Wien - Vienna (Center)

October 7, 2018 at 3:19 pm

Yes, I know Vienna doesn't belong to Germany. Nowadays. However, Germany has been so closely knitted to and interwoven with Austria that I thought it might interest you to see Austria's capital as well. Besides that, the Vienna pictures are among the few that have survived the hard disk crash of my computer... However, we've mostly been in the First District of Vienna, the center. So this is just a glimpse of this city. It's still a longer blog than the one on Berlin. Don't worry, the next blog will be much shorter! Here we go!

If you compare Berlin and Vienna, you'll find these two cities on different sides of the galaxy! Even if they've shared large parts of history. One large difference can be seen with your eyes, even if Karl Kraus might have put it a tad harshly:

"What distinguishes Berlin from Vienna on first sight is the observation that, there, one achieves a deceptive effect with the most worthless material while, here, only real things are used for the kitsch."

The other difference can be felt! Berlin is always busy, Berliners seem to always walk purposefully, Vienneses ... not so much. Karl Kraus once wrote:

"Every Viennese is a sight, every Berliner a public transportation."

And Gustav Mahler went so far to say:

"If the world ever ends, I'll move to Vienna because there everything happens fifty years later."

But there are also similarities between those two cities. Both, for example, are old, really old!

Vienna was named after its river, the river Wien, the name itself being the modern version of Wenia, which comes from the celtio-romanic Vedunia (forest river). It has no etymological connection to the Roman military camp which preceded Vienna and which was named Vindobona.

According to archeological findings the area of Vienna had been populated since the Old Stone Age. However, the first mentioning was in 881 in some annals about a battle that took place "ad Ueniam" (= ad Weniam). In the first century AD, Romans adapted a Celtic settlement and turned it into a military camp with a connected civilian settlement. The Romans stayed until the 5th century when the Celtic migration put an end to it. But even today, the traces of this old Roman camp can be seen in some places of downtown Vienna.

In 955, the East Franconian Otto I won a battle against the Hungarians and Vienna's (and Austria's) star began to rise. In the 11th century, Vienna was an important trading place and with the ransom paid for the release of Richard the Lionheart, Vienna could finance its first urban expansion.

1278 the Habsburg started to rule Austria and they tried to keep up with the glory of Prague by expanding Vienna. 1438, with Albert the Magnanimous being elected as King of Romans, Vienna became the residence of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1529, the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent tried to capture Vienna for the first time. Without success and this failed attempt put an end, so far, to the conquests of the Ottoman Empire in eastern and central Europe. It also was the start of 150 years of military tension at the border between the lands of Habsburg and the Ottoman Empire, which happened to be just 150 km east of Vienna. 1556, Vienna became the official seat of the Emperor. And in 1683, the Battle of Vienna, the second fruitless attempt of the Ottoman Empire to capture Vienna, was the starting shot of the 15-year-long Great Turkish War between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire.

No matter how devasting these wars had been, they left Vienna with a wonderful Coffee-house culture and great coffee! And maybe it is thanks to the Battle of Vienna that we have the croissants today, too. According to one legend, A Viennese baker rose in the middle of the night to start baking bread and by chance heard Turkish soldiers as they tried to tunnel their way into Vienna. The baker sounded the alarm, the invaders were killed and a crescent-shaped pastry was baked to celebrate the victory over the Turkish and therefore Islamic enemy.

The end of the 18th century saw the Viennese Classical Period with its famous musicians Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert. And 1804 saw Vienna as the capital city of the Austrian Empire. In 1805 and 1809, Napoleon's armies succeeded where the Ottoman Empire had failed by conquering Vienna, but after Napoleon's defeat, it also was Vienna that saw the struggle to return stability to a war-torn Europe at the Vienna Congress (1814/ 1815).

1858, Vienna dramatically changed its "face." The city fortification got demolished and a large boulevard, the Ringstraße, now circles the inner city. Monumental buildings in the historicist style line it and one should just ignore the fact that this circle street isn't really a circle, but rather a bunch of straight streets, which connect at an angle in such a way that a cannon, placed at the angles can shoot down the street to both sides and cover the whole distance to the next angle (and maybe stationed cannon there) with a cannonball - a nod towards the French Revolution, which had scared the bejeezus out of not only the Austrian monarchs.

