Vienna Attractions

Emperor Franz Joseph laid the foundation stone of the new three story museum in 1908, but it did not open until 1918, after his death. The Imperial "physical collection" evolved into an "industrial collection", which itself later became a "production collection". Finally this gave rise to the Technical Museum together with the Railroad and Postal/Telegraph Museum. The collections provide a cross-section of the development of technology, commerce and industry with special reference to the contribution made by Austria.

Between the garden of the Belvedere Palaces in Vienna and the Botanical Gardens is a large Alpine Garden with a comprehensive display of rare plants which is open in fine weather.

Spread out over four levels of an old World War II bunker are a series of aquariums, both fresh-water and salt-water. Main attractions include a 2m long nurse shark, living corals and a Terrarium that features poisonous snakes.

The hall houses exhibitions of contemporary art and works by the classic modernists. There are also numerous specialized exhibitions every year.

The Künstlerhaus (House of the Artists) is used for art exhibitions, cultural events and art festivals.

The most famous are the "Gschnas" festivals in spring. The Vienna Artists' Society, founded in 1861, had this building put up in 1865-68.

The marble standing figures by the entrance represent Diego Velásquez, Raphael Santi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Albrecht Dürer, Titian, Bramante and Peter Paul Rubens.

There is a Circus and Clow museum in Vienna.

Austrian Horticulture Museum is a historical museum with beautiful garden.

The Austrian Police Museum is located in Vienna.

The Austrian Radio Museum is located in Vienna.

Members of the Austrian Resistance Movement were taken prisoner and executed by Hitler's troops when they invaded Austria during WWII.

In Austria there is plenty of scope for watersports. In many resorts there are sailing and windsurfing schools, waterskiing and boats available for hire. On certain lakes and rivers regattas are held.

International regulations apply on the Danube and on Lake Constance. On all other Austrian waters privately owned motor boats may be permitted only at certain times; in some cases they may be prohibited altogether. Information can be obtained from local police stations.

No special permission is required except on Lake Constance, where it is necessary to have a special license for sailing boats with a sail area over 12 sq.m/129 sq.ft. Those in charge of sailing-boats must know and observe the accepted rules of seamanship, and the usual safety equipment must be carried (including life-jackets, preferably yellow or red). Most of the Austrian sailing waters are in Upper Austria, Carinthia and Salzburg provinces where Alpine influences predominate. Rapid shifts in the wind and sudden changes in the weather are, therefore, to be expected. On most Austrian lakes there are sailing clubs and boats can be hired. Regattas are frequently held and occasionally European or world championship races.

The center houses exhibitions of 19th and 20th century art. Special exhibitions are also held regularly.

The Basiliskenhaus is also called the "House with the Red Cross", it is known to have existed as early as 1212. It is one of the oldest houses in Vienna. It was damaged by bombing in 1944, and has been restored in 16th C. style. There is a sandstone figure of a basilisk in a niche in the second story of the facade. Legend has it that a monster - half hen, half toad - hatched from an egg, lived in a deep well and made people ill with its poisonous breath or killed them by looking at them. One day an apprentice baker in love with a pretty baker's daughter took heart and bravely held a mirror up to the monster, which was so shocked at its appearance that it burst and turned to pieces of stone.

The chief attractions of the Botanical Gardens are its succulents and its orchids as well as the important collection of Austrian plants housed in the Sundial House.

The garden, originally only for medicinal plants, was laid out by Maria Theresa in 1757 on the advice of her physician G. van Swieten. It is said that when one of the plants failed to bring the Empress any relief from an illness she ordered the physician and botanist Nikolaus von Jacquin to forget about the medicinal plants and turn the place into a botanical garden which she gave to the university.

The Vienna Bread Baking Museum is associated with the 'Alte Backstube' Restaurant.

The Brick Making Museum in Vienna is of interest to anyone with an interest in construction.

A popular pedestrian precinct in front of St Stephen's Cathedral, forms the central point of the inner city. The whole area was redesigned after the construction of the Underground, when a Romanesque chapel forming part of an old cemetary was also brought to light; under the basement (used as a charnel house) lay a further subterranean vault, the Chapel of St Virgil. Some interesting houses surround the Stephansplatz, such as the Domherrenhof (Canon's Residence) at No. 5 and the Erzbischöfliches Palais (Archbishop's Palace) at No. 7.

