Hotels in Vienna - AUSTRIA

in Vienna Austria

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Travel to Vienna: Wien, Vienne, Viena - Austria
Viennese parks and gardens (Leisure activities)
Vienna Austria possesses many park facilities, including the Stadtpark, the Burggarten, the Volksgarten (part of the Hofburg), the Schloßpark at Schloss Belvedere (home to the Vienna Botanic Gardens), the Donaupark, the Schönbrunner Schlosspark, the Prater, the Augarten, the Rathauspark, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Dehnepark, the Resselpark, the Votivpark, the Kurpark Oberlaa, the Auer-Welsbach-Park and the Türkenschanzpark.
Green areas include Laaer-Berg (including the Bohemian Prater) and the foothills of the Wienerwald, which reaches into the outer areas of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as Beserlparks, are everywhere in the inner city areas. Many of Vienna's famous parks include monuments, such as the Stadtpark with its statue of Johann Strauss II, and the gardens of the baroque palace, where the State Treaty was signed. Vienna's principal park is the Prater which is home to the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The imperial Schönbrunn's grounds contain an 18th century park which includes the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752. The Donauinsel, part of Vienna's flood defences, is a 21.1 km long artificial island between the Danube and Neue Donau dedicated to leisure activities.

Vienna University of Technology

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Study in Vienna Austria
Vienna University of Technology is one of the major universities in Vienna, the capital of Austria. TU Vienna has eight faculties lead by deans: Architecture and Regional Planning, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, computer Sciences, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Mathematics and Geoinformation, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Physics.
TU Vienna looks back on a long tradition at the leading edge of scientific research and education: Founded in 1815 as k.k. Polytechnisches Institut (Imperial and Royal Polytechnical Institute), it was divided into 5 faculties in 1865. One year later the first freely elected rector was inaugurated.

In 1872 its name changed to Technische Hochschule (College of Technology), and in 1902 the first doctorates were awarded. The institution has borne its current name , Technische Universität Wien (Vienna University of Technology) – since 1975. In 2004 TU Vienna reached full autonomy

through the University Act 2002.

Vienna University of Economics and Business

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Study Economics and Business in Vienna Austria
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (WU) or Vienna University of Economics and Business is the largest University focusing on business and economics in Europe and, in terms of student body, one of the largest universities in Austria. Until 2008, it's official name in English was "Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration".
WU Wien has more than 20,000 students and over 400 researchers and teachers, among those about 80 full professors. It increasingly draws students from outside Austria, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the faculty are of Austrian or German nationality.

The Financial Times has ranked WU Wien as one op the top 50 European Business Schools. WU Wien has achieved accreditation from EQUIS and is part of the respected consortium of Europe's leading schools and corporate partners - Community of European Management Schools (CEMS).

Dramatic changes in the legal regulation of Austrian universities in the last few years have forced universities to compete with one another for students. The changes were also influenced by the Bologna Process. To meet this challenge, WU Wien is attempting to tailor its curricula to the needs of the market and to streamline its research programs.

WU Wien was founded on October 1, 1898 as k.u.k. Exportakademie in a similar vein to the London School of Economics and Political Science, to provide professional training to future businessmen and thus stimulate the Austro-Hungarian empire's economy. From humble beginnings as a professional school, it quickly grew to become an important institution, which was awarded the status of a fully-fledged Hochschule (an educational institution equivalent to a university, but specializing in a certain field such as technology or business or art) in 1919. At that time, it was renamed to Hochschule für Welthandel. The course of studies leading to the academic degree of Diplomkaufmann provided training preparing for the export and banking businesses and was very practical, comprising courses in business administration, economics, law and others.
In 1930, the Hochschule für Welthandel was granted the right to issue doctoral degrees.
After World War II, the Hochschule für Welthandel increased its breadth in research. It started to become a very important institution in Austrian society at that time; most Austrian managers and many politicians received their university education here. From 1966 onward, it began to offer a more theoretical course of studies in economics. In 1975, it was renamed to Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. At the same time, the number of students began to increase dramatically. In 1983, it moved to its current campus in Vienna's 9th District.

Due to its large size, WU Wien is able to offer a very broad range of electives which is probably unparalleled anywhere in German-speaking countries.

Study in WU : Economics and Business in Vienna Austria
Beginning in Fall 2006, WU Wien has begun to modify its study programs to a bachelor/master/doctor system in order to align them with the Bologna Process. Currently, the following bachelor's degree programs are offered:

* Business, Economics and Social Sciences, with a choice of four different majors:
o Business Administration
o International Business Administration
o Economics & Socio-economics
o Information Systems (already a bachelor's degree program before 2006)
* Business Law

WU Wien plans to offer a range of 14 master's degree programs, including several programs taught completely in English. As of May 2009, the programs for Business Education, Business Law and Information Systems are already on offer. The new Master's degree program in Quantitative Finance will be launched in October, 2009.

