
UN-Habitat, Vienna could be the fastest growing city out of 17 European metropolitan areas until 2025 with an increase of 4.65% of its population, compared to 2010.
Religion
According to the 2001 census, 49.2% of Viennese were Catholic, while 25.7% were of no religion, 7.8% were Muslim, 6.0% were members of an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, 4.7% were Protestant (mostly Lutheran), 0.5% were Jewish and 6.3% were either of other religions or did not reply.
A 2011 report by the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent international research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna, in Austria. Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-o ...
showed the proportions had changed, with 41.3% Catholic, 31.6% no affiliation, 11.6% Muslim, 8.4% Eastern Orthodox, 4.2% Protestant, and 2.9% other.
Based on information provided to city officials by various religious organizations about their membership, Vienna's Statistical Yearbook 2019 reports in 2018 an estimated 610,269 Roman Catholics, or 32.3% of the population, and 195,000 (10.3%) Muslims, 70,298 (3.7%) Orthodox, 57,502 (3.0%) other Christians, and 9,504 (0.5%) other religions.
A study conducted by the
Vienna Institute of Demography
262px, University building Welthandelsplatz 2
262px, Entrance to VID
The Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) (until 2002: Institut für Demographie/IfD) is a research institute of the division for humanities and social sciences within the ...
estimated the 2018 proportions to be 34% Catholic, 30% unaffiliated, 15% Muslim, 10% Orthodox, 4% Protestant, and 6% other religions.
Vienna is the seat of the Metropolitan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, in which is also vested the exempt
Ordinariate In the organisation of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican CommunionSee, for example, thAnglican Military Ordinariate in Canada an ordinariate is a pre- or pseudo-diocesan ecclesiastical structure, of geographical or personal nature, headed by a ...
for Byzantine-rite Catholics in Austria; its
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
is
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
Christoph Schönborn
Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P. (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna a ...
. Many
Catholic churches
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in central Vienna feature performances of religious or other music, including masses sung to classical music and organ. Some of Vienna's most significant historical buildings are Catholic churches, including the
St. Stephen's Cathedral (''Stephansdom''),
Karlskirche
The ''Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus'', commonly called the ''Karlskirche'' (), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one ...
,
Peterskirche
The ''Peterskirche'' ( en, St. Peter's Church) is a Baroque Roman Catholic parish church in Vienna, Austria. It was transferred in 1970 by the Archbishop of Vienna Franz Cardinal König to the priests of the Opus Dei.
The first church
The o ...
and the
Votivkirche. On the banks of the Danube, there is a Buddhist
Peace Pagoda
A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...
, built in 1983 by the monks and nuns of
Nipponzan Myohoji.
Geography
Vienna is located in northeastern Austria, at the easternmost extension of the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
in the
Vienna Basin
The Vienna Basin (german: Wiener Becken, cz, Vídeňská pánev, sk, Viedenská kotlina, Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and sedimentary basin in the seam area between the Alps, the Carpathians and t ...
. The earliest settlement, at the location of today's
inner city, was south of the meandering Danube while the city now spans both sides of the river. Elevation ranges from . The city has a total area of 414.65 square kilometers (160.1 sq mi), making it the largest city in Austria by area.
Climate
Vienna has an
oceanic climate (
Köppen classification ''Cfb''). The city has warm summers, with periodical precipitations that can reach its yearly peak in July and August (66.6 and 66.5 mm respectively) and average high temperatures from June to September of approximately , with a record maximum exceeding and a record low in September of . Winters are relatively dry and cold with average temperatures at about freezing point. Spring is variable and autumn cool, with possible snowfalls already in November. Precipitation is generally moderate throughout the year, averaging around annually, with considerable local variations, the Vienna Woods region in the west being the wettest part ( annually) and the flat plains in the east being the driest part ( annually). Snow in winter is common, even if not so frequent compared to the Western and Southern regions of Austria.
World heritage in danger
Vienna was moved to the UNESCO world heritage in endangered list in 2017. The main reason was a planned high-rise development.
The city's social democratic party planned construction of a complex in 2019.
The plan includes a -high tower, which was reduced from due to opposition.
UNESCO believed that the project "fails to comply fully with previous committee decisions, notably concerning the height of new constructions, which will impact adversely the outstanding universal value of the site."
UNESCO set the restriction for the height of the construction in the city center to .
The citizens of Vienna also opposed the construction of the complex because they are afraid of losing UNESCO status and also of encouraging future high-rise development.
The city officials replied that they will convince the WHC to maintain UNESCO world heritage status and said that no further high-rise developments are being planned.
UNESCO is concerned about the height of high-rise development in Vienna as it can dramatically influence the visual integrity of the city,
specifically the baroque palaces.
Visual impact studies are being done in the Vienna city center to assess the level of visual disturbance to visitors and how the changes influenced the city's visual integrity.
Districts and enlargement
Vienna is composed of 23 districts (''Bezirke''). Administrative district offices in Vienna (called Magistratische Bezirksämter) serve functions similar to those in the other Austrian states (called Bezirkshauptmannschaften), the officers being subject to the mayor of Vienna; with the notable exception of the police, which is under federal supervision.
District residents in Vienna (Austrians as well as EU citizens with permanent residence here) elect a District Assembly (Bezirksvertretung). City hall has delegated maintenance budgets, e.g., for schools and parks, so that the districts are able to set priorities autonomously. Any decision of a district can be overridden by the city assembly (Gemeinderat) or the responsible city councilor (amtsführender Stadtrat).
The heart and historical city of Vienna, a large part of today's
Innere Stadt, was a fortress surrounded by fields in order to defend itself from potential attackers. In 1850, Vienna with the consent of the emperor annexed 34 surrounding villages, called Vorstädte, into the city limits (districts no. 2 to 8, after 1861 with the separation of Margareten from Wieden no. 2 to 9). Consequently, the walls were razed after 1857, making it possible for the city center to expand.
In their place, a broad boulevard called the
Ringstraße was built, along which imposing public and private buildings, monuments, and parks were created by the start of the 20th century. These buildings include the
Rathaus
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
(town hall), the
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
, the
University, the
Parliament, the twin museums of
natural history and
fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...
, and the
Staatsoper. It is also the location of New Wing of the
Hofburg, the former imperial palace, and the Imperial and Royal War Ministry finished in 1913. The mainly
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Stephansdom is located at the center of the city, on
Stephansplatz. The Imperial-Royal Government set up the Vienna City Renovation Fund (Wiener Stadterneuerungsfonds) and sold many building lots to private investors, thereby partly financing public construction works.
From 1850 to 1890, city limits in the West and the South mainly followed another wall called ''
Linienwall'' at which a
road toll called the ''
Liniengeld'' was charged. Outside this wall from 1873 onwards a
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
called
Gürtel was built. In 1890 it was decided to integrate 33 suburbs (called Vororte) beyond that wall into Vienna by 1 January 1892
[Czeike, volume 5, p. 290] and transform them into districts no. 11 to 19 (district no. 10 had been constituted in 1874); hence the Linienwall was torn down beginning in 1894. In 1900, district no. 20, Brigittenau, was created by separating the area from the 2nd district.
From 1850 to 1904, Vienna had expanded only on the right bank of the Danube, following the main branch before the regulation of 1868–1875, i.e., the Old Danube of today. In 1904, the 21st district was created by integrating Floridsdorf, Kagran, Stadlau, Hirschstetten, Aspern and other villages on the left bank of the Danube into Vienna, in 1910 Strebersdorf followed. On 15 October 1938 the Nazis created Great Vienna with 26 districts by merging 97 towns and villages into Vienna, 80 of which were returned to surrounding
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P� ...
in 1954.
Since then Vienna has had 23 districts.
Industries are located mostly in the southern and eastern districts. The
Innere Stadt is situated away from the main flow of the
Danube, but is bounded by the ''
Donaukanal
The Donaukanal ("Danube Canal") is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel (since 1598), within the city of Vienna, Austria. It is long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere Stadt, ...
'' ("Danube canal"). Vienna's second and twentieth districts are located between the Donaukanal and the
Danube. Across the Danube, where the Vienna International Center is located (districts 21–22), and in the southern areas (district 23) are the newest parts of the city.
Politics
Political history
In the twenty years before the First World War and until 1918, Viennese politics were shaped by the
Christian Social Party. In particular, long-term mayor
Karl Lueger was able to not apply the general voting rights for men introduced by and for the parliament of imperial Austria, the ''Reichsrat'', in 1907, thereby excluding most of the working class from taking part in decisions. For
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
, who spent some years in Vienna, Lueger was a teacher of how to use
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
in politics.
