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Published: July 24th 2009
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It seems to me that Vienna is a city that likes everything to be beautiful as well as functional, and if it can’t be both, it should be beautiful. The city is full of gardens, statues, fountains, and picturesque scenes. Metro stations are architectural marvels and a 40km manmade island stretches across part of the Danube River solely for the purpose of sunbathing in the summer. Clothing optional. July and August are interesting months in Vienna as two main attractions, the Spanish Riding School and Vienna boys choir are both on vacation but there are several free festivals that run for both months to console tourists as well as entertain locals. There are three different open air movie festivals in different parts of the city specializing in different types of film as well as an international dance festival. Iron Man was playing in Karlplatz on Tuesday and I went to see Carmen in Rathausplatz Thursday night. It was in French.
The Romans called Vienna, Vindobona. It has always been a strategic point of trade due to its position along the Danube River. In 1273 Rudolf of Hapsburg was given the ‘duchy’ of Austria and the Hapsburgs ruled over the Austrian Empire
for 640 years. The most interesting Hapsburg was Maria Theresia, who in addition to giving birth to 16 children, introduced a state education system, and fought the war of Austrian succession because she wasn’t born male. After 8 years of war, eventually the title of Holy Roman Emperor was given to her husband Franz Stephan of Lorraine and Maria Theresia went on to rule the Austrian Empire for 32 more years. She married off several of her children quite advantageously, most notably Marie-Antoinette, who married Louis XVI of France. In the greedy tradition of human power struggles Austria’s rulers fought battles, defended their borders, added to their lands, and quibbled over territory. At one point the Austrian-Hungarian Empire included the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and parts of Italy.
The next most interesting Hapsburg was Franz-Josef who ruled from 1848-1916. He was married to the infamous Elisabeth, who from all accounts was a horrible narcissist and refused to let anyone see her face after she turned 30. (There is a musical written about her which I saw at the Takarazuka review in Japan, but it was in Japanese so I didn’t understand what was going on.) Franz-Josef was also the
ruler who declared war on Serbia after his nephew Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914. He managed to plunge the world into war, but he didn’t live to see the end of it.
The end of World War I brought about the disintegration of the Austrian Empire. Political chaos and economic depression ensued and through a series of events, including arresting any political opponents, in 1938 Nazi Germany met no resistance to their invasion and annexation of Austria. After the war Austria was occupied by all of the major Allied countries each taking a part. Vienna fell under Soviet jurisdiction, although the story goes that General Patton ordered a raid on the Spanish Riding School before the Soviets arrived in Vienna in order to ensure their survival.
There are several infamous Austrian born Nazis including Adolf Eichmann, Amon Goeth, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and Adolf Hitler. I have also been told that Austria currently has the second largest population of Neo-Nazis in the world after the United States. Overall I had quite a nice time in Vienna, now it is on to Rome. 😉
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Randy
non-member comment
Vienna
Hi Jawilso, as a Viennese I am happy that you enjoyed your stay in Vienna. According to your pictures you had not only perfect weather but you did also handle a comprehenisve sightseeing program. Nice, that you visited (and enjoyed) the Donauinsel. A truly asset of Vienna. A beach right in the vicinity of the inner city. However, the ultimate purpose of the Donauinsel is to protect the city from flooding by the Danube river (which occured several times in the past). Best wishes for your travel adventures. Take care. Randy