Vienna: A Visitor's Guide

For the traveler looking for a crossroads of old world charm and 20^th Century modernity, one need look no further than the Austrian capitol of Vienna. Today a cosmopolitan city of 1.7 million inhabitants, Vienna was, for four centuries, the capitol of the Hapsburg Dynasty or what some call the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Situated along the banks of the Danube river, Vienna is probably most famous for its musical heritage (the famous waltz The Blue Danube was named for Vienna's largest river) having been home to musical geniuses like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Strauss, among many others. Vienna is also well known for being a center of the Jugendstil movement of the early 20^th Century, best exemplified by the art of Gustav Klimt and architecture of Otto Wagner.

Today, much of what a visitor to Vienna will see was created during the reign of Emperor Franz Josef (1830-1916). Though somewhat ineffectual and out of his depth when dealing with the diplomatic sharks of his day, Franz Josef was a hard working, conscientious Emperor who truly did care for the well-being of his subjects and was the sponsor of many social and civic reforms. For the visitor, the clearest example of this is the Ringstrasse, the circular boulevard that replaced the old fortified walls that once encircled old Vienna. Along the Ringstrasse, many new institutional buildings were constructed, including the Vienna State Opera, the Parliament Building, City Hall, and the Stock Exchange. Today, the #1 and #2 trams run along the Ringstrasse, and they provide the visitor with a great way to see and get around the city.

The most popular sight in the city is the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) which is located in the center of the Center of the city. Many people date the building to 1147, but due to prolonged construction, the building wasn't considered complete until 1570. It is the tallest church in Austria and supposedly the tallest 16^th Century structure in the world. Interestingly, the church was mostly bombed out by Allied flyers in 1944. What visitors see today is actually a reconstruction that was done in the years soon after WWII.

In the shadows behind the Stephansdom, you can find the only Viennese residence of Mozart open to the public. Today, it's an unfurnished apartment, but a visitor can still get a feel for the place where Mozart composed The Marriage of Figaro mostly by peering out the windows and seeing life pass by unnoticed much the way it must have during Mozart's day.

Vienna, of course, is famous for its music, and for the visitor that means taking note of the Vienna State Opera, widely considered the best musical company in the world, presently led by the maestro Seiji Ozawa. In modern history, Gustav Mahler, who held the baton from 1897 to 1907, is the institution's most important conductor having embraced the Jugendstil and creating the style of sound and presentation that is considered distinctly Viennese. The company's present building dates to 1869; the premiere performance was Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Also considered to be one of the world's best is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra whose home is in a building called the Musikverein. Opened in 1870, the Musikverein is well known for its acoustics which are considered be among the best in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is best loved in Austria for its annual New Year's Eve concert which is televised nationwide.

For most, the musical style most closely associated with Vienna is the waltz. And in the Stadtpark, just on the outskirts of the Ringstrasse, you can find the monument popularly known as the Golden Strauss. Executed by Edmund Hellmer, it portrays at its center the famous 19^th Century composer Johann Strauss, the father and master of the waltz, best known for his composition The Blue Danube.

If your tastes move more towards historic royal palaces, Vienna has three, the Hofburg, which was the working Capitol of the Empire and two other seasonal homes, the Belvedere and the Schönbrunn. The Hofburg contains a museum today where you can see where Franz Josef and his beautiful, yet mercurial wife, the Empress Sisi, lived and worked. It is also home to the world famous Lipizzaner Horses, who put on public shows to this day. The Belvedere, a former summer residence, today contains an art museum, much of it dedicated to the Jugendstil. Gustav Klimt's "Judith" and "The Kiss" are on permanent display. The Schönbrunn was built in the 18^th Century for Empress Maria Theresa and remains today as one of Europe's grand palaces. Comprised of a residence, an expansive garden and woodland, and Europe's oldest zoo, it is today all open to the public and visited by thousands every day.

For a real taste of the Jugendstil, visit the Secession Museum, where you will find Klimt's amazing Beethoven frieze, which is on permanent display. It's a fascinating example of his work that is not easily reduced to a poster or postcard. You've got to see the real thing.

Another special treat for fans of the Jugendstil is the Wagner Villa, once the home of architect Otto Wagner. Today, it is filled with the art of Ernst Fuchs, who purchased the house with the intention of filling it with his own sculpture and paintings. The artwork is clearly inspired by the architecture of Wagner, but is much more sexually explicit.

For aficionados of post-modernism or the flat-out different, there is nothing like the Hundertwasser House, which opened in 1986. Largely a public housing project designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser,

For summer fun in Vienna, there is the Prater, Vienna's largest amusement park and home to the world famous Riesenrad or Giant Ferris Wheel. Dating to 1897, the giant wheel was built to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Emperor Franz Josef's reign. It is the only 19^th Century giant ferris wheel still in operation in the world. English speakers are probably most familiar with the wheel as its seen in the film, The Third Man, written by Graham Greene and starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton. The Third Man was shot almost entirely in Vienna in the early post-WWII years and provides an interesting glimpse at what the city was like at the time.

If you like to visit cemeteries, Vienna's Zentralfriedhof will not disappoint. There are monuments to Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, Brahms, Schoenberg, as well as many others. One of interest, but not necessarily easily found is the monument to Hans Hölzel, better known as Falco (of Rock Me, Amadeus fame). His grave monument is truly interesting. It consists of a simple stone tablet with the diseased real name, and next to it is a tall slender obelisk with the name Falco engraved into the stone and a larger than life size plexiglas slab portraying the man as the artist, Falco.