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Vienna:
A Peek Into A Modern Day Paradise |
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A popular
T-shirt in Vienna declares "There are No Kangaroos in
Austria!" The apparent confusion regarding the difference
between Austria and Australia brings sighs of exasperation amongst
many Americans living in Vienna who have had their U.S. mail arrive
after a detour to Down Under.
But while
Vienna has always been right where it is, its place in European
politics and culture has shifted often throughout its 2,000 year
history. Today, Vienna is once again in the center of Europe. But not
so long ago, Vienna was just barely on the western side of the Iron
Curtain. Many visitors are surprised to learn that Vienna is actually
further east than Prague and Berlin.
Vienna was
once the heart of a vast realm, the Habsburg Empire. For a time, the
possessions of the Habsburgs, who ruled for more than 600 years, were
so far-flung that it was said that the sun never set on its
dominions. All that came to an end more than 80 years ago. Today,
Austria is a small country of about eight million people. But Vienna
still has heart. It is one of the most comfortable, interesting,
beautiful capital cities in the world.
Vienna is
first mentioned in the first century under its Roman-Celtic name
Vindobona. It was established by the Romans to be a frontier fortress
to maintain vigil over the Danube which served as the northern border
of the Roman Empire. By 488 A.D., however, the barbarians succeeded
in pushing the Romans back and for a few hundred years all trace of
civilization here disappears.
Today, only
some ancient stones from the Roman fort survive from those dark
centuries to provide some archaeological record of Vienna's
beginnings, but its location on the Danube made it important early on
as the crossroads for much of the trade traveling north and south,
and east and west. Charlemagne reinstated Vienna as a border
post, then the Babenberg dukes eventually won control. When their
dynasty died out, the Habsburgs became first dukes of Austria and
later Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire which comprised much of Europe.
But while the
power of other ruling families in Europe was often gained by the
sword, the Habsburgs were more inclined to obtain their lands and
power via marriage and diplomacy. Perhaps that explains the wealth of
Vienna's music, art, and architecture as well as its other pleasures
that continue to delight Vienna's citizens and visitors today. |
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The
Inner City |
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Rising from
Vienna's old city center, just beyond where the stone walls of the
Roman camp once stood, the predominantly Gothic Stephansdom (St.
Stephan's Cathedral) continues to tower over the hearts and minds of
the Viennese as it has for some 800 years. Known affectionately as
Der alte Steffl (Old Steve) by the Viennese, it blends the styles of
many ages into a unique and harmonious whole. Its colorful tiled roof
depicts the two-headed Habsburg eagle bearing the imperial crown and
the order of the Golden Fleece.
Radiating away
from the Stephansdom are a number of little streets as intricately
connected as the threads of a spider's web. And within the web, more
churches, museums, palaces, boutiques, galleries, antique shops,
coffeehouses, sidewalk cafes, and restaurants await the visitor. It
doesn't really matter which direction you choose to walk when
wandering about. The old Inner City holds endless delights. |
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The
Ring |
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Encircling the
Inner City is a broad boulevard called the Ring. It replaced the city
fortifications that were torn down in the mid-19th century by order
of Franz Joseph I, the Habsburg emperor who ruled from 1848 to 1916.
Amongst the
treasures lining the Ring is the State Opera House. For many
Viennese, the soul of Vienna resides within its elegant interior. The
opera in Vienna is reasonably egalitarian. There's a ticket price to
fit everyone's pocket because the Viennese love of music is not
class-bound. What matters to the Viennese is the quality of the performance.
There are
innumerable museums in Vienna. But the greatest of them all is the
Kunsthistorische Museum located further down the Ring. Its massive
collections include a wealth of art by Rembrandt, Raphael, Bosch,
Titian, Rubens, and Vermeer, as well as the largest collection of
Brueghel in all the world. And competing with the richness of
its art, the intricately designed marble halls of the museum are
quite breathtaking.
Facing the
Kunsthistorische Museum is the Natural History Museum chock-full of
curiosities. Its collections were started by Maria Theresia's
husband, Franz Stephan von Lothringen, and enlarged by their
successors. Dinosaur skeletons, stuffed mammals, birds, and fish,
minerals, one of the oldest prehistoric sculptures in the world, the
Venus of Willendorf, and unique painted skulls from Hallstatt
graves, treasures all.
Between the
two museums is the commanding memorial to the 18th century Habsburg
ruler Maria Theresia who sits high on her throne surrounded by her
ministers and generals. In addition to being the only female ruler
(and one of the most successful) in the history of the House of
Habsburg, Maria Theresia bore 16 children.
