Hi, welcome to Vienna! Wien (its name in German) is the capital of Austria. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. In Vienna you can admire the imperial architecture, and visit the places that influenced some of the most famous classical musicians: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Brahms, etc.

Vienna was also the birthplace of psychoanalysis, Zionism and Nazism (unfortunately, some Austrians have not learned much from their history. Austrians have a right extremist party in the government, let’s hope this will change soon!).

If you come with me, I’ll take you on a virtual tour of this city. We will begin the tour in the Stadtpark (city park), in front of Johan Strauss’ Denkmal, one of the symbols of Vienna. This memorial is a work of Edmund Hellmer, but it’s not the only monument in this park. There are more monuments dedicated to other Austrians: to Schubert, to Anton Bruckner, to Lehar and to Robert Stolz. The park itself is a must see in the capital of Austria.

We’ll now leave the park and visit another of the city’s landmarks, the State Opera House. It’s not far from here (about seven minutes on foot), so we will walk...

Vienna, State Opera House

This Opera House is one of the most famous Opera Theaters in the world. Some of the best directors of all times have performed here. The list is almost endless, but to name just a few: Mahler, Strauss, Krauss and von Karajan. The origins of this Opera House are not very fortunate; one of its architects (Eduard van der Nüll) killed himself because he couldn’t stand the negative reaction of the citizens of Vienna to his work. The other architect (August von Sicardsburg) died soon after too. The Opera House was almost totally destroyed in the World War 2, but soon after was reconstructed following the original plans (it was reopened in 1955).

We’ll now take a tramway (tram D) and visit one of the most important Baroque works in the world: the Belvedere Palace. It’s not far from here. It will take us less than a quarter.

Vienna, Imperial Palace

The imperial Palace was the residence of the Habsburg emperors, who's empire lasted until 1918. The palace suffered many modifications and even more expansions. Originally it was a medieval castle, unfortunately from this period only remains the chapel. In the 16th century the Palace stables and Amalia’s wing were added. In the 17th century Leopold’s wing, in the 18th century the Imperial Chancery wing, the Court Library and the Spanish Winter Riding School were added. In the 19th century the St Michael’s wing was added. That’s the part of the Palace you’re actually seeing. Finally, in the 20th century the New Palace was built, and then came the end of the empire and with it, the Palace expansion ended.

Vienna, Votive Church

This is one of the most beautiful churches in Vienna. This church is famous because it holds the tomb of Count Niklas Salm (commander of Vienna in the first Turkish siege of 1529), transferred from the Church of St. Dorothy in 1878. The church was constructed between 1856 and 1879 by Heinrich von Ferstel, when archduke Ferdinand Max wanted to show his gratitude when his brother, emperor Francis Joseph, survived an assassination attempt.

Vienna, city center

Let’s learn something else about the history of this city... In 1529 the Turks conquered the Balkans and lay siege to Vienna for the first time. They didn’t succeed, but the danger lasted more than 150 years. In 1683 there’s the second siege to Vienna, but with the help of German and Polish troops the Turkish troops are defeated. Freed from the Turkish dangers Vienna undergoes an ascendant period (Vienna Gloriosa).