Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria. It is also the largest city of the European country.
Vienna, the city’ s German name, was the largest German-speaking city in the world until the beginning of the 20th century. Today, with around 1.9 million inhabitants, it is the second largest after Berlin.
Vienna would be appreciated for its high degree of quality of life. According to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, it ranked first out of 140 world cities worldwide in 2018. Second and third place went to Melbourne in Australia and Osaka in Japan.
The city of Vienna is divided into 23 districts (“Bezirke”).
Each of these districts has its own name, as is usual in other cities. However, the citizens of Vienna usually use a number when they are referring to the districts. For example, the district “Hietzing” is called the 13th district or “the thirteenth”. The number is made up of the second and third digits of the postal code.
Schloss Schönbrunn
In the mentioned district “Hietzing” is the Schönbrunn Palace. It was built in its present form in the 18th century as a summer residence for Empress Maria Theresa. The palace, which today is largely a museum, includes a park of about 160 hectares. On the grounds of the park is also the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, one of the oldest zoos still in operation.
According to legend, the name “Schönbrunn” comes from Emperor Matthias, who discovered a groundwater spring during hunting and proclaimed “Welch’ schöner Brunn” (What a beautiful fountain). “Schön” is German for pretty and “Brunn” is an expression for fountain.
Schönbrunn Palace is one of Austria’s most important cultural assets and attracts millions of visitors every year. Since 1996 the castle and the park are part of the UNESCO world cultural heritage.
Wurstelprater
Another popular attraction in Vienna is the Wurstelprater. The amusement park is part of the Prater recreation area, is located in the Leopoldstadt district and was opened in the 18th century. Today the site is home to numerous showrooms and entertainment venues.
One of the main attractions and landmarks of the Austrian city is the Wiener Riesenrad. The ferris wheel was built for the 50th throne anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph I and with a height of just over 60 meters one of the highest at that time.
The Praterturm was the world’s highest chain carousel with a height of 117 meters until 2013.