Additionally, WU Wien offers the following advanced degrees:
* Doctoral Program in Social and Economic Sciences
* Doctoral Program in Business Law
* PhD in Finance (as part of the Vienna Graduate School of Finance initiative)
* International MBA (in English; jointly with the University of South Carolina)
* Executive MBA (in English; jointly with the University of Minnesota)
* LL.M. in International Tax Law (in English)

The following four-year studies leading to a Magister der Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Master of Social and Economic Sciences) degree are still in progress for students enrolled prior to Fall 2006:
* Business Administration
* International Business Administration
* Economics
* Management Science
* Socio-economics
* Business and Law
* Business education
As at any Austrian or German university, scholars can also achieve a Habilitation at WU Wien.
Furthermore, several courses in continuing education are offered (e.g. in advertising and sales, tourism management).

Medical University of Vienna

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Medical Study in Vienna Austria
The Medical University of Vienna (MUW) is a medical university in Vienna, Austria.
Formerly the faculty of medicine of the University of Vienna, became an independent university on January 1, 2004. The independence of medical schools from the structure of "general" universities was part of a larger reform of the Austrian university system enacted by the Schüssel government in 2003.

The Medical University of Vienna is the largest medical research institution in Austria and the biggest medical university in all the German speaking countries. It was founded in 1365 as a Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna and has operated as an independent institution in the scope of autonomous university and self administration since 2004.

It began as a success story: As the founding member of the alma mater Rudolfina (1365), the medical faculty was already widely renowned in medieval times as an authority in medicine. Faculty records from as far back as 1399 document its mediation in disputes between barber surgeons, midwifes, and local landowners. During the reign of Maria Theresia, Viennese medicine first attained international significance. The Habsburg Monarch summoned the Dutch physician, Gerard van Swieten, to Vienna. He in turn laid the foundation for the Vienna Medical School and paved the way for other leading figures. Anton de Haen, Maximilian Stoll, Lorenz Gasser, Anton von Störck, and the discoverer of the percussion technique, Leopold Auenbrugger, all taught and conducted research in the imperial city. Based on longstanding traditions, what now is referred to as "bedside teaching" also became the paradigmatic educational method during this period.

Birthplace of Specialized Medicine
When the General Hospital opened in 1784, physicians acquired a new facility that gradually developed into the most important research center. During the 19th century, the "Second Viennese Medical School" emerged with the contributions of physicians such as Karl Rokitansky, Josef Skoda, Ferdinand von Hebra and Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis. Basic medical science expanded and specialization advanced. Furthermore, the first dermatology, eye, as well as ear, nose and throat clinics in the world were founded in Vienna.

2004, A New Beginning with Vital Responsibility
In the aftermath of World War II the difficult reconstruction of Viennese medicine began. The past glory had faded considerably. Moreover, 75% of all University medical instructors had to be dismissed because of their moderate to heavy involvement with the National Socialist regime. They were gradually replaced by a newly trained generation of educators. This double rupture in Viennese Medicine, which occurred in just a few years, caused repercussions that lasted decades.
Since gaining autonomy on 1 January 2004, the Medical University of Vienna embraces its successes but also responsibility for the past as it proudly continues its quest for excellence.
Contact

International Relations Office
Spitalgasse 23
Ebene 00 . 1090 Vienna Austria
Tel.: + 43 1 40 160-21014 od. 21023 Fax: + 43 1 40 160-921001

Vienna Academy of Fine Arts

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Study fine Arts in Vienna (Wien) Austria, Study painting and sculpture to photography, video, performance and conceptual art, and also includes architecture, scenography and restoration.
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria. Academy of Fine Arts Vienna with Five buildings covering a total area of 33,500 square metres are available at the Academy for teaching and research. All the different sections have state-of-the-art laboratories, workshops and studios. The video and the sound studio are among the best of their kind in Austria.

Today, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna almost one thousand students a variety of courses which range from painting and sculpture to photography and video, performance and conceptual art, and also includes architecture, scenography and restoration. The institutes for Art and Cultural Sciences and for Natural Sciences and Technology in the Art ensure a high theoretical standard in all the departments, through seminars and projects. Closely linked to this is the training of art teachers, which Academy of Fine Arts regard as an essential contribution to the communication of art. The possibility for students to make individual choices of courses at both these institutes enables wide-ranging qualifications.

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire. With his death in 1714, the academy temporarily closed.

On 20 January 1725, Emperor Karl VI appointed the Frenchman Jacob van Schuppen as Prefect and Director of the Academy, which was refounded as the k.k. Hofakademie der Maler, Bildhauer und Baukunst (Imperial and Royal Court Academy of painters, sculptors and architecture). During the rule of Empress Maria Theresa, a new statute reformed the academy in 1751. The prestige of the academy grew, and in 1767 Archduchesses Charlotte Karoline and the archduchess Maria Anna were made the first Honorary Members of the Academy.

