Vienna is Austria’s capital city, with a population of about 1.8 million. Vienna is known for its high quality of life.

What to do and see in Vienna

Vienna’s Old Town

The central part of Vienna is the Old Town (Innere Stadt), which was enclosed with defensive walls until the 1850s. The layout and architecture of the area is still medieval, narrow and labyrinthine. The buildings are constructed in several different styles, like baroque and Art Nouveau. The most significant attraction of the Old Town is St Stephen´s Cathedral, which is one of the most important Gothic churches in Central Europe. The tower, which is 136 meters high, can be seen from all over the city. The Cathedral is featured in the Austrian 10 Eurocent coin. There are dozens of churches in the Old Town area, some owned by different monk organizations. Just, to mention a few: Kapuzinerkirche, Franziskanerkirche, Dominikanerkirche and Jesuitenkirche. Vienna Old Town is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Historic fortifications

An attraction that is definitely worth seeing is the imperial palace of the Habsburg Family, the Hofburg. It is located on the southern side of the Old Town. The palace is a huge complex which has been built over several centuries. The oldest parts date from the 13th century, and the most modern wing of the building was not added until the First World War. Nowadays the palace is the residence of the President of Austria. There are also several museums, Austrian National Library and popular Spanish riding school in the building.

Other significant palaces are located outside downtown. These include the 49, and the summer palace of Prince Eugene, Belvedere. The construction of the building began in the year 1714, and the work was completed in the year 1722. Schönbrunn Palace is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the whole Old Town area. Belvedere is described in the Austrian 20 Eurocent coin.

The Ring Road

The center of Vienna is surrounded by the boulevard Ring Road (German: Ringstrasse), which replaced the old city walls at the end of 19^th century. There are several parks along the road, for example the Stadtpark, the Burggarten and the Volksgarten, as well as several monumental buildings, which are constructed in special style.

Maria Therese Square

This square opposite of the Hofburg Palace has three important museum buildings: The Natural History Museum (founded in 1889), The Art History Museum (founded in 1891) and a complex of several museums Museumsquartier (founded in 1723).

Rathauspark, Roosevelt Platz and Karl Platz

There are three magnificent buildings in the Rathauspark, located on the northern side of the Ring Road. These are the Parliament House of Austria, the Vienna Town Hall and the main building of the University of Vienna. The famous Votive Church (Votivkirche) is located in the Roosevelt Platz. A little farther away is the square Karl Platz. The area contains the Karlskirche, the subway station of Karl Platz and the Exhibition Hall for contemporary art, Secession. A picture of the Hall is the Austrian 50 cent coin.

Prater

This area located in the neighborhood of Leopoldstadt is mainly known for its amusement park. Popular attractions are, the planetarium, the wax museum and the giant Ferris wheel Riesenrad, which was built during the years 1896 – 1897. It is one of the biggest Ferris wheels in Europe.

Over the years, the area has become a popular place for the people of Vienna to spend their free time in, even though it had a history of hunting, sausage markets and prostitution. Other important places in the area are the Ernst Happel Stadium, where Austrias national football/soccer team plays most of their home games, and the horse racing track Krieau.

Modern Buildings

More modern views of Vienna are for example:

• The world´s longest dwelling house with 1325 residences, the Karl-Marx-Hof, built for workers during the sosialistic period, the so-called Red Vienna, in 1924 – 1930
• The futuristic dwelling house Hundertwasserhaus designed by Friedrich Hundertwasser from the year 1985
• The building UNO-City, built using modernism style in 1970, is one of the headquarters of the United Nations. (The other ones are in New York, Nairobi and Geneva.)

Kuvat: CC-lisenssillä / Kurt Bauschardt,