Vienna is today considered the center of the
Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). During the period of the
First Republic (1918–1934), the Vienna Social Democrats undertook many social reforms. At that time, Vienna's municipal policy was admired by Socialists throughout Europe, who therefore referred to the city as "
Red Vienna" (''Rotes Wien''). In February 1934 troops of the Austrian federal government under
Engelbert Dollfuss, who had closed down the first chamber of the federal parliament, the ''Nationalrat'', in 1933, and paramilitary socialist organizations were engaged in the Austrian Civil War, which led to the ban of the Social Democratic party.
The SPÖ has held the mayor's office and control of the city council/parliament at every free election since 1919. The only break in this SPÖ dominance came between 1934 and 1945, when the Social Democratic Party was illegal, mayors were appointed by the
austro-fascist and later by the
Nazi authorities. The mayor of Vienna is
Michael Ludwig of the SPÖ.
The city has enacted many social democratic policies. The ''
Gemeindebau
''Gemeindebau'' (; plural: ''Gemeindebauten'') is an Austrian German word for "municipality building".[''Gemeinde''< ...]
ten'' are social housing assets that are well integrated into the city architecture outside the first or "inner" district. The low rents enable comfortable accommodation and good access to the city amenities. Many of the projects were built after the
Second World War on vacant lots that were destroyed by bombing during the war. The city took particular pride in building them to a high standard.
Government
Since Vienna obtained federal state (''Bundesland'') status of its own by the federal constitution of 1920, the city council also functions as the state parliament (
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in no ...
), and the mayor (except 1934–1945) also doubles as the ''
Landeshauptmann'' (governor/minister-president) of the state of Vienna. The Rathaus accommodates the offices of the mayor (''
:de:Magistrat der Stadt Wien'') and the state government (''Landesregierung''). The city is administered by a multitude of departments (''Magistratsabteilungen''), politically supervised by ''Amtsführende Stadträte'' (members of the city government/parliament leading offices; according to the Vienna constitution opposition parties have the right to designate members of the city government not leading offices).
Under the city constitution of 1920, municipal and state business must be kept separate. Hence, the city council and state parliament hold separate meetings, with separate presiding officers–the chairman of the city council or the president of the state Landtag–even though the two bodies' memberships are identical. When meeting as a city council, the deputies can only deal with the affairs of the city of Vienna; when meeting as a state parliament, they can only deal with the affairs of the state of Vienna.
In the 1996 City Council election, the SPÖ lost its overall majority in the 100-seat chamber, winning 43 seats and 39.15% of the vote. The SPÖ had held an outright majority at every free municipal election since 1919. In 1996 the
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which won 29 seats (up from 21 in 1991), beat the ÖVP into third place for the second time running. From 1996 to 2001, the SPÖ governed Vienna in a coalition with the ÖVP. In 2001 the SPÖ regained the overall majority with 52 seats and 46.91% of the vote; in October 2005, this majority was increased further to 55 seats (49.09%). In course of the 2010 city council elections the SPÖ lost their overall majority again and consequently forged a coalition with the
Green Party – the first SPÖ/Green coalition in Austria. This coalition was maintained following the 2015 election. Following the 2020 election, the SPÖ forged a coalition with
NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum
NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (german: NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum) is a liberal political party in Austria. It was founded as NEOS – The New Austria in 2012. In 2014, NEOS merged with Liberal Forum and adopt ...
.
Economy
Vienna is one of the wealthiest regions in the
European Union: Its
gross regional product of EUR 47,200 per capita constituted 25.7% of Austria's GDP in 2013. It amounts to 159% of the EU average. The city improved its position from 2012 on the ranking of the most economically powerful cities reaching number nine on the listing in 2015.
With a share of 85.5% in gross value added, the service sector is Vienna's most important economic sector. Industry and commerce have a share of 14.5% in gross value added, the
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy ...
(agriculture) has a share of 0.07% and therefore plays a minor role in the local added value.
However, the cultivation and production of
wines within the city borders have a high socio-cultural value. The most important business sectors are trade (14.7% of added value in Vienna), scientific and technological services, real estate and housing activities as well as manufacturing of goods. In 2012, Vienna's contribution in Austria's outgoing and incoming
foreign direct investments was of about 60%, which demonstrates Vienna's role as an international hub for domestic and foreign companies.
Since the
fall of the Iron Curtain
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
in 1989, Vienna has expanded its position as gateway to Eastern Europe: 300 international companies have their Eastern European headquarters in Vienna and its environs. Among them are
Hewlett Packard,
Henkel,
Baxalta
Baxalta (''Bax'' from the name of its former parent company; ''alta'' a Latin adjective meaning 'high' or 'profound') is a biopharmaceutical company founded on 1 July 2015 after its parent company, Baxter International, spun off biopharmaceutica ...
and
Siemens. Companies in Vienna have extensive contacts and competences in business with Eastern Europe due to the city's historical role as center of the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. The number of international businesses in Vienna is still growing: In 2014 159 and in 2015 175 international firms established offices in Vienna.
Altogether, approximately 8,300 new companies have been founded in Vienna every year since 2004. The majority of these companies are operating in fields of industry-oriented services, wholesale trade as well as information and communications technologies and new media. Vienna makes effort to establish itself as a start-up hub. Since 2012, the city hosts the annual Pioneers Festival, the largest start-up event in Central Europe with 2,500 international participants taking place at
Hofburg Palace. Tech Cocktail, an online portal for the start-up scene, has ranked Vienna sixth among the top ten start-up cities worldwide.
Research and development
The city of Vienna attaches major importance to science and research and focuses on creating a positive environment for research and development. In 2014, Vienna has accommodated 1,329 research facilities; 40,400 persons are employed in the R&D sector and 35% of Austria's R&D expenses are invested in the city. With a research quota of 3.4% Vienna exceeds the Austrian average of 2.77% and has already met the EU target of 3.0% by 2020.
A major R&D sector in Vienna are life sciences. The Vienna Life Science Cluster is Austria's major hub for life science research, education and business. Throughout Vienna, five universities and several basic research institutes form the academic core of the hub with more than 12,600 employees and 34,700 students. Here, more than 480 medical device,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by ...
and
pharmaceutical companies with almost 23,000 employees generate around 12 billion euros in revenue (2017). This corresponds to more than 50% of the revenue generated by life science companies in Austria (22.4 billion euros).
Vienna is home to global players like
Boehringer Ingelheim
C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical ...
,
Octapharma,
Ottobock
Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, formerly Otto Bock, is a company based in Duderstadt Germany, that operates in the field of orthopedic technology. It is considered the world market leader in the field of prosthetics and one of the leading suppliers ...
and
Takeda. However, there is also a growing number of start-up companies in the life sciences and Vienna was ranked first in the 2019 PeoplePerHour Startup Cities Index. Companies such as Apeiron Biologics, Hookipa Pharma, Marinomed, mySugr, Themis Bioscience and Valneva operate a presence in Vienna and regularly hit the headlines internationally. Vienna also houses the headquarters of the
Central European Diabetes Association
The Central European Diabetes Association (CEDA) is an international medical and scientific association. CEDA was founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1969 as ''Federation of International Danube Symposia on Diabetes mellitus'' (FID). After the inclu ...
, a cooperative international medical research association.
To facilitate tapping the economic potential of the multiple facettes of the life sciences at Austria's capital, the Austrian
Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs
In Austrian politics, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs ( German: ''Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort'') is the ministry in charge of promoting commerce and industry, overseeing public works, and ...
and the local government of City of Vienna have joined forces: Since 2002, the LISAvienna platform is available as a central contact point. It provides free business support services at the interface of the Austrian federal promotional bank, Austria Wirtschaftsservice and the Vienna Business Agency and collects data that inform policy making.
The main academic hot spots in Vienna are the Life Science Center Muthgasse with the
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), the
Austrian Institute of Technology
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria's largest Research and Technology Organization (RTO), employing about 1,300 people mostly based at the main facilities Vienna Tech Gate, Vienna TECHbase, Seibersdorf, Wiener Neustadt, Ranshofen and G ...
, the
University of Veterinary Medicine, the
AKH Vienna
The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Univer ...
with the
MedUni Vienna and the
Vienna Biocenter
The Vienna BioCenter is a cluster of life science research institutes and biotechnology companies located in the 3rd municipal District of Vienna, Austria. It grew around the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), which opened in 198 ...
.
Central European University
Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...
, a graduate institution expelled from Budapest in the midst of a Hungarian government steps to take control of academic and research organizations, welcomes the first class of students to its new Vienna campus in 2019.
Information technologies
The Viennese sector for information and communication technologies is comparable in size with the sector in
Helsinki,
Milan or
Munich and thus among Europe's largest IT locations. In 2012 8,962 IT businesses with a workforce of 64,223 were located in the Vienna Region. The main products are instruments and appliances for measuring, testing and navigation as well as electronic components. More than ⅔ of the enterprises provide IT services. Among the biggest IT firms in Vienna are
Kapsch
The Kapsch Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is an international corporation specializing in telematics, information technology and telecommunication.
