Vienna Things to Do Tips by Vanity666

Don't miss the Schonbrunn castle even in winter.... It's not as beautiful as in spring when the gardens blossom but it's still nice to see....

Leave a Comment

Address: the summer-residence of the emperor

You should not miss the tour around the city in chariot (in Vienna these are called Fiaker).

Leave a Comment

Address: Vienna's famous horse carriages

Don't be lazy, take a walk around the Vienna center, make some photos, sit in the park.... Dunno, figure out for yourself what you like to do....

A plenty of statues, sculptures, parks, churches and a whole lot of other historical buildings await to be seen... and to tell you their story....

Leave a Comment

Schönbrunn Palace

Visit Empress Sisi’s former summer residence. This baroque complex contains an enchanting park, the Palm House, the Gloriette and a zoo. Spend an entire day at Schönbrunn: visit the show rooms with a "Grand Tour with Audio Guide," admire the splendid Bergl Rooms, and stroll through the “Labyrinth.”

Schönbrunn, the former summer residence of the imperial family, is considered one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Europe. The Habsburgs resided here the better part of the year in numerous rooms for the large imperial family in addition to representational rooms. Emperor Franz Joseph, who later married the enchanting Sisi and reigned from 1848 to 1916, was born here in 1830. The monarch spent his last years entirely in the palace, which became the property of the new Republic of Austria only two years after his death. Today, the palace is part of UNESCO’s cultural heritage due to its historic importance, its unique grounds and its splendid furnishings.

Leave a Comment

Address: Schönbrunn Palace 13., Schönbrunner Schlossstrasse
Website: www.schoenbrunn.at

For more than seven centuries, the great empire of the Habsburgs was ruled from the Imperial Palace. Today, the Gothic Imperial Chapel, where the Vienna Boys’ Choir performs during High Mass on Sunday, is a remnant of the Imperial Palace during the Middle Ages.

In the center of the old city, you can admire the splendor and magnificence of the daily life of the noblest family of the Habsburg monarchy when you visit the private apartments and state rooms. Numerous museums and collections represent the imperial family’s passion for art.

The Imperial Palace, which until 1918 was inhabited by the imperial family, was originally a castle built in the thirteenth century, which was extended to a splendid residence in accordance with the increasing power of the Habsburgs and the expansion of their realm.

Today, the Imperial Palace houses the office of the President of Austria as well as an important congress center and numerous art collections.

Leave a Comment

Address: The winter palace of the emperor
Website: www.hofburg-wien.at

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Austria's most eminent Gothic edifice, houses a wealth of art treasures, some of which can only be seen during a guided tour:

The red-marble sepulcher of Emperor Frederick III, sculpted from 1467 to 1513 by Niclas Gerhaert van Leyden; the pulpit, a work from 1514-15 by Anton Pilgram (who put his own relief portrait underneath it as his signature); the Altarpiece of Wiener Neustadt (Wiener Neustädter Altar), a Gothic winged altar from 1447 - and the tomb of Prince Eugene of Savoy, dating from 1754.

Leave a Comment

Website: www.stephanskirche.at

Theophil Hansen created the parliament building, constructed from 1873 to 1883 in the style of the Greek Revival. He also created the Pallas Athena Fountain in front of it; this 15-foot figure of the Greek goddess of wisdom is by Karl Kundmann.

In modern Austria, this is the seat of both the National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament whose representatives are elected by popular vote, and the Federal Council, whose members are chosen by the various states to serve in the upper house.

Leave a Comment

Address: Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3
Website: www.parlament.gv.at

The former court library is an architectural masterpiece of the Viennese baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Emanuel. This, the largest baroque library in Europe, was erected in the first half of the eighteenth century as an independent wing of the Imperial Palace.

The impressive State Hall of the library is almost 80 meters long, 20 meters high and crowned by a cupola decorated with frescoes by Daniel Gran. More than 200,000 volumes are exhibited here, among them the comprehensive library of Prince Eugene of Savoy as well as one of the largest collections of Martin Luther’s writings from the Reformation Era.

Among the exhibits are two exquisite Venetian baroque globes: one for the earth and one for the sky, each with a diameter of more than one meter.

Leave a Comment

Website: www.onb.ac.at

Not long after Mozart's death, his "Requiem" was first performed in this church.

Today, the church is visited mostly for its interesting catacombs - due to the unusual environment, bodies don't decompose in it. From 1631 to 1784, about 4,000 people were buried here. Today, one can still see hundreds of coffins adorned with flowers or skulls, as well as mummified corpses, some of them in baroque frock-coats and wigs. The most famous person buried in the catacombs is Pietro Metastasio, who wrote some of the librettos of Mozart's operas.

The building dates from the late Romanesque period - parts of the former Court and Barnabite Church St. Michael date from as far back as the first half of the thirteenth century. Experts believe that the altar room was built between 1327 and 1340, the lower parts of the tower later. In the ensuing centuries, the church was rebuilt and added to several times, it has stood in its present form since 1792.

Also worth viewing are the excavations on the square in front of the church. Vienna's city archeologists uncovered the remains of a Roman settlement there in the years 1990 and 1991.

Leave a Comment

This is the Vienna fire department building

Leave a Comment