The appearance of the city today is marked by the architectural style of the fin-de-siècle (about 1900) whose prime examples can be found around the Ringstrasse. After leveling the embankments around the inner city in 1858, about 150 years ago, a string of new buildings – to later become the Ringstrasse – were erected in the then popular styles of historicist architecture by taking design elements from past periods such as the gothic, classical and renaissance eras. Opulent representational structures – among them City Hall, the Opera and Parliament buildings – are strung up together with affluent palaces like pearls on a necklace around the inner city.
Another architectural style closely associated with Vienna and maybe even more important in the scope of architectural history is art nouveau. The reduction of decorative elements is one of its core features. Next to Brussels and Paris, Vienna can be called one of the birthplaces of art nou- veau. The protagonists of this style, Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner, left us buildings which can be found all throughout town. Real treasures in this category were built along the Linke Wienzeile and the Naschmarkt.
A lot has happened since. Moder-
nism has engulfed Vienna and
carried it into the next millennium.
Award-winning architects like Hans
Hollein, COOPHimmelb(l)au and
Zaha Hadid have enriched Viennese
architecture with their oeuvres. If
you feel like taking a closer look at
the architecture of this city, you
should start at the Architektur-
zentrum Wien(Architectural Center
Vienna) a young institution in the
middle of the MuseumsQuartier.
< Schönbrunn Palace (1700)
The opulent summer residence of
the Habsburgs in former times. The
baroque building is now a world cultural heritage site, a popular city
park with locals and Vienna's No. 1
tourist attraction. It offers vast
baroque gardens, the Gloriette, a
zoo, a conservatory, Roman ruins, an
imperial carriage museum and
baroque fountains. Architect: Fischer
von Erlach.
www.schoenbrunn.at
Millennium Tower > (1999) Double-cylinder high-rise building designed by the architects Peichl/Podrecca/Weber. Second-tallest office building in Europe and the core of the Millennium City, a complex of office spaces, apartments and approximately 100 retail stores, movie theaters, restaurants, cafés and a fitness studio. www.millennium-city.at
< Gasometer (1899)
Industrial architecture from the turn
of the century, redesigned with
modern elements by architects
such as Jean Nouvel and COOP
Himmelb(l)au. Since 2001, it is a
shopping and entertainment district, incorporates office space and
an apartment complex as well as
student housing. www.gasometer.at
Giant Ferris Wheel >(1897) A typical panoramic ferris wheel of the late 19thcentury. It has now become one of the landmarks of the city by the Danube and the entertainment park Prater in which it is located. Take a ride and enjoy a fantastic view of the city and beyond. The wheel rotates 0.75 m per second and was built by the British architect Walter Basset for the Vienna World Fair. www.wienerriesenrad.com
Architekturzentrum Wien
7., Museumsplatz 1,
at the MuseumsQuartier
Phone: +43 (1) 522 31 15
Hours: daily 10 am-7 pm
www.azw.at