History and operations
In September 1892, Johann Kapsch (1845–1921) founded a precisio ...
,
Beko
Beko ( ; stylized as beko) is a Turkish major appliance and consumer electronics brand of Arçelik A.Ş. controlled by Koç Holding.
History
Beko Elektronik A.Ş. was founded by Vehbi Koç, the founder of Koç Holding (who also founded A ...
Engineering & Informatics, air traffic control experts
Frequentis
Frequentis is an Austrian high-tech company that develops communication and information systems in fields such as air traffic management and public safety & transport (police, rescue and fire services, coastal rescue, railways, shipping, and othe ...
,
Cisco Systems Austria,
Hewlett-Packard,
Microsoft Austria,
IBM Austria and
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, a ...
Austria.
The US technology corporation
Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
runs its ''Entrepreneurs in Residence'' program for Europe in Vienna in cooperation with th
Vienna Business Agency
The British company
UBM has rated Vienna one of the ''Top 10 Internet Cities'' worldwide, by analyzing criteria like connection speed, WiFi availability, innovation spirit and open government data.
In 2011 74.3% of Viennese households were connected with broadband, 79% were in possession of a computer. According to the broadband strategy of the city, full broadband coverage will be reached by 2020.
Tourism and conferences
There were 17.6 million overnight stays in Vienna in 2019 (+6.8% compared to 2018). The top ten incoming markets in 2019 were
Germany,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
, the
United States,
Italy,
United Kingdom,
Spain,
China,
France,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
and
Switzerland.
In 2019 the International Congress and Convention Association
ICCA ranked Vienna 6th in the world for association meetings. The Union of International Associations
UIA ranked Vienna 5th in the world for 2019 with 306 international meetings, behind Singapore, Brussels, Seoul and Paris. The city's largest conference center, th
Austria Center Vienna (ACV)has a total capacity for around 22,800 people and is situated next to the
United Nations Headquarters in Vienna. Other centers are th
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center(up to 3,000 people) and th
Hofburg Palace(up to 4,900 people).
Rankings
Vienna was ranked top in the ''2019 Quality of Living Ranking'' by the international
Mercer Consulting Group for the tenth consecutive year. In the 2015 liveability report by the
Economist Intelligence Unit as well as in the ''Quality of Life Survey 2015'' of London-based
''Monocle magazine'' Vienna was equally ranked second most livable city worldwide.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme ''UN-Habitat'' has ranked Vienna the most prosperous city in the world in its flagship report ''State of the World Cities 2012/2013''.
According to the 201
City RepTrackranking by the
Reputation Institute
RepTrak (formerly known as Reputation Institute) is a company that publishes reports on the reputation of corporations and places, based on consumer surveys and media coverage. It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
History
In 1999, Char ...
, Vienna has the best reputation in comparison with 100 major global cities.
The ''Innovation Cities Global Index 2014'' by the Australian innovation agenc
2thinknowranks Vienna sixth behind
San Francisco-
San Jose,
New York City,
London,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
and
Paris. In 2019
PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour, legally People Per Hour Limited, is a UK-based company whose function is as an online platform giving businesses access to freelance workers.
History
Founded in 2007 by Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris, the company has ...
put Vienna at the top of their Startup Cities Ranking.
US climate strategist
Boyd Cohen
Boyd Cohen (born 1970) is an urban and climate strategist working in the area of sustainable development and smart cities. Currently he is Dean of Research at EADA Business School and co-founder of IoMob. Cohen received a PhD in Strategy & Entr ...
placed Vienna first in his first ''global smart cities'' ranking of 2012. In the 2014 ranking, Vienna reached third place among European cities behind
Copenhagen and
Amsterdam.
The ''Mori Memorial Institute for Urban Strategies'' ranked Vienna in the top ten of their
Global Power City Index 2016.
Urban development
Central Railway Station
Vienna's new
Central Railway Station was opened in October 2014. Construction began in June 2007 and was due to last until December 2015. The station is served by 1,100 trains with 145,000 passengers. There is a shopping center with approximately 90 shops and restaurants.
In the vicinity of the station a new district is emerging with office space and 5,000 apartments until 2020.
Aspern
Seestadt Aspern is one of the largest urban expansion projects of Europe. A 5
hectare artificial lake, offices, apartments and a subway station within walking distance are supposed to attract 20,000 new citizens when construction is completed in 2028.
In addition, the highest wooden skyscraper in the world, “HoHo Wien”, will be built within 3 years, starting in 2015.
Smart City
In 2014, the Vienna City Council adopted the Smart City Wien Framework Strategy 2050. It is a long-term umbrella strategy that is supposed to establish a conducive, long-term and structural framework in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 3.1 tonnes per capita to 1 tonne per capita by 2050, have 50% of Vienna's gross energy consumption
originate from renewable sources and to reduce motorized individual traffic from the current 28% to 15% by 2030. A stated goal is that, by 2050, all vehicles within the municipal boundaries will run without conventional propulsion technologies. Additionally, Vienna aims to be one of the five biggest European research and innovation hubs in 2050.
Culture
Music, theater and opera
Famous composers including
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries (baptised 28 November 1784 – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos (the first concert ...
,
Nina Stollewerk
Nina Stollewerk Rosthorn (18 July 1825 - 26 January 1914) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and singer who was one of the most widely-reviewed female composers of her time, and one of the few 19th-century women to conduct an orchestra.
Stollewe ...
,
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
,
Johannes Brahms,
Gustav Mahler,
Robert Stolz
Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press
Biography ...
, and
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
have worked in Vienna.
Art and culture had a long tradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
is considered one of the best theaters in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The
Volkstheater Wien
The Volkstheater in Vienna (roughly translated as "People's Theatre") was founded in 1889 by request of the citizens of Vienna, amongst them the dramatist Ludwig Anzengruber and the furniture manufacturer Thonet, in order to offer a popular coun ...
and the
Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of the performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...
.
Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served pri ...
, the
Staatsoper and the
Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese
operetta. Classical concerts are performed at venues such as the
Wiener Musikverein
The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...
, home of the
Vienna Philharmonic
The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world.
The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...
Orchestra known across the world for the annual widely broadcast "New Year's Day Concert", as well as the
Wiener Konzerthaus
The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...
, home of the internationally renowned
Vienna Symphony
The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Th ...
. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music, particularly the works of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Johann Strauss I, and
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
.
Up until 2005, the Theater an der Wien hosted premieres of musicals, but since 2006 (a year dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth), has devoted itself to opera again, becoming a stagione opera house offering one new production each month. Since 2012, Theater an der Wien has taken over the Wiener Kammeroper, a historical small theater in the first district of Vienna seating 300 spectators, turning it into its second venue for smaller sized productions and chamber operas created by the young ensemble of Theater an der Wien (JET). Before 2005 the most successful musical was ''
Elisabeth'', which was later translated into several languages and performed all over the world. The
Wiener Taschenoper Wiener Taschenoper (Vienna pocket opera) is an Austrian opera company based in Vienna. Insight Guides cite them and the Neue Oper Wien as "two of the independent groups which perform exclusively 20th and 21st-century opera".
Productions
Choreo ...
is dedicated to stage music of the 20th and 21st century. The
Haus der Musik
The Haus der Musik (''House of Music'') in Vienna opened in 2000, and is the first museum of sound and music in Austria. Across an exhibition space of 54,000 sq. ft., a range of hi-tech interactive and multimedia presentations introduce the wo ...
("house of music") opened in the year 2000.
The
Wienerlied
The Wienerlied (German, literally: Viennese song, pl. Wienerlieder) or Weanaliad ( viennese, pl. ''Weanaliada'') is a song genre which has its roots in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Traditional Viennese songs, known as ''Wienerlieder'' are ce ...
is a unique song genre from Vienna. There are approximately 60,000 – 70,000 Wienerlieder.
In 1981 the popular British new romantic group
Ultravox paid a tribute to Vienna on an album and an artful music video recording called ''Vienna''. The inspiration for this work arose from the cinema production called ''
The Third Man
''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotte ...
'' with the title
Zither music of
Anton Karas
Anton Karl Karas (7 July 1906 – 10 January 1985) was an Austrian zither player and composer, best known for his internationally famous 1948 soundtrack to Carol Reed's ''The Third Man''. His association with the film came about as a result of ...
.
The
Vienna's English Theatre
Vienna's English Theatre ''(VET),'' located in Vienna, Austria, is the oldest and most established English-language theatre in continental Europe.
History
It was founded in 1963 by the Austrian director Franz Schafranek and his American wife, ...