Across the
street, the spacious grounds of Heldenplatz lead to the Hofburg,
formerly the imperial palace. Today, this magnificent open space
reveals many of the splendid public buildings and gardens lining the
Ring and contributes to the overall beauty of this boulevard,
enhanced in spring by its many flowering lilac bushes.
The mixture of
styles along the Ring blends into a surprisingly harmonious study of
European architectural history, ranging from the neo-Grecian style
Parliament to the neo-Gothic Rathaus (city hall), the neo-Renaissance
Burg Theater to the neo-Baroque Imperial Palace, enhanced by the
elegance of the formal gardens of the Burggarten and the Volksgarten. |
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The
Palaces |
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The Hofburg,
just inside the Inner Ring, was started in 1279 and eventually became
the imperial residence of the Habsburgs. Franz Joseph I, a resident
for 86 years, slept on a spartan iron bedstead in his luxuriously
appointed apartment as did his wife, the very elegant and beautiful
Empress Elizabeth, affectionately known as Sissi by the Viennese, in hers.
Franz Joseph
ruled for 68 years. Accompanying his spartan tastes in comfort was an
equally spartan attitude towards food. The etiquette of the day
dictated that courses end once the emperor had finished eating. At
large banquets, many guests had hardly been served their first course
by the time Franz Joseph had finished his last. A tradition arose for
guests to retire to the nearby Hotel Sacher for dinner, after dinner.
The Hotel Sacher still serves the world famous Sacher torte (a
chocolate cake layered with apricot jam) created there.
Sissi herself
was quite ahead of her time in staying fit. Each morning at 5 a.m.
she bathed in cold water in a copper bathtub. She was an excellent
horsewoman and designed and followed her own personal fitness
training regime which included gymnastics on a wooden ladder and
rings which are on display in her former rooms. She retained her
remarkably small waist throughout her life which was ended by an
assassin's file.
The Hofburg,
also houses the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) containing an
abundance of treasures from the past. The thousand year old bejeweled
crown of the Holy Roman Empire is on display here as well as other
imperial insignia. But what's truly astonishing are the relics on
display in the Ecclesiastical Treasury. Amongst its treasures is the
Holy Lance which is reputed to have pierced the side of the Lord and
thus bathed in His blood. There are several thorns from Christ's
Crown of Thorns, particles of the True Cross, one of which has a nail
hole thought to have soaked up His Blood, hairs from his beard,
droplets of His blood, a piece of his shroud, and the nail that
pinned Christ's right hand to the Cross. St. Stephan's purse is said
to have contained his blood, another reliquary contains one of St.
Peter's molars, another a fragment of the Virgin Mary's veil. All
together, the Schatzkammer is one of the finest treasuries in Europe.
Next to the
Treasury is the Burgkapelle (the Imperial Chapel) where the Vienna
Boys Choir sings during Sunday morning mass. The origins of the
Vienna Boys Choir go back to the 15th century. Today, 150 boys
receive music training and general instruction in the Augarten
Palace. The boys form several choirs and perform all over the world.
The famous
Spanish Riding School, founded in the 16th century, is housed in the
former imperial stables attached to the Hofburg complex. Archduke
Charles brought the Arabian horses from Spain to Lipizza near
Trieste, then a Habsburg possession. The horses are dark grey or
almost black at birth but turn white by the time they are about five
years old. They are trained in classical equestrian arts cultivated
over four centuries. Each carefully controlled maneuver once assisted
the rider in combat. Loss of control could mean death in battle for
the rider, defeat instead of victory for an army.
At the end of
WWII, General Patton, commander-in-chief of the U.S. occupying forces
and a fine horseman who had participated in the first Olympic
equestrian competition in Stockholm in 1912, placed the horses of the
Spanish Riding School under his protection, thus ensuring their
survival during the early post-war years.
Butterfly
House: Following the restoration of the Hofburg's elegant glass
greenhouses, an indoor/outdoor restaurant was established along with
an exquisite butterfly house with free-flying butterflies of many
species flitting amongst flowers and greenery. The glass greenhouses
sit overlooking the English gardens of the Hofburg. |
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Outside
the Ring |
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Now it's time
to venture a bit farther outside the Ring to visit the Upper and
Lower Belvedere Palaces, and the gardens lying in between. Eugene of
Savoy was a French prince who served the Habsburgs and defeated both
the French and the Turks in the 17th century. Initially, he had
offered his services to his own king, but was turned down because he
was too short. But in spite of his diminutive size, Prince Eugene
saved the day for the Habsburgs several times and was richly
rewarded. He used his proceeds well, building these fabulous palaces
and collecting art and furnishings to fill them.
Today, both
palaces house splendid collections of art, including the works of
Vienna's most famous painters Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar
Kokoschka. This particular collection is in the upper palace and
should be on your must-see list.