WW I didn't so much threaten Vienna itself but rather plunged it into a horrible supply crisis. Hunger ruled the city. In 1918, Charles I, the last Austrian Emporer, resigned. 1938 Hitler sent the Wehrmacht into Vienna and later in this year held his famous annexation speech in front of cheering masses. In November 1938, 92 Jewish synagogues burnt! And at the end of WW II only 5243 Jewish people of former 200.000 were still alive and living in Vienna.

In 1944, air raids destroyed 20% of Vienna and 1/3 of its inner city. And at the end of the war, Vienna suffered a fate close to Berlin: It was occupied and divided into four sectors by the Americans, the French, the British and the Russians. The inner city was ruled and patrolled by all 4 more or less together. Their patrol lovingly was called the "four in a car." And 1955, Vienna and Austria were free again and, thanks to the Marshall plan, thriving.

Today, Vienna counts a population of more than 1.8 million people and is, according to the international Mercer-study, for the ninth time running the number one city when it comes to quality of life.

The Hofburg by night. It is the former principal imperial palace and serves today as the workplace of the Austrian president. Originally built in the 13th century, it was expanded several times. In 1938, Hitler stood on the balcony above the lightened entrance, speaking to the cheering masses. According to a tour guide, it's now forbidden to use this balcony no matter for what purpose.

The yard in front of it, the Heldenplatz, sports two statues. One of Prince Eugene of Savoy in front of the entrance of the Hofburg and...

... the one of Archduke Charles of Austria opposite it.

The Michaelerplatz (St. Michael's square) in front of the Michaelerkirche (St. Michael's Church)...

.... shows the entrance to the Michaelertrakt of the Hofburg.

The strange stones in its middle protect an archeological dig site. There you can see some of Vienna's underground....

... like the foundations of Roman civilian settlement (the lower stones) and parts of the walls of the Renaissance Paradeisgartel (Paradise garden) of the Hofburg (the higher stones).

Because Vienna is built on clay, people tended to grab a shovel whenever they ran out of space. The result is a city standing on a maze resembling a Swiss cheese with cellars up to 5 floors down. It also made Vienna the city of espionage after WW II, because one could easily tunnel to whatever basement the other side used to plot the next moves in.

Leading up to the Michaelerplatz is the pedestrian zone Kohlmarkt (Cabbage market), which connects with the Graben (Ditch), one of the most important streets of Vienna when it comes to shopping. It also runs along the former outer wall of the formerly mentioned Roman military camp.

The Graben is a wide pedestrian zone and often an exhibition place for contemporary art.

It also has a public bathroom...

... designed in Jugendstil. Which, you have to admit, has more style than these modern "wee-wee boxes"...

If you follow the Graben, you'll come...

...to the Stephansdom. Formerly (1365) the Domkirche St. Stephan, it became a cathedral in 1479 and since 1723 it is the Metropolitan Church of the archbishop of Vienna. Parts of the church that went before (from 1230) still exist and are part of its western side. The dome is Vienna's landmark and the Viennese call it lovingly the Steffl.

The other landmark of Vienna is the Riesenrad (Ferris wheel) of Vienna. It stands close to the entrance of Vienna's amusement park, the Prater. Built in 1897 for the Golden Jubilee of Franz Josef I, it was not only one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built, but also, with a hight of almost 65 meters, the world tallest extant one from 1920 til 1985! It is a popular movie-set, as the Third Man and James Bond's The Living Daylights show.

Talking about the Third Man. Besides it being a fantastic movie in my opinion, it also gives an eerily spot-on impression of Vienna after WW II. Shot in 1949 at original places, it shows Vienna as it was after WW II - destroyed, occupied, starved and run by criminals, spies and contrabandists. If you ever make it to Vienna, go on a Third-Man-sightseeing tour. Some show you movie sites above the ground, like the morris column, where Harry Lime supposedly accessed the Vienna underground...