(VET) is an English theater in Vienna. It was founded in 1963 and is located in the 8th Vienna's district. It is the oldest English-language theater in continental Europe.
In May 2015, Vienna hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
following
Austria's victory in the
2014 contest.
Actors from Vienna
Notable entertainers born in Vienna include
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...
,
Christoph Waltz,
John Banner,
Christiane Hörbiger
Christiane Hörbiger (13 October 1938 – 30 November 2022) was an Austrian stage, film, and television actress. Her first major film role was Mary Vetsera in '' Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe'' in 1955. She appeared on the stage of the Burgthe ...
,
Eric Pohlmann
Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...
,
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (; born March 8, 1973) is a German actor, producer, and former model best known for his roles as Kelby in the 2002 film ''Brown Sugar'', the sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama s ...
,
Christine Buchegger
Christine Buchegger (19 November 1942 – 3 March 2014) was an Austrian theater and television actress, born in Vienna, Austria.
Biography
Christine Buchegger was born in Vienna to Maria Buchegger originating from Pettenbach in Upper Austria. ...
,
Mischa Hausserman
Mischa Hausserman (October 31, 1941 – August 30, 2021) was an Austrian-born American film and television actor.
Hausserman was born in Vienna, Austria on October 31, 1941. He moved to the United States in 1965, and studied acting at the Herb ...
,
Senta Berger
Senta Verhoeven (née Berger; ''Austrian German:'' , ; born 13 May 1941) is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film and television; her awards include three Bambi Awards, two Romys, an A ...
and
Christine Ostermayer
Christine Ostermayer (born 15 December 1936 in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian actress.
Selected filmography
* Derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a ...
.
Musicians from Vienna
Notable musicians born in Vienna include
Louie Austen
Louie Austen (born Alois Luef on 19 September 1946) is an Austrian classically trained bar and jazz crooner who has been active in the electronic music scene.
Biography
Austen was born on 19 September 1946 in Vienna, Austria.
Austen, among othe ...
,
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
,
Falco,
Fritz Kreisler,
Joseph Lanner,
Arnold Schönberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
,
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
,
Johann Strauss I,
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
,
Anton Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
, and
Joe Zawinul.
Famous musicians who came here to work from other parts of Austria and Germany were
Kurt Adler
Kurt Adler (March 1, 1907September 21, 1977) was an Austrian classical chorus master, music conductor, author and pianist. He was best known as the chorus master and lead conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973. ...
,
Johann Joseph Fux,
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries (baptised 28 November 1784 – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos (the first concert ...
,
Johann Sedlatzek
Johann Jean Sedlatzek (also Johann John Sedlaczek; 6 December 1789 – 11 April 1866) was a Silesian flautist born in Głogówek (Oberglogau),History of Oberglogau in Brief. "http://www.smarzly.de/6.html". Smarzly 2003. Retrieved on 16 September ...
,
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarch ...
,
Carl Czerny
Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...
,
Johann Nepomuk Hummel,
Franz Liszt,
Franz von Suppé
Franz von Suppé (né Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppe) (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A com ...
,
Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
,
Johannes Brahms,
Gustav Mahler and
Rainhard Fendrich.
Notable writers from Vienna
Notable writers from Vienna include
Karl Leopold von Möller
Count, Karl von Möller AOL O (11 October 1876 – 21 February 1943) was an officer, journalist, author and politician from Banat. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler's National Socialism. In 1932, he published the antisemitic newspaper ...
,
Carl Julius Haidvogel
Carl Julius Haidvogel was born to Carl Haidvogel and Juliana on 13 September 1891 in Vienna, Austria. From 1912, Haidvogel worked as a registrar for the municipality of Vienna, was a part-time editor at the public educational institute and observat ...
, and
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
.
Writers who lived and worked in Vienna include
Franz Kafka,
Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist.
Biography
Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...
,
Elias Canetti,
Ingeborg Bachmann,
Robert Musil,
Karl Kraus,
Ernst von Feuchtersleben
Baron Ernst von Feuchtersleben (full name: Ernst Maria Johann Karl ''Freiherr'' von Feuchtersleben; 29 April 18063 September 1849), was an Austrian physician, poet and philosopher. He was a member of the von Feuchtersleben Family
Life
He was bor ...
,
Thomas Bernhard and
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-vo ...
.
Notable politicians from Vienna
Notable politicians from Vienna include
Karl Leopold von Möller
Count, Karl von Möller AOL O (11 October 1876 – 21 February 1943) was an officer, journalist, author and politician from Banat. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler's National Socialism. In 1932, he published the antisemitic newspaper ...
.
Notable athletes
*
Renato Gligoroski
Renato Gligoroski ( mk, Ренато Глигороски) was born (4 November 1976 in Vienna, Austria) and is currently a UEFA "A" licensed football/soccer coach from the Republic of Macedonia. Apart from his professional coaching license he is ...
(born 1976), former professional footballer, now coach and engineer
Museums
The
Hofburg is the location of the
Imperial Treasury (''Schatzkammer''), holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum (a museum devoted to
Empress Elisabeth of Austria) allows visitors to view the imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg are the
Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses many paintings by
old masters, ancient and classical artifacts, and the
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museu ...
.
A number of
museums are located in the
Museumsquartier (museum quarter), the former Imperial Stalls which were converted into a museum complex in the 1990s. It houses the Museum of Modern Art, commonly known as the
MUMOK (Ludwig Foundation), the
Leopold Museum (featuring the largest collection of paintings in the world by
Egon Schiele
Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portr ...
, as well as works by the
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
, Viennese Modernism and Austrian Expressionism), the
AzW (museum of architecture), additional halls with feature exhibitions, and the Tanzquartier. The Liechtenstein Palace contains much of one of the world's
largest private art collections, especially strong in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
. The
Belvedere, built under
Prince Eugene, has
a gallery containing paintings by
Gustav Klimt (The Kiss), Egon Schiele, and other painters of the early 20th century, also sculptures by
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (February 6, 1736 – August 19, 1783) was a German-Austrian sculptor most famous for his "character heads", a collection of busts with faces contorted in extreme facial expressions.
Early years
Born February 6, 173 ...
, and changing exhibitions too.
There are a multitude of other museums in Vienna, including the
Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...
, the
Military History Museum, the
Technical Museum, the Burial Museum, the
Museum of Art Fakes
The Museum of Art Fakes (german: Fälschermuseum) is a museum of faked and forged artworks that opened in Vienna, Austria in 2005. This small, privately run museum in the Landstraße district is the only one of its kind in the German-speaking worl ...
, the
KunstHausWien
The KunstHausWien is a museum in Vienna, designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. This museum in the Landstraße district houses the world's only permanent exhibition of Hundertwasser's works, and also hosts regular temporary exhibit ...
,
Museum of Applied Arts, the
Sigmund Freud Museum, and the
Mozarthaus Vienna
The Mozarthaus Vienna was Mozart's residence from 1784 to 1787. This building in Vienna's Old Town, not far from St. Stephen's Cathedral, is his only surviving Viennese residence and is now a museum.
History
The house is located on Domgasse. It ...
. The museums on the history of the city, including the former
Historical Museum of the City of Vienna on
Karlsplatz
Karlsplatz () is a town square on the border of the first and fourth districts of Vienna. It is one of the most frequented and best connected transportation hubs in Vienna. The Karlskirche is located here.
The first district can be reached eit ...
, the
Hermesvilla
Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name ...
, the residences and birthplaces of various composers, the
Museum of the Romans, and the
Vienna Clock Museum, are now gathered together under the group umbrella
Vienna Museum
The Vienna Museum (german: Wien Museum or ''Museen der Stadt Wien'') is a group of museums in Vienna consisting of the museums of the history of the city. In addition to the main building in Karlsplatz and the Hermesvilla, the group includes num ...
. The
Jewish Museum Vienna
The Jüdisches Museum Wien, trading as ''Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien GmbH'' or the Jewish Museum Vienna, is a museum of Jewish history, life and religion in Austria. The museum is present on two locations, in the Palais Eskeles in the Doro ...
, founded 1896, is the oldest of its kind. In addition there are museums dedicated to Vienna's individual districts. They provide a record of individual struggles, achievements and tragedy as the city grew and survived two world wars. For readers seeking family histories these are good sources of information.
Architecture
A variety of architectural styles can be found in Vienna, such as the
Romanesque Ruprechtskirche
St. Rupert's Church (german: Ruprechtskirche) is a Romanesque church in Vienna, Austria. Traditionally considered to be the oldest church in the city, St. Rupert's Church is dedicated to Saint Rupert of Salzburg, patron saint of the salt merchant ...
and the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
Karlskirche
The ''Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus'', commonly called the ''Karlskirche'' (), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one ...
