Vienna

POPULATION: 1.7 million (more than 25% the population of Austria)
-Vienna is the 10th largest city in the EU

-In 2009, it was tied with Vancouver as the city with the highest quality of life.


QUICK HISTORY

Under the Habsburgs back in the 13th century, Vienna became a major European capital. It was, for a time, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It was the capital of Bohemia and Hungary when they were under Austrian rule. It was subject to attack by the Ottoman Empire, so it became a fortified city in the 16th century. When the Ottomans were finally defeated in 1683, during the Second Turkish Siege (where they were defeated by Polish King Jan Sobieski), Vienna was finally able to let its guard down and flourish.

The 18th Century was characterized by extensive building, in the baroque fashion. Many palais were constructed during this time.


BAROQUE

The artistic style that prevailed in Europe from the 16th-18th centuries. Its popularity was supported by the Catholic Church, who wanted arts to communicate religious themes (as a response to the Reformation). The Renaissance before it hade gotten away from religious themes a little in favour of realism, so baroque style saw a return to it. The aristocracy also enjoyed baroque architecture because it was impressive to visitors, and expressed triumph and control. It is simple, but at the same time, characterized by large courtyards and entrances, grand staircases and reception rooms, operatic gestures, and, above all, opulence.

Where the Turks had been unsuccessful in capturing Vienna, Napoleon’s army was able to capture it twice during the French Revolution (in 1805 and 1809). The first conquest happened without a battle; three French marshals crossed the Tabor Bridge over the Danube, told the Austrian commander who was guarding the bridge that the war was over, and they let the French army enter without a fight. Napoleon was quite good to the Viennese, and let them keep their national guard and all of their arsenal.


Congress of Vienna

After Napoleon was defeated, the Congress of Vienna took place. This was a meeting of ambassasdors from around Europe to draw the European political map after the French Revolution had ended after 25 years of war, and the Holy Roman Empire abolished. It was held in Vienna from November 1814 to June 1815. At this congress, the boundaries of France, the Netherlands, and various Italian territories were drawn.

The Congress of Vienna was a model for the League of Nations and the UN. There were representatives from all of the nations that took part in the Napoleonic wars (around 200 representatives of cities, religious organizations, special interest groups too), but the most influential players were: Russia, Britain, Prussia and Austria and France. One unusual characteristic was that the meetings were not formal, held in boardroom affairs. They were informal, face-to-face meetings between leaders.

The main results from the Congress included: Russia was given the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland), and Finland; the nearly 300 states of the Holy Roman Empire were consolidated into Germany; the Netherlands were united (but broke apart shortly afterwards when Belgium revolted); the neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed; Austria received control of Croatia, Hungary, Bohemia and Slovakia; the slave trade was condemned.

The 1867 union of Austria-Hungary saw Vienna become the capital of the Empire. The 19th century was a heyday for Vienna: it was the centre of classical music, high culture and modernism.

WWI saw no physical damage inflicted upon Vienna, but it was the end of Austria-Hungary, which was proclaimed in front of the Parliament in Vienna.

Inflation after the war, economic difficulties, radicalization of the government, latent anti-semitism that had been increasing over many years, and the frustration all of this caused in the population led to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler being warmly welcomed in Vienna. He gave a famous speech from the balcony of the Hofburg. The Viennese citizens took part in the November, 1938 Reichskristallnact (this was a simultaneous attack across several cities, triggered by the assassination of a German diplomat by a Polish Jew in Paris; it led to up to 30,000 Jews being arrested, placed into concentration camps, their homes and synagogues destroyed, belongings confiscated). Vienna was less supportive of Nazism than the rest of Austria, in fact Hitler himself hated Vienna and wanted to see his childhood hometown of Linz replace it as capital, but this did not result in any resistance. When WWII ended, Vienna was divvied up between the Allied powers (similar to the division of Berlin, but not as severe), and it did not regain its political independence until 1955.

