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TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: WHAT TO VISIT IN VIENNA

The main tourist attractions are represented from the two majestic imperial palaces of Hofburg and Schönbrunn.

The imposing palace of the Hofburg has been the center of the Austrian power for more than six centuries, until the construction of the Schönbrunn. The palace, because of the architectonic superimpositions is a compound of various styles, the more ancient part is the Schweizerhof, a fortress constructed around 1275; in the 16th century were built the Alte Burg, the Schweizertor, the Stallburg, the Amalienburg. Between the 17th and 18th century were then built the Leopoldinischertrakt, the Reichskanzleitrakt and the covered Riding-Ground. At last at the end of 19th century, the Neue Burg, the Michaelertrakt and the Michaelertor were built. The main facade of the palace faces on the Josefsplatz, where is the statue of Joseph II, and accommodates the National Library, in the Prunksaal or Hall of Honor. Also in the Josefsplatz, on the left side of the palace is the Augustinerkirche, church in gothic style, where are keept the hearts of the Habsburg and the tomb of Maria Cristina of Austria by Antonio Canova; in this part of the palace it's also the Albertina, the museum of graphical art. On the left side are the Stallburg, that is part of the Lipizzan Museum, and the winter Riding-Ground. The immense park of the complex, was realized after that Napoleone Bonaparte, during the occupation of Vienna, destroyed the walls of the city. The park accommodates statues of Francis I and Mozart, and a series of greenhouses built in the first years of 20th century in Jugendstil. The inner courtyard forms the Heldenplatz (square of the heroes) on which is the Neue Burg: in the square there are the statues of prince Eugene of Savoie and the archduke Carl. The complex of the Hofburg is visitabile, to its inside there are the apartments of State and the collection of the imperial treasures (one of the richest collections of the world). In the apartments the visit is made in the rooms belonged to the emperor Francis Joseph and to his wife, the empress Elisabeth of Baviera more know as “Sissi”. Are visitable also the rooms where zar Alexander of Russia stayed for approximately a year during the Conference of Vienna. The collection of the treasures of State includes the treasures of the Austrian Empire, the treasures of the Sacred Roman Empire, the treasures of the “dowry of Borgogna. A room is dedicated to Napoleon and his wife Marie Louise. Between the masterpiece presents there are the Crown with which were crowned the emperors of the Sacred Roman Empire (10th century), the sceptre and the imperial sphere used during the coronations of the Habsburg and the “Golden fleece”.

The palace of Schönbrunn, that was the headquarters of the imperial house of Habsburg from 1730 to 1918 is the symbol of the imperial Vienna, the palace that is visitabile, has between the more interesting rooms: the Great Gallery, the Hall of the Mirrors, the Hall of Elisabetta, the Chinese Hall, the Hall of the Million, the Vieux-Laque Room, the Chinese Cabinet and the Room of Napoleone, where lived and died at the age of 21 years the son of Napoleone I. Today the palace and the garden in French baroque style constitutes the more visited tourist complex in Vienna. In the garden there are the Zoo (founded in 1752), the tropical Palmenhaus (greenhouse with palms and plants), the Orangerie, the Wagernburg (carriage museum) and the labyrinth of the hedge. In the higher point of the park, the Gloriette rises, in neoclassic style: a time hall for lunch, and today an evocative panoramic point in order to admire the Schönbrunn and the city.  

Between the religious buildings, beyond the already cited Augustinerkirche, are worthy of mention the Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche (17th century, rich of decorations), the Karlskirche, the Peterskirche, the church of Maria am Gestade (one of the most ancient churches in Vienna, 14th-15th century, example of gothic architecture), the Minoritenkirche (13th century, in French gothic style), the Ruprechtskirche, the Cathedral of Saint Stephan (Stephansdom, in gothic style, 14th and 15th century), the Schottenkirche and the Votivkirche.

The views of the city from the Riesenrad (panoramic wheel), and from the Donauturm (television tower) attract a remarkable number of visitors. Other interesting places are the several residences where some of the famous musicians lived, like Beethoven or Mozart and the cemetary of St. Marx, where is the tombs of Mozart. Between the modern buildings are interesting the Gasometer (apartments and shopping in an old gas warehouse), the Millennium Tower (tower 202 meters high), Karl-Marx-Hof ( residential complex constructed between 1927 and 1930 from the urbanist Karl Ehn), the Hundertwasserhaus (complex of popular houses planned from architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser), the SCS (the greatest shopping center of Europe) and UNO-City (a modern district, where are the palaces of the United Nations, planned from the Austrian architect Johann Staber, between 1973 and 1979). Between the cultural places to signal the Burgtheater (the theatre of the imperial court), the Wiener Staatsoper and the Spanische Hofreitschule (where are breeded and trained the Lipizzan horses). At last the Wiener Prater it's the greatest public park of the city.