. Styles range from
classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Cla ...
buildings to
modern architecture
Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...
.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
left many architectural traces in Vienna. The
Secession building
The Secession Building (german: Secessionsgebäude) is an exhibition hall in Vienna, Austria. It was completed in 1898 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession, a group of rebel artists that seceded from the ...
,
Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station
Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station is a former station of the Viennese ''Stadtbahn''. The buildings above ground on Karlsplatz are a well-known example of ''Jugendstil'' architecture. These buildings were included in The Vienna Secession, as they foll ...
, and the
Kirche am Steinhof
Kirche am Steinhof, also called the Church of St. Leopold, is the Roman Catholic oratory of the Otto-Wagner-Spital in the area of Steinhof in Vienna, Austria. The building, designed by Otto Wagner, is considered one of the most important Art No ...
by
Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world. Wagner's prominent student
Jože Plečnik
Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and ...
from
Slovenia also left important traces in Vienna. His works include the Langer House (1900) and the
Zacherlhaus
The Zacherlhaus is a residential and business building designed by Jože Plečnik and built between 1903 and 1905 in the 1st district of Vienna, the central district of Innere Stadt (at Brandstätte 6 / Wildpretmarkt 2–4 / Bauernmarkt 2).
The ...
(1903–1905). Plečnik's 1910–1913 ''Church of the Holy Spirit'' () in Vienna is remarkable for its innovative use of poured-in-place concrete as both structure and exterior surface, and also for its abstracted classical form language. Most radical is the church's crypt, with its slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals and bases.
Concurrent to the Art Nouveau movement was the
Wiener Moderne, during which some architects shunned the use of extraneous adornment. A key architect of this period was
Adolf Loos
Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos (; 10 December 1870 – 23 August 1933) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, and a polemicist of modern architecture. He was an inspiration to modernism and a widely-k ...
, whose works include the
Looshaus
The Looshaus is a commercial and residential building at 3, between Herrengasse and , in Vienna. Designed by Adolf Loos and completed in 1912, it is considered a major building of Viennese Modernism.
Building
The modernist design of the L ...
(1909), the Kärntner Bar or American Bar (1908) and the
Steiner House
Steiner House is a building in Vienna, Austria. It is considered one of the major works of architect Adolf Loos.
Background
Loos was still starting his career in 1910 when he designed and constructed the Steiner house in Vienna, Austria. This de ...
(1910).
The
Hundertwasserhaus
The Hundertwasserhaus ("Hundertwasser house") is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Outline
This expressionist landmark of Vienna is located in the Landstr ...
by
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...
, designed to counter the clinical look of modern architecture, is one of Vienna's most popular
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
s. Another example of unique architecture is the
Wotrubakirche by sculptor
Fritz Wotruba
Fritz Wotruba (23 April 1907, Vienna, Austria – 28 August 1975, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho- Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable sculptors of the 20th century in Austria. In his work, he increasingly di ...
. In the 1990s, a number of quarters were adapted and extensive building projects were implemented in the areas around Donaustadt (north of the Danube) and Wienerberg (in southern Vienna).
The 220-meter high
DC Tower 1 located on the Northern bank of the Danube, completed in 2013, is the tallest skyscraper in Vienna. In recent years, Vienna has seen numerous architecture projects completed which combine modern architectural elements with old buildings, such as the remodeling and revitalization of the old
Gasometer
A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...
in 2001.
Most buildings in Vienna are relatively low; in early 2006 there were around 100 buildings higher than . The number of high-rise buildings is kept low by building legislation aimed at preserving green areas and districts designated as
world cultural heritage. Strong rules apply to the planning, authorization and construction of high-rise buildings. Consequently, much of the inner city is a high-rise free zone.
Ball dances of Vienna
Vienna is the last great capital of the 19th-century
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used fo ...
. There are over 450 balls per year, some featuring as many as nine live orchestras.
Balls are held in the many palaces in Vienna, with the principal venue being the Hofburg Palace in
Heldenplatz. While the
Opera Ball is the best known internationally of all the Austrian balls,
other balls such as the Kaffeesiederball (Cafe Owners Ball), the Jägerball (Hunter's Ball) and the
Life Ball
The Life Ball in Vienna is the biggest charity event in Europe supporting people with HIV or AIDS. The event is organized by the nonprofit organization AIDS LIFE, which was founded in 1992 by Gery Keszler and Torgom Petrosian.
AIDS LIFE suppor ...
(AIDS charity event) are almost as well known within Austria and even better appreciated for their cordial atmosphere. Viennese of at least middle class may visit a number of balls in their lifetime.
Dancers and opera singers from the
Vienna State Opera often perform at the openings of the larger balls.
A Vienna ball is an all-night cultural attraction. Major Vienna balls generally begin at 9 pm and last until 5 am, although many guests carry on the celebrations into the next day. Viennese balls are being exported (with support from the City of Vienna) to around 30 cities worldwide such as New York, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Prague, Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow.
Language
Vienna is part of the
Austro-Bavarian language area, in particular
Central Bavarian
Central Bavarian form a subgroup of Bavarian dialects in large parts of Austria and the German state of Bavaria along the Danube river, on the northern side of the Eastern Alps. They are spoken in the ' Old Bavarian' regions of Upper Bavaria ( ...
(''Mittelbairisch''). In recent years, linguistics experts have seen a decline in the use of the Viennese variant. Manfred Glauninger, sociolinguist at the Institute for Austrian Dialect and Name Lexica, has observed three issues. First, many parents feel there's a stigma attached to the Viennese dialect so they speak Standard German to their children. Second, many children have recently immigrated to Austria and are learning German as a second language in school. Third, young people are influenced by mass media which is most always delivered in Standard German.
LGBT culture
Vienna is considered the center of
LGBT life in Austria.
The city has an action plan against queerphobic discrimination and, since 1998, has an anti-discriminiation unit within the city's administration. The city has several cafés, bars and clubs frequented by LGBT people. Among the most prominent is
Café Savoy, which is a traditional coffee house built in 1896. In 2015, the city introduced traffic lights with same-sex couples before hosting the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
that year, which attracted media attention internationally. Every year in June,
Vienna Pride Vienna Pride is a celebration that takes place in the Austrian capital every year in support of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It includes the Austrian pride parade, the Rainbow Parade (Regenbogen-Parade) which t ...
is organised. In 2019, when the pride parade was also hosting
Europride, it attracted 500.000 visitors.
Education
Vienna is Austria's main center of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and
gymnasiums (high schools).
Universities
*
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
*
Central European University
Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...
*
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pr ...
*
Medical University of Vienna
The Medical University of Vienna ( German: ''Medizinische Universität Wien'') is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It is the direct successor to the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna, founded in 1365 by Rudolf IV, Duk ...
*
PEF Private University of Management Vienna
*
University of Applied Arts Vienna
*
University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna
The University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna (UAS Campus Vienna, German: ''Fachhochschule Campus Wien'' or ''FH Campus Wien'') is the largest university of applied sciences
A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonl ...
*
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
*
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
The University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (German: ''Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien'' - in short: VUW) was founded in 1767 as the world's third school for veterinary medicine (after Lyon and École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Alf ...
*
University of Vienna
*
Vienna University of Economics and Business
*
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOK ...
*
University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien
University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna (''German:'' Fachhochschule Technikum Wien) was founded in 1994 and became Vienna’s first university of applied sciences in 2000. It is the largest technical university of applied sciences in Aust ...
*
TU Wien
TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...
*
Webster University Vienna
*
Sigmund Freud University Vienna
Sigmund Freud University (SFU) is a private and for-profit university accredited by thAustrian Accreditation Councilin August 2005 located in Vienna, Austria. As a university in the field of Human Sciences, SFU specializes in Psychotherapy Scien ...
*
International Anti-Corruption Academy (in Laxenburg, south of Vienna)
International schools
*
Danube International School
Danube International School Vienna (DISV) is a private international school in Vienna, Austria. located in the Second District, between the Donaukanal and the Prater.
The school is privately owned and managed, but is accredited by the Austrian G ...
*
International University Vienna
*
SAE Vienna
*
Lauder Business School
Lauder Business School is an English-language business school in Vienna, Austria, operating as a "University of Applied Sciences" in the Austrian education system. Lauder Business School (LBS) was founded in 2003 as a University of Applied Sciences ...
*
Lycée Français de Vienne
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children betwee ...
*
Vienna Christian School
The International Christian School of Vienna is an international school in Vienna, Austria that was founded in 1986. The school is located in the Donaustadt district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is ...