In 1772, there were further reforms to the organisational structure. Chancellor Kuntz integrated all existing art schools into the k.k. vereinigten Akademie der bildenden Künste (Imperial and Royal Unified Academy of Fine Arts). The word "vereinigten" (unified) was later dropped.

In 1872 Emperor Franz Joseph I approved a statute making the academy the supreme government authority for the arts. A new building was constructed by Theophil Freiherr von Hansen during the building of the Ringstraße. On April 1, 1877, the new building at the Schillerplatz was inaugurated, where it remains today.

Study in Vienna - Wien Austria

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Stay in Austria and Study colleges or universities in Vienna
Vienna is also Austria's main centre of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums.
Universities in Vienna - Austria
* Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
* Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
* Medical University of Vienna
* PEF Private University of Management Vienna
* University of Applied Arts Vienna
* University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
* University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
* University of Vienna
* Vienna University of Economics and Business
The Diplomatic Academy is housed in the Neue Favorita Palace
* University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna
* Vienna University of Technology
* Webster University Vienna

Architecture in Vienna

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Architecture & Buildings and structures in Austria
A variety of architectural styles can be found in Vienna, such as the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche and the Baroque Karlskirche. Styles range from classicist buildings to modern architecture. Art Nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna. The Secession, Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world.

The Hundertwasserhaus by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, designed to counter the clinical look of modern architecture, is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions. Another example of unique architecture is the Wotrubakirche by sculptor Fritz Wotruba. In the 1990s, a number of quarters were adapted and extensive building projects were implemented in the areas around Donaustadt (north of the Danube) and Wienerberg (in southern Vienna). The 202 m-high Millennium Tower located at Handelskai is the highest building in Vienna. In recent years, Vienna has seen numerous architecture projects completed which combine modern architectural elements with old buildings, such as the remodelling and revitalisation of the old Gasometer in 2001.

Most buildings in Vienna are relatively low; in early 2006 there were around 100 buildings higher than 40 m. The number of high-rise buildings is kept low by building legislation aimed at preserving green areas and districts designated as world cultural heritage. Strong rules apply to the planning, authorisation and construction of high-rise buildings. Consequently, much of the inner city is a high-rise free zone.

Spanish Riding School - Vienna

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Riding horse in Wien/Vienna Austria
Spanish Riding horses School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg. Not only is it a center for classical dressage, the headquarters is a tourist attraction in Vienna that offers public performances as well as permitting public viewing of some training sessions. The presentation builds on four centuries of experience and tradition in classical dressage. The leading horses and riders of the school also periodically tour and perform worldwide.
The Spanish Riding School is located between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz near the Hofburg in central Vienna. Performances take place in the Winter Riding School, built between 1729-1735. The Winter Riding School is a sunlight- flooded hall, mainly white with some beige and light grey, with a portrait of Emperor Charles VI above the royal box and opposite the entrance (to which the riders always salute before they ride), which measures 55 by 18 meters and is 17 meters in height.

The Spanish Riding School also has summer stables in Heldenberg-Wetzdorf-Lower Austria. The 68 resident stallions are taken there in July and August for seven weeks, where they are kept in Stalls with paddocks. The horses are not schooled during this period, but instead are hacked in the nearby forest.

Vienna Philharmonic - VPO

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In Vienna see and Buy ticket The concert Vienna Philharmonic orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world.
Its home base is the Musikverein. The members of the orchestra are chosen from the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. This process is a long one, with each musician having to prove his or her capability for a minimum of three years' playing for the Opera and Ballet. Once this is achieved the musician can then ask the Board of the Wiener Philharmoniker to consider an application for a position in the Vienna Philharmonic.
The Vienna Philharmonic was named as Europe's finest in a recent survey by seven leading trade publications, two radio stations and a daily newspaper. Subscription ticket demand for the Vienna Philharmonic at their home, Musikverein, is currently listed on the orchestra's website as being on a waiting list. The waiting list for weekday concert subscriptions is six years and thirteen years for weekend subscriptions. Casual tickets however, are available in small numbers and can be bought via links from the VPO website, to various ticket resellers. It is also possible to book package deals which include transport, hotel accommodation and meals and tickets to concerts.

Vienna Philharmonic orchestra can trace its origins to 1842, when Otto Nicolai formed the Philharmonische Academie; which was a fully independent orchestra and which took all its decisions by a democratic vote of all its members. These are principles the orchestra still holds today.

With Nicolai's departure in 1847, the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra nearly folded, and was not very active until 1860, when Karl Anton Eckert joined as conductor. He gave a series of four subscription concerts, and since then, the orchestra has given concerts continuously.

