Vienna General Tips by yooperprof

Favorite Thing: The Mariahilf Kirche is an oasis of calm on bustling Mariahilfestrasse - the Oxford Street of Vienna. It was designed in the early 1700s by one of the Habsburg's favorite architects, Johan Lukas von Hildebrandt, who put his lasting stamp on so much of the city. The courtyard in front of the church is dominated by this statue of Haydn, who briefly served as organist for the church.


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Favorite Thing: Like Vienna itself, St. Michael's is a hodgepodge of different styles and different eras: medieval inside, with a late Baroque exterior. The facade of the chuch was completed as "recently" as 1782. It occupies a comfortable corner near the center of the Hofburg, and on hot summer days the church offers a cool refuge from the heat and thronged tourists passing by outside. You can't miss the dramatic figures adorning the church's pediment: St. Michael himself preparing to slay Lucifer. The creator of the sculptural figures was the Italian Lorenzo Mattielli - who was also responsible for the Hercules figures on the Hofburg immediately opposite the church.


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Favorite Thing: Lorenzo Mattielli (1688-1748) created four monumental sculptures of the Labors of Hercules to adorn the central gateway from Michaelerplatz into the heart of the Hofburg Complex. (Mattielli also created the sculptural grouping on the facade of St. Michael's Church opposite - see the photo on my Michaelerkirche page.) I'm not sure which of the Labors this figure is meant to represent - could it be Hercules' battle with the Hydra? Incidentally, one of Hercules' adventures reportedly brought him north from Greece up to the Danube River. In 18th century iconography, the Habsburg Dynasty often identified itself with the great Hercules - or rather, the Habsburgs wished to be associated with the great fearless hero.


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Favorite Thing: Flanking either side of the Hofburg wing at Michaelerplatz are fountains celebrating Habsburg military glory. Facing "In Der Burg" on your right in the fountain honoring Austria's navies: Neptune cavorts with a host of other divinities and mortals. Considering that now Austria is a landlocked nation, you may be surprised at the numerous Neptune fountains to be found in Vienna (the most famous is at Schonbrunn). Of course, at one time Austria did have a presence on the Adriatic coast: Venice and Trieste were its ports. And Neptune is just naturally an excellent subject for a fountain.


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Favorite Thing: "Ornament is Crime" wrote architect/designer Alfred Loos. He was reacting against the neo-Historicism of such Ringstrasse buildings as the Rathaus and Parlament - grandiose structures whose stylistic borrowings and intensive decorations struck Loos and his Jugenstil colleagues as vulgar in the extreme. "Every era merits its own art," was their plea, as embodied in Joseph Olbrich's Secession, and Otto Wagner's U-bahn stations. Emperor Franz Joseph was not at all pleased at Alfred Loos' design for this office building at Michaelerplatz, next to the Hofburg Palace. (The Emperor's apartment's were immediately opposite.) Franz Joseph is said to have decried "a building without eyebrows." The flower boxes were a minor concession to "popular taste," but Loos Haus is rightly regarded as an important step in the development of European mpdernist architecture, perhaps the equivalent of Louis Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis, MO.


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Favorite Thing: Lorenzo Mattielli (1688-1748) created a series of Herculean sculptures that decorate the Hoburg, both in Michaelerplatz and In der Burg. His work can also be seen at the Karlskirche and in Melk. He must have been a very busy guy.


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Favorite Thing: The Prunksaal (Memorial hall) of the National Library is a must-see for all book-lovers, perhaps the most brilliantly executed Baroque library in the world. It was designed by the ubiquitous Viennese architect Johann Fischer von Erlach during the reign of Emperor Charles VI in the early 18th century. It's a bibliophile's heaven - a palace for books. (If I close my eyes, I can recapture in my mind's nose that wonderful smell of old mauscripts.) There are usually exhibits here displaying some of the library's most treasured possessions. My poor camera could not possibly capture the splendour of the Prunksaal, so this is actually a postcar image.

Fondest Memory: The entrance to the Prunksaal is at the Karlsplatz, just beyond the equestrian statue of Joseph II.

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Favorite Thing: These are the grand doors which open onto the Memorial Hall of the National Library. They're like something out of Harry Potter movie.


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Favorite Thing: While strolling through the 1st District of Vienna, keep your eyes open for interesting views and vistas. There are satisfying and intriguing perspectives to be found around almost every corner. This was one of my favorite angles in the city: looking down this short street at the juxtaposition of rooftops, with the tall and narrow Augustinian Chuch Tower as a backdrop.


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Favorite Thing: Antonio Canova was the favorite sculptor of imperial Vienna in the early 19th century. He received the commission to create this beautiful piece which commemorates the life of Maria Christina, who was the favorite daughter of Empress Maria Theresa. The sculpure was unveiled in 1805 and has been a "hit" ever since. It's an exquisite piece, rendered in Canova's popularly romantic style. What a sad lion!


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