But your
sightseeing duties aren't over yet. The very Baroque Schönbrunn
Palace was the summer residence of the Habsburgs. Although Baroque on
the outside, inside Rococo rules. Maria Theresia, who ruled for 40
years in the 18th century, provided the funds for the Rococo
finishing touches.
Schönbrunn
is a grand palace designed with visions of Versailles in mind.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart entertained Maria Theresia and her family and
guests here at the age of six. Legend has it that Mozart declared his
love for Princess Marie Antoinette, Maria Theresia's daughter, who
was 10 at the time.
Like the
Belvedere, the Schönbrunn palace is a must-see site.
Forty-five of the 1,141 rooms in the palace are open to the public.
The court architect and designer, Johann Fischer von Erlach, included
139 kitchens in his plans, but not even the emperor had a private bathroom.
But don't
limit yourself to just a walk around the inside of the palace, the
extensive gardens outside are exceptionally fine. They were laid out
in the formal 18th century French manner. High on the hill in front
of you as you leave the palace stands the delightful Gloriette.
Originally, the palace itself was to sit there, but, unfortunately,
the high costs involved caused a change of plans.
In the gardens
to your right, a fanciful palm house provides a rare look at one of
the wonderful iron constructions of the late 19th century. A
few meters further along the main path is the world's oldest zoo.
Maria Theresia's husband, Franz Stephan von Lothringen, established
it to house his menagerie in 1752. But prior to Franz Stephan's zoo,
Maximilian II brought an elephant to Vienna in 1552. Franz Stephan
added a camel and a rhinoceros. When Napoleon was living here, he
accepted two Lapland ponies, a giant kangaroo, and two beavers. A
giraffe arrived in 1828 wearing leather shoes to protect its hooves
on its long trek. Franz Joseph, who numbered 50,520 recorded kills
during his hunting life, opened the zoo to the public in the late
19th century. |
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The
Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) |
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The mighty
Alps that stretch across Europe from France through Italy,
Switzerland, and Austria end in the foothills making up the Vienna
Woods, part of which lie within Vienna's city limits. The visitor
should take at least a half day to wander its paths and stop for a
glass of wine and lunch at one of the small inns dotting the hills as
the Viennese themselves do. After all, some of the world's greatest
musicians walked these paths. Haydn, Schubert, Mozart,
Beethoven, Brahms, and the Strauss's regularly took advantage of
these walks to clear their minds and create some of the finest music
ever written. Johann Strauss the Younger immortalized the natural
beauty of these forests with his "Tales of the Vienna Woods". |
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Today |
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Beneath the
visible splendor of Vienna's art, music, and architecture, lies an
even richer life that is seldom noticed by its many visitors: The
quality of day-to-day life for the majority of Vienna's citizens. For
example, Vienna's streets are clean and safe. Crime is not a usual
occurrence here. There is little poverty and even less downright
misery in the streets.
Government
financed public housing has been a resounding success since its
beginnings early in this century. Even the oldest complexes still
provide clean, comfortable, desirable housing today. Karl-Marx-Hof is
a wonderful example from the 1920s. It is a kilometer long and
continues to house 1,600 families, just as it did when it opened.
Hundertwasser, the Viennese artist, designed a colorful ecological
fantasy in 1985 that, in addition to providing homes for 50 families,
attracts many thousands of tourists every year.
Universal
health care is enjoyed by all of its citizens as well as sensible
pensions. Vienna's drinking water, piped directly from the eastern
Alps, is as pure today as it was when it was first introduced in
1876. The Austrian tax euro also supports three opera companies,
several symphony and chamber orchestras, numerous theaters, a wide
range of museums, public gardens and parks, a very fine public
transportation system--well, the lists go on and on.
Although the
Viennese pay high taxes, there is little grumbling. In fact, when
surveyed several years ago the majority indicated they would be
willing to pay even higher taxes rather than reduce the quality of
life for the population overall. This general attitude is probably
due to the fact that the Viennese can see their taxes at work in
their daily lives.
Vienna is a
very rich city in the quality of life it provides its 1,700,000
citizens. The Viennese have learned that the good life can indeed be
enjoyed by all. Vienna is, in many ways, a modern day Shangri-la. |
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About
The Author |
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Billie Ann
Lopez was an American freelance writer, born and raised in Kansas.
For many years she called Vienna, the city she loved, home. Billie
Ann's articles tell you about the legends, places in Austria not
often on the tourist maps and subjects close to her heart.
Informative, descriptive and interesting she acquainted you with her Austria.
Billie Ann
Lopez passed away September 13th, 2003. She enriched our lives
through her friendship, caring and writings. Billie Ann, you are
greatly missed. Silvia
McDonald |
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