From 1875 to 1898 Hans Richter was principal conductor, except for the season 1882-1883 when he was in dispute with the orchestral committee. During Richter's tenure, the orchestra gave the premieres of the Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3 of Johannes Brahms, and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8.

The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra is so popular and famous, that it has been the motive of one of the world's most famous bullion coins: the Vienna Philharmonic coin. The coin is struck in pure gold, 999.9 fine (24 carats). It is issued every year, in four different face values, sizes and weights. It is used as an investment product, although it finishes almost always in the hands of collectors. According to the World Gold Council, this coin was the best selling gold coin in 1992, 1995 and 1996 world wide.
Austrian Airlines was outfitted with a livery featuring the gold coin and logo of the Wiener Philharmoniker (2006). The long-range Airbus A340-300 aircraft was flown primarily between Vienna and Tokyo for approximately one year serving as promotional tool for the orchestra and the Philharmoniker, 24 karat gold coin issued by the Austrian Mint.

Vienna State Opera - Wien Austria

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See opera in Vienna Austria and Buy ticket ...

Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house and opera company with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera (Wiener Hofoper); in 1920, it was renamed the Vienna State Opera. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra
The Vienna State Opera is closely linked to the Vienna Philharmonic, which is an incorporated society of its own, but whose members are recruited from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera.
The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas per year in approximately 200 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. As such, the Staatsoper employs over 1000 people. As of 2008, the annual operating budget of the Staatsoper was 100 million Euros with slightly more than 50% coming in the form of a state subsidy.

The opera company operates a repertoire system: more than 50 productions are staged every year, and there is a performance nearly every day for ten months of the year.

Burgtheater - Vienna

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The Burgtheater ( is Theatres in Austria), originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1920 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world. The Burgtheater was created on 14 March 1741 by Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to be a theatre next to her palace, and her son, Emperor Joseph II called it the "German National Theatre" in 1776, Habsburg has become known as "die Burg" by the Viennese population; its theater company of more or less regular members has created a traditional style and speech typical of Burgtheater performances.
Habsburg It was Three Mozart operas premiered there: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), Le nozze di Figaro (1786) and Così fan tutte (1790). Beginning in 1794, the theatre was called the "K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg".

The theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße on 14 October 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer.
In 1943, under Nazi rule, a notoriously extreme production of The Merchant of Venice was staged at the Burgtheater - with Werner Krauss as Shylock, one of several theater and film roles by this actor pandering to antisemitic stereotypes.

On March 12, 1945 the Burgtheater was largely destroyed in a bombing raid, and, one month later, on April 12, 1945, the Burgtheater was further damaged by a fire of unknown origin. After the war, the theatre was restored between 1953-1955. The classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater-German language were trend-setting for German language theater.

United Nations Office Vienna Austria - Vienna International Centre

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VIC - The Vienna International Centre, colloquially also known as UNO City in Vienna, is the campus and building complex hosting the United Nations Office at Vienna. Location Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria.
Vienna International Centre designed by Austrian architect Johann Staber, was built between 1973 and 1979 just north of the river Danube. The initial idea of setting up an international organization in Vienna came from the Chancellor of Austria Dr. Bruno Kreisky.

Six Y-shaped office towers surround a cylindrical conference building for a total floor area of 230,000 square metres. The highest tower stands 120 metres tall, enclosing 28 floors.
About 5,000 people work at the VIC, which also offers catering, banking, postal and shopping facilities. Larger conferences can be accommodated in the neighbouring Austria Center Vienna , a conference and exhibition centre with a capacity of 6,000.

The VIC is an extraterritorial area.
Complementing the ongoing asbestos removal works in the VIC, a new conference building (“C2”), to be opened in 2008, is being constructed near the southern perimeter of the campus.
A major UN site along with New York, Geneva and Nairobi, the VIC hosts several organizations:

* Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO; German: Organisation des Vertrags über das umfassende Verbot von Nuklearversuchen)
* International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA; German: Internationale Atomenergieorganisation, IAEO)
* United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL; German: Kommission der Vereinten Nationen für internationales Handelsrecht)
* United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO; German: Organisation der Vereinten Nationen für industrielle Entwicklung)
* United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; German: Büro der Vereinten Nationen für Drogen- und Verbrechensbekämpfung)
* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR; German: Hoher Flüchtlingskommissar der Vereinten Nationen)
* United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA; German: Büro der Vereinten Nationen für Weltraumfragen)
Two other notable international organizations headquartered in Vienna, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and OPEC, occupy facilities outside the VIC.

Hundertwasserhaus

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Hundertwasserhaus
Hundertwasser House Vienna is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. This landmark of Vienna is located in the 3. district, Kegelgasse 34-38 / Löwengasse
The house was built between 1983 and 1986 by architects Univ.-Prof. Joseph Krawina and Peter Pelikan. It features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. Hundertwasser took no payment for the design of the house, declaring that it was worth it, to prevent something ugly from going up in its place.