... the entrance to the Wien River...

... or the doorway where Harry Lime shows up for the first time.

But some tours even hand you a helmet and send you underground into the sewers...

I highly recommend both tours. Just rub a bit of eucalyptus oil underneath you nose if you want to see the underground movie sites. We are talking the Vienna sewers in full swing here!

Those who are more into fresh air can enjoy Vienna's beautiful gardens. Some are smaller, like the Volksgarten next to the Hofburg...

... or the Augarten...

... with its Flak Türme (Flak Towers)...

... or larger ones like the Donaupark with its 604.000 m².

Or if you are more into royal gardens and the palaces attached to them, you can visit Schönbrunn...

... with its spacious square in front...

... its wonderful view over the Palace garden towards the Gloriette...

...its Pavillons (Pavilions)...

... its Palmenhaus (Palm House) at the entrance of the Tiergarten (the world oldest zoo still in existance) ...

... its fountains...

... and its fake Roman ruins...

The view down from the Gloriette is truly glorious...

... and from that height one cannot even see that the people at the palace aired their bedclothes late in the afternoon (5.30 pm to be precise ;-) )...

... as can be seen at the window of the top floor, right in the middle. ;-)

Those who like it a bit smaller can take a look at the Belvedere.

Prince Eugen started the project of this summer palace outside of Vienna in 1712 with the Untere Belvedere (Lower Belevedere).

The construction of the Oberes Belvedere (Upper Belvedere) followed as soon as 1717.

With its beautiful gardens...

... and fountains...

... one can easily imagine the peacefulness of the place before...

Vienna crept up and around it.

Another place to enjoy some quiet are the cemeteries. The best known is the Wiener Zentralfriedhof (Vienna Central Cemetery). After Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II's Josephinism demanded, among many other things, that the cemeteries within today's Ringstraße are to be closed down and the dead to be buried outside of Vienna, 5 cemeteries were build to cope with the demand. However, Vienna grew and with its growth came its dead. So another cemetery was planned, one far outside of Vienna, one that was large enough for many years to come.

So, opened in 1874, the Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries of whole Europe! With 2.4 km² and over 2 million, who found their last home here, it is a good place to escape the hustle of the city while brushing up one's history knowledge. Many known politicans, authors, actors, philosophers and musicans are buried here. Where else can one find Beethoven...

... and Schubert...

... close to musicans like Falco.

Not quite so "romantic" are the graves of the soldiers...

But as a central cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof has room and a special corner for all nations, for atheists and for all confessions - Buddhist, Protestant, Islamic, Jewish, Orthodox, Mormon and of course Catholic.

However, some graves are more creative than others. Like the one of August Zang, the founder of the Freie Presse (a newspaper of Vienna).

If you don't want to walk til you drop (or take the cemetery bus Nr. 106) to see all graves, you can always chose one of the smaller cemeteries.

My favorite, so far, is the Friedhof St. Marx (St. Marx Cemetery). As one of the 5 cemeteries, built because of the Josephinism, it was used from 1784 til 1874. Joseph II decreed not just that cemeteries had to be outside the city but also that the burials had to be economical, preferable without grave markers or coffins or embalming. That's why there is a marker of Mozart's grave, although his actual grave is unmarked. The myth that Mozart's grave is unmarked because he had been poor is just a myth. In reality, his burial followed the laws of that time.

Until 2005, the cemetery had been mostly neglected. So the whole atmosphere is still calm and slightly enchanted.

Cemeteries aren't your cup of tea? Don't worry, one can spend ages in Vienna's museums!

1891 the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) opened its doors and houses the collections of the Habsburgs. It had been designed as a museum right from the beginning on. At the moment they show a fantastic exhibition of Brueghel the Elder, pictures of which I cannot show here, thanks to copyright issues, Sorry!

Opposite of it is the Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum), which got opened in 1891 as well.

Personally, I'm a big fan of their dinosaur room with its animated dinosaur (the first time, it went 'Jurrasic Park' on me, I almost jumped out of my shoes!)

Between those two is the Maria-Theresien-Platz with its monument of the Empress Maria Theresia.