*
Vienna International School
*
American International School
*
(Japanese school)
*Amadeus International School
Leisure activities
Parks and gardens
Vienna possesses many parks, including the ''
Stadtpark'', the ''Burggarten'', the ''
Volksgarten'' (part of the ''Hofburg''), the ''Schlosspark'' at Schloss Belvedere (home to the
Vienna Botanic Gardens), the ''Donaupark'', the ''Schönbrunner Schlosspark'', the ''
Prater'', the ''Augarten'', the ''Rathauspark'', the ''
Lainzer Tiergarten'', the ''Dehnepark'', the ''Resselpark'', the ''Votivpark'', the ''Kurpark Oberlaa'', the ''Auer-Welsbach-Park'' and the ''Türkenschanzpark''. Green areas include ''Laaer-Berg'' (including the Bohemian Prater) and the foothills of the ''
Wienerwald'', which reaches into the outer areas of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as ''Beserlparks'', are everywhere in the inner city areas.
Many of Vienna's parks include monuments, such as the
Stadtpark with its statue of
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
, and the gardens of the
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
palace, where the
State Treaty was signed. Vienna's principal park is the
Prater which is home to the
Riesenrad, a
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...
, and
Kugelmugel
The Republic of Kugelmugel is a micronation located at the Prater in Vienna, Austria. The Republic declared independence in 1975, after disputes between artist Edwin Lipburger and Austrian authorities over building permits for a ball-shaped ...
, a micronation the shape of a sphere. The imperial
Schönbrunn's grounds contain an 18th-century park which includes
the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752.
The
Donauinsel
The Donauinsel (Danube Island) is a long, narrow artificial island in central Vienna, Austria, lying between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel '' Neue Donau'' ("New Danube"). The island is in length, but is only wide. The ...
, part of Vienna's flood defenses, is a long
artificial island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...
between the Danube and Neue Donau dedicated to leisure activities.
Sport
Austria's capital is home to numerous
football teams. The best known are the local football clubs include
FK Austria Wien (21
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
titles and record 27-time cup winners),
SK Rapid Wien (record 32
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
titles), and the oldest team,
First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly k ...
. Other important
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s include the
Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna
The Vienna Vikings is an American football club based in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well being the runne ...
(
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
), who won the
Eurobowl
The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...
title between 2004 and 2007 4 times in a row and had a perfect season in 2013, the
Aon hotVolleys Vienna
aon hotVolleys Vienna is an Austrian volleyball club which is playing their home matches at the Budocenter in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal co ...
, one of Europe's premier Volleyball organizations, the Vienna Wanderers (baseball) who won the 2012 and 2013 Championship of the Austrian Baseball League, and the
Vienna Capitals
Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic ...
(
Ice Hockey). Vienna was also where the European Handball Federation (EHF) was founded. There are also three
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
clubs;
Vienna Celtic, the oldest rugby club in Austria,
RC Donau
Rugby Union Donau Wien is an Austrian rugby club in Vienna.
History
The club was founded in 1989 as a youth team of RC Wien. Later that year they won the first Austrian Youth Championships, which they won again in 1991. As the players grew older ...
, and Stade Viennois
Vienna hosts many different sporting events including the
Vienna City Marathon, which attracts more than 10,000 participants every year and normally takes place in May. In 2005 the
Ice Hockey World Championships took place in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
and the final was played in Vienna. Vienna's
Ernst Happel Stadium
Ernst-Happel-Stadion (), known as Praterstadion until 1992, sometimes also called Wiener-Stadion, is a football stadium in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. With 50,865 seats, it is the largest stadium in Austria. It wa ...
was the venue of four
Champions League and European Champion Clubs' Cup finals (1964, 1987, 1990 and 1995) and on 29 June it hosted the final of
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
which saw a Spanish 1–0 victory over Germany.
Tennis tournament
Vienna Open
The Vienna Open (currently sponsored by Erste Bank and called the Erste Bank Open) is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit (1974–1989), it is currently part of the A ...
also takes place in the city since 1974. The matches are played in the
Wiener Stadthalle
Wiener Stadthalle (; English: ''Viennese City Hall'') is a multi-purpose indoor arena and convention center located in the 15th district of Vienna, Austria. Austrian architect Roland Rainer designed the original halls which were constructed b ...
.
The Neue Donau, which was formed after the Donauinsel was created, is free of river traffic and a popular destination for leisure and sports activities.
Vienna will host the official 2021
3x3 Basketball World Cup
The FIBA 3x3 World Cup is a 3x3 basketball tournament for national teams organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The debut of the tournament then named as the FIBA 3x3 World Championship was held in August 2012 in Athens, Gre ...
.
Culinary specialities
Food
Vienna is well known for ''
Wiener Schnitzel'', a cutlet of
veal ''(Kalbsschnitzel)'' or pork ''(Schweinsschnitzel)'' that is pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in
clarified butter
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. w ...
. It is available in almost every restaurant that serves
Viennese cuisine
Viennese cuisine is the cuisine that is characteristic of Vienna, Austria, and a majority of its residents. Viennese cuisine is often treated as equivalent to Austrian cuisine, but while elements of Viennese cuisine have spread throughout Austri ...
and can be eaten hot or cold. It is usually served in many cozy cafeterias in the old town evoking all the history behind the Empire city. The traditional 'Wiener Schnitzel' though is a cutlet of veal. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include ''
Tafelspitz
Tafelspitz ( German ''Tafelspitz'', ''top of the table'') is boiled veal or beef in broth, served with a mix of minced apples and horseradish. It is a classic dish of the Viennese cuisine and popular in all of Austria and the neighboring German ...
'' (very lean boiled beef), which is traditionally served with ''Geröstete Erdäpfel'' (boiled potatoes mashed with a fork and subsequently fried) and horseradish sauce, ''Apfelkren'' (a mixture of horseradish, cream and apple) and ''Schnittlauchsauce'' (a chives sauce made with mayonnaise and stale bread).
Vienna has a long tradition of producing cakes and desserts. These include ''
Apfelstrudel
Apple strudel (german: Apfelstrudel; cz, štrúdl; Yiddish: שטרודל) is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Northern Italy, Slovenia, and other countries in Europe that once belonged to ...
'' (hot apple strudel), ''
Milchrahmstrudel
The milk-cream strudel (Viennese: ''Millirahmstrudel'', German: ''Milchrahmstrudel'') is a traditional Viennese strudel. It is a popular pastry in Austria and in many countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1 ...
'' (milk-cream strudel), ''
Palatschinken
Palatschinke (or palaccinka, plural palatschinken) is a thin crêpe-like variety of pancake of Greco-Roman origin. While the dessert is most common in South and West Slavic countries, it is also generally known in other parts of Central and East ...
'' (sweet pancakes), and ''Knödel'' (dumplings) often filled with fruit such as apricots (''
Marillenknödel'').
Sachertorte
Sachertorte (, , ) is a chocolate cake, or torte of Austrian origin, invented by Franz Sacher, supposedly in 1832 for Prince Metternich in Vienna.Michael Krondl, ''Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert'', , 2011, p. 290: "my best guess ...
, a delicately moist chocolate cake with apricot jam created by the
Sacher Hotel, is world-famous.
In winter, small street stands sell traditional ''
Maroni'' (hot chestnuts) and potato fritters.
Sausages are popular and available from street vendors (''
Würstelstand
A ''Würstelstand'' (literally "sausage stand"; plural ''Würstelstände'') is a traditional Austrian street food retail outlet selling hot dogs, sausages, and side dishes. They are a ubiquitous sight in Vienna.
History
''Würstelstände'' were i ...
'') throughout the day and into the night. The sausage known as ''
Wiener'' (German for Viennese) in the U.S. and in Germany, is called a ''Frankfurter'' in Vienna. Other popular sausages are ''Burenwurst'' (a coarse beef and pork sausage, generally boiled), ''
Käsekrainer
Käsekrainer is a type of lightly smoked Brühwurst containing roughly torn bits of pork and 10% to 20% cheese (for example Emmentaler) cut into small cubes. They are sold all over Austria at Würstelstand outlets. It is a variety of Carniolan ...
'' (spicy pork with small chunks of cheese), and ''
Bratwurst
Bratwurst () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German ''Brätwurst'', from ''brät-'', finely chopped meat, and ''Wurst'', sausage, although in modern German it is of ...
'' (a white pork sausage). Most can be ordered "mit Brot" (with bread) or as a "hot dog" (stuffed inside a long roll). Mustard is the traditional condiment and usually offered in two varieties: "süß" (sweet) or "scharf" (spicy).
Kebab, pizza and noodles are, increasingly, the snack foods most widely available from small stands.
Vienna ranked 10th in vegan friendly European cities in a study by Alternative Traveler.
The ''
Naschmarkt
The Naschmarkt is Vienna's most popular market. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about long.
The Naschmarkt has existed since the 16th century when mainly milk bottles were sold (as milk bottles were made out of ash (wood fro ...