Within the house there are 52 apartments, four offices, 16 private terraces and three communal terraces, and a total of 250 trees and bushes. The Hundertwasser House is one of Vienna's most visited buildings and has become part of Austria's cultural heritage.

Vienna attractions

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Vienna vacations, visit to...
Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights include the Burgtheater, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lipizzaner horses at the spanische Hofreitschule and the Vienna Boys' Choir, as well as excursions to Vienna's Heuriger districts.

There are also more than 100 art museums, which together attract over eight million visitors per year. The most popular ones are Albertina, Belvedere, Leopold Museum in the Museumsquartier, KunstHausWien, BA-CA Kunstforum, the twin Kunsthistorisches Museum and Naturhistorisches Museum, and the Technisches Museum Wien, each of which receives over a quarter of a million visitors per year.

There are many popular sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including Beethoven's various residences and grave at Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) which is the largest cemetery in Vienna and the burial site of many famous people. Mozart has a memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens and at St. Marx cemetery (where his grave was lost). Vienna's many churches also draw large crowds, the most famous of which are St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche, the Karlskirche, the Peterskirche, Maria am Gestade, the Minoritenkirche, the Ruprechtskirche, the Schottenkirche and the Votivkirche.
Modern attractions include the Hundertwasserhaus, the United Nations headquarters and the view from the Donauturm.

House of Music - Haus der Musik

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Vienna House of Music - Haus der Musik
Mozart - Conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra:
At the 'Haus der Musik' (House of Music) you can try out your conducting skills and virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra!
Thanks to modern technology you can get insights into Mozart's conducting technique and 'work' on your own. You can also add sounds to "A Little Night Music" and take home your remix on CD!
But that's only one attraction in a fascinating museum on sound and music...
General Information: House of Music allows for interactive musical experiences. On seven floor you can delve into sound. There's a museum of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and on many great Austrian composers like Joseph Haydn, W.A. Mozart, Gustav Mahler and the 2nd Viennese school, a sound gallery, you can create your own CD, there's a virtual conductor and so on.

Albertina Graphic Arts Collection

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Sightseeing to Vienna
The Albertina Graphic Arts Collection is perhaps the largest and most important graphic collection in the world. It owns about 60.000 drawings and about a million graphic reproductions.
Albrecht Dürer's famous "Rabbit" from the year 1502 is only one example of its many masterpieces. You will find works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens or Claude Lorrain, Eugène Delacroix, Edouard Manet and Paul Cézanne. 20th century Austrian artists like Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt or Oskar Kokoschka are accessible to public scrutiny.
It is much less known, that the Albertina is the fist Austrian art institution to systematically collect contemporary and historic photography. There is a focus on architecture, too!
After extensive renovating this excellent art collection is once more open to the public! Don't miss it.
In front of the Albertina, Alfred Hrdlicka's controversial yet gripping war memorial commemorates WW II atrocities.

Art and cultur in Vienna

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Visit to wien (Vienna)
Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theaters in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.
Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Theater an der Wien, the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Classical concerts are performed at well known venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss).
In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has become widely known for hosting premieres of musicals, although it has recently devoted itself to the opera again. The most successful musical by far was "Elisabeth", which was later translated into several other languages and performed all over the world. The Haus der Musik ("house of music") opened in 2000.

Vienna - History

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Vienna (Wien) founded around 500 BC, Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement. In 15 BC, Vienna became a Roman frontier city (Vindobona) guarding the Roman Empire against Germanic tribes to the north. The history of Vienna has been long and varied, beginning when the Roman Empire created a military camp in the area covered by Vienna's city centre.

In the 13th century, Vienna came under threat from the Mongolian Empire, which stretched over much of present-day Russia and China. However, due to the death of its leader, Ogedei Khan, the Mongolian armies receded from the European frontier and did not return.
During the Middle Ages, Vienna was home to the Babenberg Dynasty, and in 1440 , it became the resident city of the Habsburg Dynasties, then it eventually grew to become the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and a cultural centre for arts and science, music and fine cuisine. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman armies were stopped twice outside Vienna (see Siege of Vienna, 1529 and Battle of Vienna, 1683).

In 1804, Vienna became the capital of the Austrian Empire and continued to play a major role in European and world politics, including hosting the 1814 Congress of Vienna. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Vienna remained the capital of what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the latter half of the 19th century, the city developed what had previously been the bastions and glacis into the Ringstraße, a major prestige project. Former suburbs were incorporated, and the city of Vienna grew dramatically.

