Return to Vienna photos

Vienna cannot be described by a few pictures and words. It is one of the most beautiful cities we have visited. (We may be slightly biased because of the impact of seeing a relatively modern and very clean 19C city after living for 2 months in rather unkempt 12C-15C Florence!)

The city is large, but its transportation system, begun in 1893 and now led by its BART-like underground, makes travel extremely fast and easy. (We apologize for the dearth of pictures-it was quite cold and snowy/rainy for most of our 3-day stay, and we simply left the camera at home on some days.)

The dominant architectural feature is the huge Hofburg (Imperial Palace) of the Hapsburgs, who ruled from 1279 to 1918, and its various subpalaces, chapels, imperial quarters, the famed Spanish Riding School (the dancing white horses), the national library, the Chancellor's offices, the current offices of the President, museums, etc. etc. The second picture shows the rostrum from which Hitler delivered his famous speech in the 1930s. Nearby are the Parlament (sic) Building and various government buildings, including the Palace of Justice, from which the picture of the statue was taken. There are numerous parks. The Austrian soldiers shown here were assembling for a military program in the yards of the Hofburg-they are at ease.

Other features of Vienna are too numerous to describe, such as the Schoenbrunn Palace, the summer palace of Leopold I (1700). The Minoritenkirche is the "oldest" looking building in central Vienna. And it is old-approximately 11C. Perhaps that explains why it is the "home" church of the large population of Italians in Vienna! The Votive Church is pictured here, but the central church is the Stefansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), a magnificent Gothic church completed in mid-14C on the site of a 12C church, with features of that church incorporated into the "current" church. The campanile, about 400 ft high, houses the 21-ton Pummerin bell and offers a great view. As does a more modern feature-two revolving tower restaurants at the park on the "opposite" side of the Danube River (which in the city is actually three channels side by side!).

Yes, one must hear the Vienna Boys Choir when in Vienna. Having arrived late Saturday night, we were traditionally lucky to get tickets to the Sunday morning "concert" from a tour group. Actually, the "concert" is not a concert, but a traditional mass in the chapel of the Hofburg. Members of the Choir and men form the cathedral choir. The chapel is quite small for this type of popular event (c. 100 seats), so the theater box-type rooms on three levels of the chapel are opened for the audience. One sits on a wooden chair in a box three rows deep, unable to see the stage but watching a TV monitor, while listening to the mass. Not exactly a concert, but as close as one gets on 12 hours notice! Two excerpts are recorded on the web page.