Today, Vienna is full of beautiful buildings, grand parks, magnificent architecture. The Habsburg history can be traced, but there is a lot of Art Nouveau around as well. Vienna is the seat of many international organizations: it is the 4th UN City (after New York, Geneva and The Hague)


VIENNESE BALLS

Vienna is the last capital of the 19th century ball. There are still over 200 balls per year, with orchestras, in beautiful venues around Venue, the most impressive being the Hofburg Palace. For many Viennese, they will attend several balls in their lifetime (as long as they are at least middle class), and for the richer folk, the ball season may last several months.


VIENNESE COFFEE SHOPS

The Austrians claim to be the inventors of filtered coffee. Apparently, when the Turks invaded in 1683, they left behind sacks of coffee beens. The King gave the sacks to one of the officers who helped to defeat the Turks, named Jerzy Kulczycki. Jerzy had his choice of booty, but left behind gold and weapons in favour of the beans that others thought was just camel feed; he had visited Turkey, and knew exactly what it was. After a little experimentation, and the addition of sugar and milk, he was able to make it a little more palatable to the Austrians, and opened the first Viennese coffee house. The concept then spread to the other countries of the Austro-Hungarian empire; by 1900, there were 600 coffee shops in Vienna alone. (Paris, however, was the first city to open a coffeehouse in Europe).
The Viennese coffee house became an institution in the 19th century, with writers and artists turning up there to discuss and create their work. The Viennese coffee house is the equivalent to the Parisian cafe.

The popularity of coffee houses waned with the rise of television and chain coffee shops (some old coffee shops are now Starbucks), but there are still some classic examples in Vienna.

A few to try:

Cafe Frauenhuber: Vienna’s oldest cafe and one of Mozart’s favourites

Kleines Cafe: One of the smallest in town, and used in the movie Before Sunrise

Cafe Sperl: Hitler’s preferred cafe


SITES AROUND TOWN:


BURGTHEATER

OPERA HOUSES

HOFBURG PALACE: The Habsburg’s city centre base. Inside are many museums:

HOFBURG MUSEUM: the location of the treasury, holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty.

SISSI MUSEUM: tells the story of the strange life of Emperor Franz Josef’s wife, Elisabeth (“Sissi”)

KAISERGRUFT: the Imperial vault, holding the remains of several Habsburgs, including Sissi (where many of her followers still leave flowers)

SCHONBRUNN PALACE: an imperial, 1440 summer palace. It has gardens similar to Versailles, a maze, and is also home to the world’s oldest zoo, the TIERGARTEN SCHONBRUNN

-100 Art Museums around town

OBERES BELVEDERE: A Baroque palace-cum-art gallery, home to Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, and other Impressionists and early 20th century works. (There was a scandal in 2005, which saw 5 Klimts returned to Maria Altmann, the descendent of the man who owned the paintings before they were stolen by the Nazis; one of the 5 paintings was later sold for US$135 million, making it the world’s most expensive painting).

MUSEUM QUARTER: Former Imperial Stalls that were converted into a museum complex in the 1990s (including the LEOPOLD MUSEUM)

MUSEUM MODERNER KUNST: Art Gallery

KunstHausWien: Designed by Vienna’s version of Antoni gaudi, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, this former factory was transformed into an art gallery. It has a collection of his works, and other modern artists.

Hundertwasser House: Another of Viennese Gaudi’s designs; very colourful, in different squares of colours, its floors are uneven (an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing inside the rooms, with limbs extending from the windows. The artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, took no payment for the house, which he designed in the 1980s to counter all of the baroque and classical architecture. saying it was worth it to prevent something ugly from being built there.

ALBERTINA: A few Michelangelos, and other modern exhibitions, are here.

ZENTRALFRIEDHOF (Central Cemetery): Home to Beethoven’s grave, as well as Schubert and Brahms. Mozart has a monument here, but is buried elsewhere.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL: Found in Judenplatz, the first of its kind in Austria

PETSAULE: The Plague Column, on Graben (the Plague killed 1/3 of Vienna’s population)