In 1918, after World War I, Vienna became capital of the First Austrian Republic. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was a bastion of socialism in Austria, and was known as the "Red Vienna." The city was a stage to the Austrian Civil War of 1934, when Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss sent the Austrian Army to shell civilian housing occupied by the socialist militia. In 1938, after a triumphant entry into Austria, Adolf Hitler famously spoke to the Austrian people from the balcony of the Neue Burg, a part of the Hofburg at the Heldenplatz. Between 1938 (see Anschluss) and the end of the Second World War, Vienna lost its status as a capital to Berlin.

In 1945, the Soviets successfully launched the Vienna Offensive against the Germans who were holding Vienna. The city was besieged for about two weeks before it fell to the Soviets. After 1945, Vienna again became the capital of Austria, was initially divided into zones by the four powers (or the four prevailing nations), and was governed by the Allied Commission for Austria. The four-power occupation of Vienna differed in some respects from the four-power occupation of Berlin: the central area of Vienna had an international zone in which the four powers alternated on a monthly basis. When the Berlin blockade occurred in 1948, Vienna was even more vulnerable because there was no airport in the western sectors. However, despite fears, the Soviets did not blockade Vienna. Some have argued that this was because the Potsdam Agreement gave written rights of land access to the western sectors, whereas no such written guarantees had been given regarding Berlin. The true reason will, however, always remain a matter of speculation. During the 10 years of foreign occupation, Vienna became a hot-bed for international espionage between the Western and Eastern blocs. The atmosphere of four-power Vienna is captured in the Graham Greene novel The Third Man and by the movie which followed.

Modern history since 1955
On May 15, 1955, the country regained its political independence and sovereignty with the "Austrian State Treaty". The Austrian Parliament immediately amended the treaty to establish Austria's future neutrality and non-alignment (similar to that of Switzerland). This peace treaty was called a state treaty because Austria had temporarily ceased to exist in 1938.

After the war, as everywhere in Western Europe, there was an enormous economic boom, among other things because of the economic aid resulting from the Marshall Plan.
In the 1970s, Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky inaugurated the Vienna International Centre, a new area of the city created to host international institutions. Vienna has regained a part of its former international relevance by hosting international organizations, such as the United Nations (UNIDO, UNOV, CTBTO and UNODC), the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Public transport in Vienna was improved by the introduction of the new U-Bahn network, the first part of which was opened in 1978. During the 1970s, Vienna became the third official seat of the United Nations, and the UNO-City was built. At the end of the 20th century, a skyline consisting of several skyscrapers was created with, among others, the Andromeda Tower and Millennium Tower on the left and right side of the Danube. Furthermore, a complex of skyscrapers was planned at the site of the Wien Mitte railway station, which might have endangered the position of Vienna's centre as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project has since been redesigned.

Vienna was capital of surrounding Bundesland of Lower Austria (German: Niederösterreich) until 1986, when it was replaced by Sankt Pölten. As Vienna was not geographical part of Lower Austria it was a capital outside of territory it served.
In the municipal elections of 2001, the Social Democrats regained an absolute majority. With the Liberal Forum, not gaining enough votes, only four parties have been represented in the municipal council since then. In the 2005 elections, the Social Democrats further increased their majority.

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien - Museum of Natural History of Vienna

2009-10-27T01:32:00.000-07:00

Visit Vienna and go to museum
The Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (en: Museum of Natural History of Vienna) or NHMW is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria.
In display halls covering 8.700² metres the visitor can travel through our planet’s history, through the breathtaking diversity of nature and back to the origins of our culture.

On the upper ground floor (Hochparterre) can be seen fascinating and valuable precious stones and minerals, rare fossils and gigantic dinosaurs, as well as famous prehistoric works of art. One of the most important is the 25.000 year-old figure of “Venus von Willendorf”, the skeleton of a Diplodocus, the longest terrestrial vertebrate that has ever lived, a giant topaz weighing 117 kg and the valuable bouquet of jewels which Maria Theresia had made as a present for her husband.

The museum building opened in 1889 at the same time as the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other across Maria-Theresien-Platz. The Museum was built to house the huge collection of the Habsburgs.

The first floor presents the overwhelming species variety of the animal world, from protozoa to the most highly developed mammals. Objects of more than 200 years old are of great interest, not only on their own account but also as witnesses of nature and historical records for the history of science and the art of taxidermy. Numerous stuffed animals of species either extinct or extremely endangered make the collections truly irreplaceable.

Kunsthistorisches

2009-10-27T01:19:00.000-07:00

Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna
The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna numbers among the most important European museum buildings put up during the 19th century.
The monumental structure, built at the behest of Emperor Franz Joseph I as part of his expansion of the city in 1858, was intended to both unite and appropriately represent the artistic treasures that had been collected by the Habsburgs over the centuries.
Construction work lasted 20 years, from when ground was first broken in 1871 to the museum building’s completion in the year 1891.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History", also often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") in Vienna, housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, crowned with an octagonal dome, is one of the premier museums of fine arts and decorative arts in the world. The term Kunsthistorisches Museum applies to both the institution and the main building. It was visited by 619.318 people in 2007.

