Vienna

The city lies on the Danube; in the west the hills of the Vienna Woods reach into the outer districts. Vienna is divided into 23 municipal districts, from the Innere Stadt (‘Inner City’) to Liesing.

The Romans maintained on the Danube the legionary camp of Vindobona, a base on the Danube Limes. Later Vienna became a fortified residence city and for centuries the centre of the Habsburg Empire. In the second half of the 19th century the city fortifications were demolished; in their place arose the Ringstraße with its monumental buildings.

The historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001; Vienna’s role as a city of music was also recognised in this. In its middle stands St Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the most important Gothic buildings in Austria; after a fire at the end of the Second World War it received a new roof structure of steel. The Hofburg (literally ‘court castle’) grew from a castle of the 13th century into the sprawling residence of the Habsburgs; today museums and the Imperial Apartments can be visited there. In the 3rd district Prince Eugene of Savoy had the Baroque Belvedere built, today the seat of the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (Austrian Gallery Belvedere).

Further out lies Schönbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the Habsburgs. On the site of a hunting lodge, a Baroque residence arose to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach; under Empress Maria Theresa the interiors were designed. The palace and park with the Gloriette have been on the World Heritage List since 1996. In the Prater the Wiener Riesenrad (‘Vienna Giant Wheel’) has been turning since 1897; after the Second World War it was rebuilt. On the hills at the edge of the city vineyards grow, and behind them the Vienna Woods begin.