Vienna

What a beautiful city! Statues, churches, parks and old buildings with beautiful facades are dotted all around the city. Some of the attractions we visited today ...

St Stephen's Cathedral is the most important religious building in Vienna. The Cathedral has 23 bells. The largest hangs in the north tower and is officially named for St. Mary, but is usually called Pummerin (Boomer) and weighs 20,130 kilo's. It is said that Beethoven only realised his deafness when he saw the birds fly out of the bell tower while they were ringing, but he could not hear them.

Hofburg Imperial Palace. The Palace remains the centre of government for Austria. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria.

The Spanish Riding school, is located between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz near the Hofburg. The school was named for the Spanish horses that formed one of the bases of the Lipizzan breed. They are used exclusively at the school. It is the traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School.

The Museums Quartier is a 60,000 m² area in the city, containing Baroque buildings as well as Modern architecture.

St. Peter's is thought to occupy the oldest Christian sacred site in Vienna, as a church has stood here since the second half of the 4th century.

The Vienna State Opera was hit during an air raid in 1945 during WWII, when an allied bomber allegedly mistook it for a train station. The interior was completely destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt in 1955 following the original design.

The famous Johann Strauss monument is situated in the City Park. During the demolition of the city walls and the creation of the Vienna Ringstraße, the mayor promoted the creation of a public park in it's place.

The Pestsäule (The Plague Column) is a Holy Trinity column in the inner city. It was erected after the Great Plague epidemic in 1679, and is one of the most well-known and prominent sculptural pieces of art in the city. In 1679, Vienna was visited by one of the last big plague epidemics. Fleeing the city, the Habsburg emperor Leopold I vowed to erect a mercy column should the epidemic end.Read more