Another fascinating museum is the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History). Completed in 1865, it is Vienna's oldest museum that was planned and execuded as such.

Its motto is "Kriege gehören ins Museum" (wars belong into a museum) and it shows not just armor from the 16th century, but also a history-related car, marked by bullets that also hit Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, and Archduke Ferdinad's bloody uniform. Silent witnesses of the literal starting shot of WW I.

A hidden pearl is the Gartenpalais Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein Garden Palace).

Finished around 1709, the palace had been a private museum until 2011. It had shown pieces of the private collection of the Liechtensteins, which is one of the largest and most important private collections worldwide. Today, however, one can only visit it if one has booked the rooms for some event or at one of the few guided tours. If you should ever be in Vienna, try to get onto one of those tours! Where else can you be surrounded by international art of 5 centuries and furniture that had cost thousands of Euros, in costly decorated rooms that don't look like some museum's room but like some king's private dining room? Spectacular!

Museums are too stuffy? Just walk the streets! Vienna is full of interesting buildings. Some are very visible. Being a fan of "authorities", Vienna's architects had a field day with historicist style, when it came to buildings suited for the Ringstraße. The Rathaus (City Hall) was supposed to resemble authority, so they chose Gothic Revival as a fitting style for it.

For their Parlamentsgebäude (Austrian Parliamnet Building) they nodded towards the cradle of democracy and chose a Greek Revival style.

The University, although originally from 1365, got its place at the Ringstraße in 1884 and the look of the High Renaissance.

However, not everybody was happy with imitating former styles. In 1897 a group of artists departed from the Austrian Artists' Society and their Künstlerhaus to start something new. Built in 1897, the Wiener Secession became the home of their art.

Otto Wagner, too, was an architect unhappy with traditional forms. He left the Neoclassicism and the more modern Art Nouveau of his time to drag Vienna, kicking and screaming, into the age of modern architecture. His buildings, like the Österreichische Postsparkasse (Austrain Postal Savings Bank) ...

... aren't quite as easily found as the chunks along the Ringstraße, but well worth the search!

Some of his other works are more visible, like the underground station at the Karlsplatz.

Which is just around the Karlskirche (from 1739 and not by Otto Wagner! ;-) )

Or go and see the Hundertwasserhaus (1983 - 1985) in the Löwengasse.

That's about as modern as Vienna can get.

If you are less into modern und more into crazy, Vienna is still for you. Where else can you see a fountain sporting not just buck nacked statues, but having them show their butt (according to our tour guide) towards the house of the artist's former mistress?

Or does Vienna just have a different idea of modesty?

Where can you live not just...

... at the Holy Trinity...

... but also have the kingly residence of Ferdinand I, an artist's workshop, hell's kitchen and the headquarters of "Friss oder Stirb" (sink or swim) as your neighbours?

Or some half-modern, half-traditional house next door?

Not to mention that some shops in Vienna seem to have a shop-window decorator, who might have benefitted from counseling...

And, no, we are not talking some very early displayed Halloween decoration here!

This guy, even though slightly crazy as well, has - sadly - not been at this hotel wall anymore in 2018.

But this Federal Ministry still combines National Defence and ... Sports.

Signs of WW II are all over the place. Be it the Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus (Memorial against War and Fascism)...

... or the memorial in the form of columns at the site of the Leopoldstädter Tempel, which got destroyed by the Nazis...

... or Steine der Erinnerung (Stones Of Memory) that remind of killed, transported or humiliated Jews in Vienna.

One tour guide told us that, no matter how difficult the occupation after WW II had been, the Russian soldiers had been the first to enter Vienna and they played a major part in the survival of the people of Vienna that coming winter! According to our guide, they gave coats and food to the people, mostly to the children. So when Russia asked Vienna to preserve and protect all Russian memorials, the people of Vienna agreed and put this obligation into their treaty of 1955.

A few years ago, when Putin visited Vienna, the people of Vienna did not feel quite as happy with their former saviors anymore. However, they kept their promise. The Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee ( Heroes' Monument of the Red Army) ...