'' is a permanent market for fruit, vegetables, spices, fish, meat, etc., from around the world. The city has many coffee and breakfast stores.
Drinks
Vienna, along with
Paris,
Santiago,
Cape Town,
Prague,
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ...
,
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
and
Warsaw, is one of the few remaining world capital cities with its own vineyards. The wine is served in small Viennese pubs known as
Heuriger
In eastern Austria, a ''Heuriger'' (; Austrian dialect pronunciation: Heiriga) is a tavern where local winemakers serve their new wine under a special licence in alternate months during the growing season. The ''Heurige'' are renowned for their at ...
, which are especially numerous in the wine growing areas of
Döbling (
Grinzing
Grinzing () was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna.
Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References).
Geography
Location
Grinzing lies in the northwest of Vienna and, with an ar ...
,
Neustift am Walde
Until 1892 Neustift am Walde (Central Bavarian: ''Neistift aum Woid'') was an independent municipality in the outskirts of Vienna, Austria and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. It is also one of the 89 Katastralgemeinden.
...
,
Nußdorf,
Salmannsdorf
Salmannsdorf (Central Bavarian: ''Salmaunsduaf'') is a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna.
Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References).
Salmannsdorf was an independent municipality until 1892, when it was incorporated into the Wäh ...
,
Sievering
Sievering is a suburb of Vienna and part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. Sievering was created in 1892 out of the two erstwhile independent suburbs Untersievering and Obersievering. These still exist as Katastralgemeinden.
For many y ...
),
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...
(Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf),
Liesing
Liesing () is the 23rd district of Vienna. It is on the southwest edge of Vienna, Austria.
It was formed after Austria's ''Anschluss'' with Germany, when Vienna expanded from 21 districts to 26. Fifteen Lower Austrian districts, especially the ...
(
Mauer
Mauer is the German word for ''wall''. It may also refer to:
Places
*Mauer, Vienna, a former village of Lower Austria that has been part of Vienna since 1938
* Mauer bei Amstetten, a village in the municipality of Amstetten, in Lower Austria
* M ...
) and Favoriten (Oberlaa). The wine is often drunk as a Spritzer ("G'spritzter") with sparkling water. The
Grüner Veltliner
Grüner Veltliner (Green Veltliner) ) is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The leaves of the grape vine are five-lobed with bunches that are long but compact, and deep green grapes ...
, a dry white wine, is the most widely cultivated wine in Austria. Another wine very typical for the region is "Gemischter Satz", which is typically a blend of different types of wines harvested from the same vineyard.
Beer is next in importance to wine. Vienna has a single large brewery,
Ottakringer, and more than ten
microbreweries
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
. A "Beisl" is a typical small Austrian pub, of which Vienna has many.
Also, local soft drinks such as
Almdudler
Almdudler () is the brand name of a popular carbonated soft drink from Austria.
Product
The original Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated beverage made of herbal extracts. Almdudler has been called the "national drink of Austria". Its popularity ...
are popular around the country as an alternative to alcoholic beverages, placing it on the top spots along American counterparts such as
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
in terms of market share. Another popular drink is the so-called "
Spezi", a mix between
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
and the original formula of
Orange Fanta or the more locally renowned
Frucade
Frucade is a soft drink created in 1953 in Rosenheim, Bavaria by Adalbert Conrads and Karl Grün. It is a carbonated orange drink, with a slight taste of exotic fruits.
Frucade was spotlighted in the 1995 ORF ''Nette Leit Show'' (''Nice Peopl ...
.
Viennese cafés
Viennese cafés have an extremely long and distinguished history that dates back centuries, and the caffeine addictions of some famous historical patrons of the oldest are something of a local legend. These coffee houses are unique to Vienna and many cities have unsuccessfully sought to copy them. Some people consider cafés as their extended living room where nobody will be bothered if they spend hours reading a newspaper while enjoying their coffee. Traditionally, the coffee comes with a glass of water. Viennese cafés claim to have invented the process of
filtering coffee from booty captured after the second
Turkish siege in 1683. Viennese cafés claim that when the invading Turks left Vienna, they abandoned hundreds of sacks of
coffee beans. The
Polish King
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
, the commander of the anti-Turkish coalition of Poles, Germans, and Austrians, gave
Franz George Kolschitzky (Polish –
Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki) some of this coffee as a reward for providing information that allowed him to defeat the Turks. Kolschitzky then opened Vienna's first
coffee shop
Coffee shop may refer to:
Shops and establishments
* Coffeehouse or café, an establishment where coffee is served
* Coffeeshop (Netherlands), a place where cannabis products are sold and consumed
* Coffee shop, in the U.S., a casual, popular-pri ...
.
Julius Meinl
Julius Meinl International (german: Julius Meinl AG, Meinl-Gruppe), also known simply as Julius Meinl, is a manufacturer and retailer of coffee, gourmet foods and other grocery products. The company is based in Vienna, Austria. It is named afte ...
set up a modern roasting plant in the same premises where the coffee sacks were found, in 1891.
Tourist attractions
Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the
Hofburg and
Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo,
Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Tiergarten (German for "zoo") may refer to:
* Tiergarten (park), an urban public park in Berlin
* Kleiner Tiergarten, a smaller public park in Berlin
* Tiergarten, Berlin, a locality within the borough of Mitte which includes the park
* Berlin-Tie ...
) and the
Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights include the
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
, the
Wiener Staatsoper, the
Lipizzaner horses at the
spanische Hofreitschule, and the
Vienna Boys' Choir, as well as excursions to Vienna's Heurigen district Döbling.
There are also more than 100 art museums, which together attract over eight million visitors per year.
The most popular ones are
Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...
,
Belvedere,
Leopold Museum in the
Museumsquartier,
KunstHausWien
The KunstHausWien is a museum in Vienna, designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. This museum in the Landstraße district houses the world's only permanent exhibition of Hundertwasser's works, and also hosts regular temporary exhibit ...
,
Bank Austria Kunstforum
This list of museums in Vienna, Austria contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, ...
, the twin ''
Kunsthistorisches Museum'' and ''
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museu ...
'', and the
Technisches Museum Wien
The Vienna Technical Museum (german: Technisches Museum Wien) is located in Vienna (Austria), in the Penzing district, at Mariahilferstraße 212.
The decision to establish a technical museum was made in 1908, and construction of the building sta ...
, each of which receives over a quarter of a million visitors per year.
There are many popular sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including
Beethoven's various residences and grave at
Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) which is the largest cemetery in Vienna and the burial site of many
famous people.
Mozart has a memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens and at
St. Marx cemetery
St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof) is a cemetery in the Landstraße district of Vienna, used from 1784 until 1874. It contains the unmarked grave of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
History
The cemetery was named after a nearb ...
(where his grave was lost). Vienna's many churches also draw large crowds, famous of which are
St. Stephen's Cathedral, the
Deutschordenskirche, the
Jesuitenkirche, the
Karlskirche
The ''Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus'', commonly called the ''Karlskirche'' (), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one ...
, the
Peterskirche
The ''Peterskirche'' ( en, St. Peter's Church) is a Baroque Roman Catholic parish church in Vienna, Austria. It was transferred in 1970 by the Archbishop of Vienna Franz Cardinal König to the priests of the Opus Dei.
The first church
The o ...
,
Maria am Gestade
Maria am Gestade (Mary at the Shore) is a Gothic church in Vienna, Austria. One of the oldest churches in the city—along with St. Peter's Church and St. Rupert's Church—it is one of the few surviving examples of Gothic architecture in Vienna ...
, the
Minoritenkirche, the
Ruprechtskirche
St. Rupert's Church (german: Ruprechtskirche) is a Romanesque church in Vienna, Austria. Traditionally considered to be the oldest church in the city, St. Rupert's Church is dedicated to Saint Rupert of Salzburg, patron saint of the salt merchant ...
, the
Schottenkirche,
St. Ulrich and the
Votivkirche. In order to get deeper insight in the history of Vienna visitors like to join the popula
Free Walking Tourin Vienna.
Modern attractions include the
Hundertwasserhaus
The Hundertwasserhaus ("Hundertwasser house") is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Outline
This expressionist landmark of Vienna is located in the Landstr ...
, the
United Nations headquarters
zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas
, image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg
, im ...
and the view from the
Donauturm.
File:Albertina1.JPG, Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...
File:Austria Parlament Athena.jpg, Austrian Parliament Building
The Austrian Parliament Building (german: Parlamentsgebäude, colloquially ''das Parlament'') in Vienna is where the two houses of the Austrian Parliament conduct their sessions. The building is located on the ''Ringstraße'' boulevard in the f ...
File:Belveder - widok od frontu - Vienna.jpg, Belvedere Palace
The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district o ...