The Chimney Sweeps Museum in Vienna has information on cleaning and the history of the industry.

The Paulanites were summoned to Vienna by Emperor Ferdinand II. Dedicated to the "Guardian Angels", the monastery church - Paulanerkirche - was built between 1627 and 1651.

It was rebuilt following its destruction in the Turkish siege of 1668 and was restored in 1817. After the dissolution of the monastic order it was made a parish church in 1784. Inside will be found some important oil-paintings, including a "Crucifixion" (second altar) by J. M. Rottmayr. The ceiling fresco is attributed to Carlo Carlone.

The Collection of Popular Religious Art in Vienna is housed in the former Ursuline Convent. It is an offshoot of the Museum für Volkskunde. In its four rooms are exhibited examples of religious popular art from the 17th to the 19th C. Room I: Domestic altars, pictures on glass, wooden sculpture and wax figurines. Room II: The old convent pharmacy, with original furniture and equipment. A painting depicts Christ as the Apothecary. Room III: This room is devoted to the cult of the Virgin. All the Marian pilgrimage centers are marked on maps. Room IV: Material concerned with popular saints.

The Doge's Palace is a typical example of architectural taste at the end of the 19th C. It is inspired by the Ca d'Oro in Venice and is decorated with a stone lion of St Mark. Emperor Franz Joseph I wanted to designate for each of the various ethnic groups in the monarchy a specific part of Vienna and to let them create there an environment in which they would feel at home. Thus an Italian colony was supposed to grow up in Leopoldstadt. Not a lot came of the idea, and the Dogenhof stands now as a rather odd historical curiosity amid the other houses on Praterstrasse.

There is an Electro-pathological Museum in Vienna.

Austria offers plenty of opportunities for flying. There are over 40 civilian airfields; permission must be obtained in advance for the use of private airfields. Austrian nationals require a police certificate of flying, a pilot's medical examination and a flying school certificate, which can be obtained from the Civil Aviation Authority (Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt, Schnirchgasse 11, A-1030 Vienna, tel. (0222) 78 05-0). Minimum age requirements are: gliding 16 years, hanggliding and paragliding 16 years, flying (light aircraft) 17 years, hot air ballooning and parachuting 17 years. Visitors from abroad must have a valid pilot's license which is temporarily recognized for the purposes of sport and tourism.

Gliding is the most widespread form of flying. The glider, an airplane without an engine, is rendered airborne by means of a motor-driven towing plane or a motorized belt. It utilizes the rising air currents to gain height. If there is insufficient upward wind then it can only glide. Austria has several gliding schools. Information about schools and entrance requirements for courses can be obtained from the gliding section of the Austrian Aero-Club.

On the one hand flying is a type of air travel, on the other it is a sport demanding a high level of technical ability. Competitive flying involves tests of speed, reliability and navigation and acrobatic displays. In Austria flying is possible from both sport airfields and regular airports. Foreign aircraft arriving in Austria must first land at airports with customs facilities (Graz-Thalerhof, Innsbruck-Kranebitten, Klagenfurt, Linz-Hörsching, Salzburg-Maxglan and Vienna-Schwechat) or airfields with customs facilities (Bad Vöslau, Hohenems-Dornbirn, Reutte-Höfen, St Johann in Tirol, Wels and Zell am See). Austrian aircraft can be hired from nearly all airfields. However, it is not possible for foreign nationals to learn to fly in Austria. The flying section of the Austrian Aero-Club will provide further information.

The hang-glider consists of a delta-shaped sail fastened to an aluminum frame and a steering trapeze, which is attached to the ends of the cross and center poles with steel cables. The pilot is suspended from a belt and take-off is from the top of mountain slopes and hilltops. In 1973 the Tirolean Sepp Himberger founded the world's first hang-gliding club and school at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser in Kössen. In such schools basic training mostly consists of a week's or a weekend course. Hang-gliding can be regarded as either a competitive sport or a hobby. For further information contact the hang-gliding section of the Austrian Aero-Club.

Para-gliding has become increasingly popular in recent years. Para-gliding is controlled flight in a rectangular aero-dynamically shaped parachute. Chambers of air combined with expertise and low speed transform a parcel of cloth and linen the size of a rucksack into a viable flying device. Visitors from abroad may use their own parachutes. There are several "civil aviation schools for hang-gliding" authorized to teach hang-gliding and para-gliding. For further information contact the hang-gliding and para-gliding section of the Austrian Aero-Club.

