Today we’re going to talk about Vienna.
Vienna, ah.
One of Europe's great cities, the capital of Austria is a modern marvel with a wealth
of history and architecture to show it.
There are some prestigious galleries and museums here, as well as renowned cafes and an undeniable
air of grandeur.
Given the significance of this location historically, the list of the top things to do in Vienna
reads a lot like a list of the top things to do in Europe.
The city's center resembles the set of a major historical drama, and who wouldn’t want
to see it?
So let’s quickly look at the top five things you can do in Vienna.
5.
Hofburg palace When you think of a palace something extravagantly
ginormous comes to mind but don’t expect a stand-alone palace like Versailles here.
Instead, you get a collection of lavish, connected structures that were once the Habsburg king's
private residence.
Today, it houses many of Vienna's top museums, attractions, and galleries in addition to
serving as the country’s official president’s residence.
The parts of the winter palace that are open to the public provide insights into imperial
life, including items like Empress Elisabeth's bathroom and Habsburg cake tins.
Here you’ll find a collection of old buildings, public spaces, and pedestrian-only zones that
you can simply stroll through and enjoy.
Standing alone within the Kuns this torisches Museum network is Imperial Treasury.
Crown jewels, religious artifacts, and other valuables gathered by the Habsburgs are among
its valuable possessions.
The galleries are home to a variety of trinkets, including the Habsburg imperial crown, the
Holy Roman Emperor's coronation robes, and crown, a rosebush made entirely of gold, Emperor
Maximilian I's ceremonial sword from the fifteenth century, and much more.
The imperial treasury would have a colossal X painted on its front door if Vienna were
a treasure map.
In Burggarten park, behind the Neue Burg, you’d find a small green garden away from
the bustle of contemporary tourism.
Its most famous feature is the Mozart monument situated on its premises.
Visitors to the complex can explore the intricate museums, take a tour of the imperial apartments,
or simply admire the elegance and beauty of the baroque architecture.
4.
Sigmund Freud museum
You can learn more about the life and contributions of the father of psychoanalysis at the Sigmund
Freud Museum.
The concept of the psychiatrist's couch was created by Sigmund Freud.
You can also stand in the room where this idea was born if you go to house No. 19 on
Vienna's Berggasse.
The couch was a gift from a patient when Sigmund decided to flee to London from Nazi-run Vienna.
The Sigmund Freud Museum offers a wide range of additional attractions.
The museum’s building is the same one where Freud, his wife Martha, his children, and
his sister-in-law resided from 1891 to 1938.
Here, Freud also saw his patients.
Fortunately, he had plenty of time during surgery to write and smoke cigars, two activities
he considered to be inseparable.
The apartment and surgery on one floor of the house are home to the main exhibition.
With a few notable exceptions, the rooms themselves don't have many old pieces of furniture because
Freud emigrated with everything.
The furnishings are purposefully missing as a kind of monument to the oppression perpetrated
by the Nazis, which is the cause of their absence.
However, a lot of places still have a lot of the original fixtures and architecture.
Some also include images of them as they appeared during Freud's lifetime.
Standing, for instance, in the study where Freud developed his theories, one cannot help
but experience a certain frisson.
Or in his bedroom, the location of the dreams he described in his ground-breaking book The
Interpretation of Dreams.
For those with an interest in psychology and psychiatry, a visit to the museum is a high
priority.
But you also get a sense of Vienna's intellectual scene in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
which encompassed both the end of the Habsburg monarchy and a world war.
3.
Vienna Ring Road The Ring is the common name for a network
of broad boulevards lined with trees that almost completely encircle the city's center.
It is approximately 6.5 km long, and no other road has as many historical sites lining its
edges.
The idea initially was to develop a new boulevard encircling the old town intended to capture
Vienna's imperial grandeur and its ruling dynasty.
The Emperor gave the government the task of constructing roads and various governmental
and municipal structures.
The remainder of the space was made available for private initiatives
After the first segment of the Ring's construction was completed in 1865, all of those renowned
museums, political institutions, and other structures were completed.
The simplest way to take in some of the city's most impressive structures is to take a detour
around the Ring.
You can visit the State Opera House, the Burggarten, the Hofburg, the National Library, the Art
History, Natural History, and World museums, Parliament, the Volksgarten, the Burgtheater,
the Town Hall, and the University on your own by traveling the relatively short distance
from Karlsplatz to Schottentor.
Simply board a tour bus or simply ride the designated tourist tram that circles the boulevard
to see the Ring in all its splendor.
The same route is followed by both wide footpaths and cycle paths.
2.
Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum, a hub of art, culture,
and history that honors the significant role the Jewish community has played in Vienna's
past and present, is tucked away inside the city's old town.
The Jewish Museum in Vienna provides an insightful overview of the history of Jews in Austria
and, more importantly, the bond between the community and the state.
The permanent collections and the Our City exhibition are housed at the main museum location
on Dorotheergasse, which also has space for recurring temporary exhibitions.
The history of the Jewish community in Vienna is covered on the first and second floors
of the main museum.
The community's post-World War II reconstruction is covered in the first half.
The second focuses on the period before World War II, particularly the part played by Jews
in Vienna life and the three major periods of expulsion that were frequently violent
and lethal.
The presentations appear to strike a pragmatic balance between acknowledging the need for
tact when handling certain themes and expressing justifiable outrage.
The museum in general provides provocative perspectives on the Jewish experience and
the fight against antisemitism.
1.
Wiener Risenrad The Riesenrad Ferris wheel, which stands erect
at Prater's entrance, is to Vienna what the London Eye is to the capital city.
It was constructed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph's accession
to the throne.
From 1920 until 1985, it held the record for the tallest extant Ferris wheel in the world
with a wheel diameter of almost 61 meters.
A permit was also issued for its demolition, but it was never actually destroyed due to
a lack of funding.
Eduard Steiner, its owner during the war, was killed at Auschwitz.
Together with St. Stephen's Cathedral, the State Opera House, and the Burgtheater, it
was rebuilt in 1945 after a fire destroyed it in 1944 as evidence of the symbolic importance
it had in the city.
Following the war, the wheel served as the backdrop for several well-known films, beginning
with The Third Man and continuing with the 1987 James Bond movie "The Living Daylights,"
which includes a protracted love scene on the wheel.
Also shot at the Prater and on the wheel were scenes from the 1995 film "Before Sunrise."
The top of this 200-foot-high landmark is the best place to view Vienna.
Take a stroll through the somewhat historic, not to mention occasionally macabre, funfair
after riding the Riesenrad.
—----------------------------------------------------------- Vienna is waiting for you so when are you
planning a vacation here?
Let us know in the comments below.
And as always, where to next?