Vienna Travel Guide, Austria

Breathtaking Vienna

The beautiful city of Vienna is a city bathed in rich history culture cuisine architecture and music that leave every tourist with a sense of wonder.  The city is Austria’s capital and is one of the country’s nine states.  It is considered Austria’s center for culture economics and politics.  

Here are some noteworthy facts of how a city such as this came about and how it exists today.

Finding Vienna

You will find Vienna in the east of Austria where you will also find breathtaking views of the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains which are both part of the Vienna basin.  This city also enjoys spectacular views of the famous Danube River as Vienna extends on both sides of this river.

Vienna Weather

The city enjoys a temperate climate where summers are warm and winters can be cold.  Summer temperatures can reach a high of 20C and a low of 10C.  The winters in Vienna can reach above freezing temperatures and below freezing in the evenings.

Historic Vienna

The beginnings of Vienna can be traced back from 500 BC when it was still a Celtic settlement and eventually became a frontier of the Roman Empire.  During the time of Genghis Khan Vienna became a part of the Mongolian Empire until his death.

By the middle ages Vienna entered the dynastic rule of the Babenbergs and then followed by the Habsburgs which then paved the way for Vienna to become capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

Vienna eventually became the capital of the Austrian Empire in 1804 and then the capital of the First Austrian Republic after the First World War.  The city was captured by Germany in the Second World War and was shortly under Soviet rule after that.  By 1945 Vienna became what it is now as the capital of Austria.

    

Taking in the Culture of Vienna

Any tourist will marvel at the cultural wealth of Vienna which includes theater opera classical music and fine arts.  Not mention that fact that it is home to a slew of museums and architectural wonders.  Vienna is also known as the capital of 19th century balls.

You will find a number of opera houses in this city including the famous Staatsoper and the Volksoper where you can watch performances of the popular Viennese Operatta.  Music has always been part of Viennese culture as they are home to famous classical artists like Mozart and Strauss.  Classical performances are held at concert halls like Wiener Musikverein.  

You will get to see city’s museums at the museum quarter or Museumquartier and the most notable are the Hofburg which holds the imperial jewels of the Habsburgs and the Sisi Museum which gives you a glimpse of the inside of an imperial apartment.

The city of Vienna boasts of several architectural designs from the Romanesque to the Baroque and the classicist to the modern and Art Nouveau.  It’s enough to make your eyes wander.

Vienna is also famous for its balls and the city hosts more than 200 important balls every year.  The main venue for most of these balls is at the Hofburg Palace.  Viennese balls are attended even by the middle class.  Ball season in Vienna lasts three months.