The museum's primary collections are those of the Habsburgs, particularly from the portrait and armour collections of Ferdinand of Tirol, the collections of Emperor Rudolf II (the largest part of which is, however, scattered), and the collection of paintings of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.

Among the most important works in the picture gallery are
* Jan van Eyck: "Cardinal Niccolò Albergati" ("Kardinal Niccoló Albergati"), 1438
* Albrecht Dürer: "Adoration of the Trinity" (Anbetung der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit), 1511
* Giuseppe Arcimboldo: "Summer" (Sommer), 1563
* Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio:
o "Madonna of the Rosary" (Die Rosenkranzmadonna) 1606/07
o "The Crowning with Thorns"
o "David with the Head of Goliath"
* Peter Paul Rubens:
o "Ildefonso Altar" (Der Altar des hl. Ildefonso), 1630-32
o "The Fur" (Das Pelzchen), 1638
* Raphael: "Madonna of the Meadow" (Madonna im Grünen), 1506
* Johannes Vermeer: "The Artist in his Studio" (Die Malkunst), 1665/66
* Diego Velázquez: Several portraits of the spanish royal family, a branch of the Habsburg, sent to Vienna.
* Pieter Brueghel the Elder:

The collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum are the:
* Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection
* Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities
* Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts
* Coin Cabinet
* Library

Hofburg
* Ephesus-Museum
* Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments
* Collection of Arms and Armour
* Archive
* Secular and Ecclesiastical Treasury (in the Schweizerhof).

Kunsthistorisches Museum
A-1010 Vienna,
Maria Theresien-Platz

Opening times
Tuesday - Sunday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday
10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
(Coin cabinet closes at 6 p.m.)

Admission till half an hour before closing time.

Info Hotline
+43 1 525 24- 4025

Technisches Museum Wien

2009-10-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

Technisches Museum
On an area of 22.000 square meters, the Technisches Museum Wien offers a wide range of fascinating insights into the world of technology. Unique exhibits from the past to the present make the house a venue for exploring exciting technological developments.
Texts, films, and experiments illustrate the mutual influence between technological achievements and society, economy and culture. Granting each visitor an individual approach, multimedia presentations make every tour through the museum a personal experience.
Besides the exhibitions in the museum itself, the Österreichische Mediathek and the Railway Museum Strasshof convey an even more comprehensive notion of specific fields.

Technisches Museum Wien
Mariahilfer Strabe 212
A-1140 Vienna
Open
From Monday to Friday 9.00 a.m.-6.00 p.m.
Saturday, Sundays and holidays 10.00 a.m.-6.00 p.m.
The museum is closed on 1 January, 1 May, 1 November, 25 and 31 December.

Leopold Museum ( Vienna - Wien)

2009-10-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

Vienna is a cultural haven, and visit this city
The Leopold Museum, housed in the Museumsquartier in Vienna (Wien), Austria, is home to one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstl.
It contains the world's largest Egon Schiele Collection.

The more than 5,000 exhibits collected by Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold over five decades were consolidated in 1994 with the assistance of the Republic of Austria and the National Bank of Austria into the Leopold Museum Private Foundation. In 2001 the Leopold Museum was opened.
The core of the collection consists of Austrian art of the first half of the 20th century, including key paintings and drawings by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, showing the gradual transformation from the Wiener Secession, the Art Nouveau/Jugendstil movement in Austria to Expressionism. The historical context is illustrated by major Austrian works of art from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Thu. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Closed on Tue.

Leopold Museum
in the MuseumsQuartier Wien
T: +43 1 525 70 - 0

F: +43 1 525 70 - 1500

Museumsquartier

2009-10-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

The MuseumsQuartier Vienna is one of the ten largest cultural complexes in the world. But above all, it is a forward-looking, inner-city cultural district that will have an enormous impact on future trends. The MuseumsQuartier unites baroque buildings, new architecture, cultural institutions of all sizes, various disciplines of art, and recreational facilities in a single spectacular location.

The spectrum ranges from large art museums like the Leopold Museum and the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna) to contemporary exhibition spaces like the KUNSTHALLE Vienna and festivals like the Viennaer Festwochen, an annual summer event this is headquartered in the MuseumsQuartier Vienna. Additional highlights include the TanzQuartier, an international, state-of-the-art center for dance, the Architektur Zentrum Vienna, production studios for new media, artist studios for artists-in-residence, outstanding art and cultural facilities designed for children, and a variety of other events and festivals. The MuseumsQuartier is unequaled anywhere in the world when it comes to the breadth of cultural opportunities it offers.