File:Burgtheater Weitwinkel.jpg, Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
File:Graben Vienna June 2006 283.jpg, Graben
File:Wien - Hundertwasserhaus (01).JPG, Hundertwasserhaus
The Hundertwasserhaus ("Hundertwasser house") is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Outline
This expressionist landmark of Vienna is located in the Landstr ...
File:Karlskirche Wien abends.jpg, Karlskirche
The ''Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus'', commonly called the ''Karlskirche'' (), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one ...
at dusk
File:Maria-Theresien-Platz Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien 2010.jpg, Kunsthistorisches Museum
File:Wien - Naturhistorisches Museum (1).JPG, Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museu ...
File:Wien - Palais Augarten (1).JPG, Palais Augarten
File:Wien Rathaus hochauflösend.jpg, Rathaus
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
File:Kaiserliches Pavillon Schoenbrunn August 2006.jpg, Schönbrunn Zoo
Schönbrunn Zoo (; also simply called Vienna Zoo) is a 17-hectare (42-acre) zoo in the city of Vienna, Austria. Established in 1752, it is the world’s oldest zoo still in operation. It is also a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site, ...
File:Spanische Hofreitschule3, Vienna.jpg, Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also ...
File:Sttephanplatz, Graben, Vienna, Austria.jpg, Stephansplatz
File:Wien - Stephansdom (1).JPG, St. Stephen's Cathedral
File:Wien - Heldenplatz, Prinz-Eugen-Denkmal (2).JPG, Prince Eugene Monument
File:Kohlmarkt Vienna June 2006 309.jpg, View of Hofburg
File:Secession 2016, Vienna.jpg, Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
building
File:Wien - Staatsoper (1).JPG, Vienna State Opera
File:20080215-18 Wenen (460).jpg, Wiener Riesenrad
The (; 'Vienna Giant errisWheel'), or simply Riesenrad, is a tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, an ...
Transportation
Vienna has an extensive transportation network with a unified fare system that integrates municipal, regional and railway systems under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR). Public transport is provided by buses, trams and five underground metro lines (
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
), most operated by the
Wiener Linien
Wiener Linien (Viennese Lines) is the company running most of the public transit network in the city of Vienna, Austria. It is part of the city corporation Wiener Stadtwerke Holding AG.
Governing structure and statistics
Until decentralisation ...
. There are also more than 50
S-train stations within the city limits. Suburban trains are operated by the
ÖBB. The city forms the hub of the Austrian railway system, with services to all parts of the country and abroad. The railway system connects Vienna's main station
Vienna Hauptbahnhof
Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna Central Station or Vienna Main Station is the main railway station in Vienna, Austria, located in the Favoriten district. It became fully operational in December 2015, linking major railway lines from the north, east ...
with other European cities, like
Berlin,
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Cologne,
Frankfurt,
Hamburg,
Ljubljana,
Munich,
Prague,
Venice,
Wrocław,
Warsaw,
Zagreb and
Zürich.
Vienna has multiple road connections including expressways and motorways.
Vienna is served by
Vienna International Airport, located southeast of the city center next to the town of
Schwechat. The airport handled approximately 31.7 million passengers in 2019. Following lengthy negotiations with surrounding communities, the airport will be expanded to increase its capacity by adding a third runway. The airport is undergoing a major expansion, including a new terminal building that opened in 2012 to prepare for an increase in passengers.
Viennese
International relations
International organizations in Vienna
Vienna is the seat of a number of United Nations offices and various international institutions and companies, including the
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
(IAEA), the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
(OPEC), the
OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory framew ...
(UNOOSA) and the
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Vienna is the world's third "UN city", next to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
,
Geneva, and
Nairobi. Additionally, Vienna is the seat of the
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to fac ...
's secretariat (
UNCITRAL). In conjunction, the
University of Vienna annually hosts the prestigious
Willem C. Vis Moot
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot or Vis Moot is an international moot competition. Since 1994, it has been held annually in Vienna, Austria, attracting more than 300 law schools from all around the world and spurring the ...
, an international commercial arbitration competition for students of law from around the world.
Diplomatic meetings have been held in Vienna in the latter half of the 20th century, resulting in documents bearing the name
Vienna Convention or Vienna Document. Among the more important documents negotiated in Vienna are the 1969
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement regulating treaties between states. Known as the "treaty on treaties", it establishes comprehensive rules, procedures, and guidelines for how treaties are defined ...
, as well as the 1990
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Vienna also hosted the negotiations leading to the 2015
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program as well as the
Vienna peace talks for Syria
The Vienna peace talks for Syria, as of 14 November 2015 known as the talks of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), are negotiations of foreign powers that began in Vienna, Austria in October 2015 at the level of foreign ministers, to re ...
.
Vienna also headquartered the
International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).
Charitable organizations in Vienna
Alongside international and intergovernmental organizations, there are dozens of charitable organizations based in Vienna. One such organization is the network of
SOS Children's Villages, founded by
Hermann Gmeiner
Hermann Gmeiner (23 June 1919 – 26 April 1986) was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's Villages.
Life
Born to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg (present-day Austria), Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholar ...
in 1949. Today, SOS Children's Villages are active in 132 countries and territories worldwide. Others include
HASCO.
Another popular international event is the annual
Life Ball
The Life Ball in Vienna is the biggest charity event in Europe supporting people with HIV or AIDS. The event is organized by the nonprofit organization AIDS LIFE, which was founded in 1992 by Gery Keszler and Torgom Petrosian.
AIDS LIFE suppor ...
, which supports people with
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
or
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
. Guests such as
Bill Clinton and
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
were recent attendees.
International city cooperations
The general policy of the City of Vienna is not to sign any
twin town
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
agreements with other cities. Instead Vienna has only cooperation agreements in which specific cooperation areas are defined.
*
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 m ...
, Serbia
*
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
, Slovakia
*
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republi ...
, Czech Republic
*
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, Hungary
*
Hamburg, Germany
*
Kraków, Poland
*
Ljubljana, Slovenia
*
Paris, France
*
Prague, Czech Republic
*
Vancouver, Canada
*
Zagreb, Croatia
*
Zurich, Switzerland
District to district partnerships
In addition, individual Viennese districts have international partnerships all over the world. A detailed list is published on the website of the City of Vienna.
See also
*
Donauinselfest
The ''Donauinselfest'' (German for " Danube Island Festival") is a free open-air music festival which occurs annually at Donauinsel in Vienna, Austria. The festival is hosted by SPÖ Wien. It is the largest open-air music festival in the world ...
*
List of honorary citizens of Vienna
*
List of restaurants in Vienna
This is a list of notable restaurants in Vienna, Austria.
Restaurants in Vienna
* Altmann & Kühne – Confectionery, confiserie and chocolaterie in Vienna established in 1928
* Demel – famous pastry shop and chocolaterie established in 1786 ...
*
List of Viennese
*
List of World Heritage Sites in Austria
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural herita ...
*
List of cities and towns on Danube river
This is a list of the largest cities and towns located on Danube river.
List
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
, +
!Rank
!Name of the city/town
!Image
!Number of inhabitants
!Time of establishment
!Present country
!Note ...
*
OPENCities
*
Outline of Vienna
*
Vienna Biennale
The Vienna Biennale is a biennial international art exhibition that takes places in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 2006.
History
The first Vienna Biennale was held in October 2006.Vienna Porcelain Manufactory
Vienna porcelain is the product of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory (German: ''Kaiserlich privilegierte Porcellain Fabrique''), a porcelain manufacturer in Alsergrund in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and continued until 1864.
The firm wa ...
*
Viennese German
Viennese German ( bar, Weanarisch, Weanerisch, german: Wienerisch) is the city dialect spoken in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is counted among the Bavarian dialects. It is distinct from written Standard German in vocabulary, grammar, a ...
References
Further reading
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Pippal, M.: ''A Short History of Art in Vienna'', Munich: C.H. Beck 2000, , provides a concise overview.
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Dassanowsky, Robert ed.: "World Film Locations: Vienna", London: Intellect/Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 2012, . International films about Vienna or Austria shot on location throughout cinema history.
External links
Official websites
Wien.gv.at– Official site of the municipality, with interactive map.
Wien.info– Official site of the tourism board: events, sightseeing, cultural information, etc.
Geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at– Vienna History Wiki operated by the city of Vienna
History of Vienna
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ttp://www.battlefieldsww2.com/viennagb.html German flaktowers in Viennabr>
History of the Coat of Arms of Vienna and all (former) districts and municipalities
Further information on Vienna
Vienna InformationSorted by categories. Choose from 5 Languages
Vienna insider travel guideEvents in ViennaEvents and useful information from ViennaWhenWhereWh.at
*English Guide to Events and Contemporary Culture in Vienna
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