#Wahrzeichen
(Symbolic Landmarks)

Our blog on unique Austrian landmarks, updated monthly.

Above: Vienna with View of Iconic Vienna Ferris Wheel © Österreich Werbung

Hannes Richter Hannes Richter

The Volksgarten in Vienna

For this #WahrzeichenWednesday we're back in Vienna. This week we are featuring the Volksgarten or "People's Garden." Built on the ruins of a portion of city wall destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809, the park was originally designed as a private garden for the archduke. In the end, however, it opened in 1823 as the first public park owned by the imperial court. And it has remained a public park ever since.

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Stephansdom

This week's #Wahrzeichen takes us to #Vienna where the iconic #Stephansdom prominently stands in the heart of Vienna's old town. The current church was constructed on the ruins of an older parish church consecrated in 1147. Construction was completed in 1433. A masterpiece of European Gothic architecture, it boasted the tallest tower in Europe at the time until the Strasbourg Cathedral overtook it for the title in 1491. At 447.5 ft tall, no building in Austria-Hungary was permitted to be taller. (Thus, the New Cathedral built 1862-1924 in Linz was built 2 meters shorter.) During the Second World War, Stephansdom was damaged; repairs were completed in 1976.

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