The exceptional location in the heart of the city also offers all the advantages of an inner city cultural district. Terrace cafés, oases of green, bars, shops, and bookstores provide for a well-balanced infrastructure in the 60,000 square meter complex in the middle of an extraordinary setting.

Old masters and modern art, baroque and cyberspace, expeditions into the realm of the imagination, and recreation in the center of the city were never as close as in they are in the MuseumsQuartier Vienna.

Today's MuseumsQuartier is built on a site that witnessed an eventful history. Almost three hundred years have passed since the construction of the royal stables at the beginning of the 18th century, their later use as a venue for trade fairs and exhibits, and the official opening of the MuseumsQuartier in 2001. Together with the Hofburg, the Neue Burg, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the Naturhistorisches Museum, the MuseumsQuartier Vienna represents a unique force field of Austrian identity.

With its design of the MuseumsQuartier Vienna, the architectural firm Ortner & Ortner created a place that combines the existing historic buildings with contemporary architecture in a spectacular manner. Manfred Wehdorn was responsible for the expert adaptation of the landmarked portions of the buildings.

Transportation
MuseumsQuartier Vienna ( Wien )
Museumsplatz 1
1070 Wien
Subway (U-Bahn):
U2 (MuseumsQuartier); U2, U3 (Volkstheater)
Bus: 48a (Volkstheater), City Bus 2a (MuseumsQuartier)
Tram (Strassenbahn): 49 (Volkstheater)

Hofburg Museums

2009-10-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

Hofburg Imperial Palace Museums - Vienna
The Hofburg is the location of the Schatzkammer (treasury), holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty.
The Hofburg in Vienna is the former imperial residence. From 1438 to 1583 and from 1612 to 1806, it was the seat of the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, thereafter the seat of the Emperor of Austria until 1918. Today it is the official seat of the Austrian Federal President.
Hofburg Imperial Palace is a palace in Vienna, Austria, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburg's principal winter residence, while Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence.

The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics.
The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to include:
Hofburg Neue Burg section, seen from Heldenplatz. The statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy is also pictured.
* various residences (with the Amalienburg);
* the chapel (Hofkapelle or Burgkapelle);
* museums (the Naturhistorisches Museum & Kunsthistorisches Museum);
* the Imperial Library (Hofbibliothek now the Prunksaal);
* the treasury (Schatzkammer);
* the national theatre (Burgtheater);
* the riding school (Hofreitschule); and,
* the horse stables (the Stallburg and Hofstallungen).

The Hofburg faces the Heldenplatz ordered under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph, as part of what was to become a Kaiserforum that was never completed.

Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese (the Leopoldischiner Trakt), Lodovico Burnacini and Martino and Domenico Carlone, the Baroque architects Lukas von Hildebrandt and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (the Reichschancelry Wing and the Winter Riding School), Johann Fischer von Erlach (the library), and the architects of the grandiose Neue Burg built between 1881 and 1913.

The Hofburg in Vienna is the former imperial residence. The oldest sections originate from the 13th century and were primarily constructed by the last of the Babenbergers or by Ottakar II of Bohemia. Previously the castle of the Austrian rulers had been located on the square called "Am Hof," which is near the Scottish Monastery (Schottenstift).

Originally a free-standing structure, the Imperial Library (Hofbibliothek) was housed on the other side of the complex. Charles VI founded the library, which is now called the Prunksaal, cared for by the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek). Its construction was begun by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and finished by his son Joseph Emanuel in 1735. This magnificent hall contains the book collection of Prince Eugene, an enormous ceiling fresco by Daniel Gran, and statues of emperors by Paul Strudel making this part of the Hofburg its most significant in artistic terms. The exterior decoration with Attika figures was executed by Lorenzo Mattielli in 1726. He placed a statue of Pallas Athene riding on a quadriga above the main entrance. On the left portion of the roof, he situated Atlas, supporting the celestial globe, flanked by Astronomy and Astrology, and on the opposite side, Gaia with the terrestrial globe, flanked by allegories of Geometry and Geography.

Austria

2009-10-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

As a federal republic, Austria is divided into nine states (German: Bundesländer). These states are then divided into districts (Bezirke) and statutory cities (Statutarstädte). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (Gemeinden). Statutory Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions but have some legislative authority distinct from the federal government, e.g. in matters of culture, social care, youth and nature protection, hunting, building, and zoning ordinances. In recent years, it has been discussed whether today it is appropriate for a small country to maintain ten parliaments.
1 Burgenland - Eisenstadt
2 Carinthia (Kärnten) - Klagenfurt
3 Lower Austria - (Niederösterreich
4 Upper Austria -(Oberösterreich) Linz
5 Salzburg - Salzburg
6 Styria (Steiermark)- Graz
7 Tyrol (Tirol)- Innsbruck
8 Vorarlberg -Bregenz
9 Vienna - (Wien)