This square church was built in 1755-63 during Maria Theresa's reign by Nikolaus Pacassi to serve as the church of the Imperial Hospital. In 1782 it was handed over to the Polish Life Guards as the Gardekirche. It was altered again between 1890 and 1898.

In 1897 it became the Polish national church dedicated to the Crucified Savior. The painting above the High Altar in the attractive central section of the building with its light Late Roccoco decoration is by Peter Strudel and dates from 1712. Strudel was the founder of the Akademie der Bildenden Künste.

This museum is located in a store that has produced exquisite glass art for almost 180 years.

There is a Gold and Silversmith Museum in Vienna.

The Gustinus Ambrosi Museum is located in Vienna.

The Islamic Center and Mosque in Vienna contains a variety of Islamic artifacts and cultural exhibitions.

The Jewish Welcome Service in Vienna is committed to the cultural heritage of Judaism. They function as a public relations outlet on behalf of Jewish culture in Austria.

The church, Kirche am Steinhof, designed by Otto Wagner, was built between 1904 and 1907 in the grounds of the Vienna psychiatric hospital and is considered to be one of the most important buildings of the Art Nouveau style in Vienna. The church stands on the estate's highest point and its dome and flanking towers can be seen from some distance. The dome is, however, a fake structure; inside only shallow vaulting may be seen. The church interior is simple and light; the floors and walls are tiled in accordance with Wagner's aim to create "cleanliness", of light, air and function, in a church building. The glass mosaics in the windows were designed by Kolo Moser.

Built in 1737 and extended in the first half of the 19th C., this Late Baroque palace (Schlössl) in Vienna was from 1802 to 1812 the home of the thespian, singer and librettist of the "Magic Flute", Emanuel Schikaneder. In 1932 Franz Lehár bought the house in which he later wrote "Guiditta"; one of the rooms has been turned into a small Lehár museum.

In the Maria Hilf pilgrimage church in Vienna there are numerous sacred objects venerated by pilgrims. The "Gnadenbild" (Portrayal of Mercy) is a copy of the original on the Mariahilfberg at Passau. After the destruction of the original church by the Turks, it was rebuilt in 1683, probably by Sebastiano Carlone. It subsequently underwent considerable alterations and was not dedicated until 1730. In a chapel built on to the church stands a monumental figure of Christ on the Cross; it comes from the "Malefizspitzbubenhaus", an ancient prison which used to stand in Rauhensteingasse and from where criminals were conveyed to the Hoher Markt for execution.

In front of the church stands a memorial to the composer Joseph Haydn which was unveiled in 1887.

The Kriminalpolizeiliches Museum in Vienna deals with subjects related to law and crime enforcement.

The museum provides an overview of the development of the heating and forms of heating systems of 19th C to the present.

A series of superb displays tells the history of the politics and the military in the region. A particularly impressive exhibit is that of over 500 old cannons.

An aviation section, including a prototype Albatros B I and four Yak-11s, are on display in the museum, although a major focus is put on naval history.

The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions.

The OMW Petroleum Museum is located in Vienna.

Those who enjoy nostalgic trips may like to go on a tour of the city of Vienna on the Oldtimer Tram, departing from Karlsplatz; tickets from the Karlsplatzpassage underground station.

Otto Wanger's Residence is located at 7, Döblergasse 4 in Vienna.

The playing card collection includes sheets from the 16th century as well as a collection of cards from the 17-20th centuries.

Praterstrasse in Vienna no longer enjoys the importance it used to have in the great days of the Prater. It lives on its memories now. Josef Lanner and his band used to give concerts in No. 28 "Zum Grünen Jäger" (Green Huntsman's House). The office building at No. 31 occupies the site where once stood the famous Carl Theater which made the figure of Kasperl immortal and had Johann Nestroy as its manager. No. 54, the house in which Johann Strauss wrote "The Blue Danube" in 1867, has become a museum. Documents relating to the Waltz King's life are on display as well as personal mementos.

