Department
Vienna
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About Vienna
Vienna (Wien) is a unique blend of
the historic and the modern, so full of tradition, it can be read
on the face of the city, yet with a forward-looking approach that
will surprise the visitor. Vienna’s role as the seat of the
Hapsburg Empire for centuries can be seen in the wealth of
architecture and in the city’s artistic and musical
heritage. Many of the world’s most important composers,
including Beethoven and Mozart, have lived and performed behind
Vienna’s Baroque façades. In addition to this Baroque
splendour, there are excellent examples of the Art Nouveau
(Jugendstil) architecture that also flourished here.
The fall of the Hapsburg Empire, at the end of World War
I, allowed Vienna’s socialist undercurrents to come to
the fore during the ÙRed Vienna’ period, resulting
in numerous social housing and other projects, which still play
a role in the city. Vienna’s occupation by the Nazis and
subsequent partitioning by the four Allied powers tend to be
forgotten, as the city instead focuses on its post-war neutrality
and the glittering remnants of its Imperial glory. This seems to
be reinforced by the image of older Viennese walking small dogs
or eating cakes in cafés but it ignores the energy of Vienna’s
alternative and underground scenes, whose members react against
the attachment to tradition in a way similar to their Secessionist
counterparts a century before.
Vienna is divided into 23 Bezirke (districts). The
original city that lay within the protective walls comprises the
First District of modern Vienna. The demolition of the city walls
led to the construction of the Ringstrasse and an impressive parade
of buildings along its length. The majority of the tourist attractions
lie on and within the Ringstrasse. Districts two to nine are arrayed
between the Ringstrasse and the concentric Gürtel (belt).
The other districts lie beyond the Gürtel and extend into the foothills
of the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), where Heurigen
(wine taverns) and pretty villages are dotted among the vineyards.
Vienna’s climate is generally moderate, although the city
can experience heavy snowfalls and low temperatures from December to
March, as well as occasionally very high temperatures in July and
August. Summer, however, is usually comfortable with an average
daily temperature of 20°C. Heavy thundershowers are likely during
the season, however.
The city is not only the capital of Austria but also a federal
province as well, surrounded by Niederösterreich (Lower Austria).
Vienna’s location on the east–west trade route along
the Danube River played an important part in its history –
an empire that once covered a large part of Europe was ruled from
here. Even today, Vienna is the financial and administrative capital
of Austria, and home to a number of international organisations,
including the United Nations. And with the fall of Communism, Vienna
is once again at the centre of Europe.
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