The Salvator Chapel was founded in 1301 by Otto Haymo (Heimo), a famous conspirator. It formed part of the house which the authorities took over after the failure of the rebellion against Frederick the Fair and converted into the Altes Rathaus. On October 10, 1871 the church passed into the possession of the Old Catholics. After sustaining severe damage in the Second World War it was fully restored in 1972-73. The magnificent Renaissance door, dating from 1520 and one of the few Renaissance works in Vienna, is especially noteworthy. The statues of knights are copies; the originals are in the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien.

A few gravestones and a Late Baroque cemetery cross indicate that the Schubert Park was laid out on what used to be the Währinger Cemetery. On the east wall of the park can be seen the original graves of Schubert and Beethoven. Both composers were exhumed in 1888 and re- interred in the Zentralfriedhof. It was in the Währinger Cemetery that Franz Grillparzer pronounced his funeral oration over Beethoven. He said: "Beethoven withdrew from human society after he had given men all that he had and received nothing in return".

The former Small Bishop's Palace which later became the "Haus zum roten Kreuz" (House with the Red Cross) dates, in part, from the 15th C. Matthias Gerl gave it a new facade in 1761. The Madonna relief in a pretty Roccoco frame with Turkish trophies on the wall is particularly noteworthy. The house belonged to Franz Georg Kolschitzky (d. 1694) who according to legend had set up the first Viennese coffee house here.

The Soccer Museum in Vienna is located at 2, Meiereistrasse 7, in Praterstadium. It has information on the history of the sport.

The Cemetery of St Mark is notable for being the gravesite of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

This chapel in the courtyard of the Jesuit presbytery is decorated in gold and silver. Until 1582 the chapel was a single room in the house called "Zur goldenen Schlange" (The Golden Snake), where the Polish Jesuit Stanislaus Kostka lived between 1564 and 1567. After the occurrence of two miracles the room was converted into a chapel and given rich stucco ornamentation in 1742 in memory of Stanislaus Kostka who was canonized in 1726. The altar- piece "St Stanislaus Kostka taking Communion with the Angels" was painted by Franz Anton Stecher c. 1840.

The Weiner Borse is the AustrianStock Exchange, located in a late 19th Century brick building that is worth seeing simply for the architecture. It is also home to a pleasant restaurant called Hansen.

This museum is hosed in a fine Baroque building. It was opened to public in 1989 with dolls and toys collections from the past two centuries.

The Vienna Tram Museum was opened in 1986 and enlarged in 1990-92. More than 80 historical vehicles are displayed on 1.8km/1mi of track. The collection begins with horse drawn carriages used in 1871 and then ranges over the first articulated vehicles and old buses of the 1950s to more modern suburban railroad coaches.

The Undertaker's Museum displays the buried style in Vienna. At the entrance is the wrought-iron grille with a crowned skeleton. In the 19th century, a bell was attached to a rope within the coffin which allowing the recently deceased for unexpected reawaken to signal the alarm. There are some displays showing how corpses were dressed up and seated on a chair for one last photograph.

The University of Technology (Technische Universität) on the southern side of Karlsplatz in Vienna was founded in 1815 as a Technical College. The original Neo-Classical building (by Joseph Schemerl, 1815-18) has been considerably extended by later additions. The extension of the east (Karlgasse 4) occupies the site of a house where Brahms lived from 1872 until his death in 1897.

The Urania Observatory in Vienna is located at Uranianstrasse 1.

The Vienna Metro (U-Bahn) was opened in 1976 and is made up of 4 lines with 37.2km of track, 25.7km of which are underground. There are 52 stations, 32 of which are underground. The system has a flat fare structure.

In peak hours trains run every 3 mins, off-peak every 4-5 mins.

There is also a light rail system in Vienna with 9.3 kms of track, 3.6km underground and 5.7km elevated. It has 13 stations and a flat fare structure.

The synagogue at 3 Seitenstettengasse is the oldest in Vienna.

The Wittgenstein Palace in Vienna is located at 3, Parkgasse 18.

An Italian aroma hangs over the "Grünen Anker", for this restaurant has specialized in Italian cuisine since 1820. It was a favorite meeting-place of Schubert and his friends, and Grillparzer was also a regular customer. Close by the Grüner Anker stands the "Kipfelhaus" (the Croissant House) at No. 8 Grünargergasse. It was here that this famous Viennese delicacy came into being, for the very first croissant was baked here in 1683, probably as a joke at the expense of the Turkish crescent moon symbol.