Sights in Austria
-
A
Tiergarten
Founded in 1752 as a menagerie by Franz Stephan, the Schönbrunn Tiergarten is the oldest zoo in the world. It houses some 750 animals of all shapes and sizes, including giant pandas that arrived in 2003. A batch of emus, armadillos and baby Siberian tigers joined them in 2006. Thankfully most of the original cramped cages have been updated and improved. The zoo’s layout is reminiscent of a bicycle wheel, with pathways as spokes and an octagonal pavilion at its centre. The pavilion dates from 1759 and was used as the imperial breakfast room. Feeding times are staggered throughout the day – maps on display tell you who’s dining when.
reviewed
-
B
Schloss Schönbrunn Gardens
The beautifully tended formal gardens of the palace, arranged in the French style, are a symphony of colour in summer and a combination of greys and browns in winter; all seasons are appealing in their own right. The grounds, which were opened to the public by Joseph II in 1779, hide a number of attractions in the tree-lined avenues (arranged according to a grid and star-shaped system between 1750 and 1755). From 1772 to 1780 Ferdinand Hetzendorf added some of the final touches to the park under the instructions of Joseph II: fake Roman ruins in 1778; the Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain), a riotous ensemble from Greek mythology, in 1781; and the crowning glory, the …
reviewed
-
C
MuseumsQuartier
The MuseumsQuartier is a remarkable ensemble of museums, cafés, restaurants and bars inside former imperial stables designed by Fischer von Erlach. This breeding ground of Viennese cultural life is the perfect place to hang out and watch or meet people on warm evenings. With over 60,000 sq metres of exhibition space, the complex is one of the world’s most ambitious cultural spaces. Of the combined tickets on offer, the MQ Kombi Ticket (€25) includes entry into every museum (Zoom only has a reduction) and a 30% discount on performances in the TanzQuartier Wien; MQ Art Ticket (€21.50) gives admission into the Leopold Museum, MUMOK, Kunsthalle and reduced entry into Zoom,…
reviewed
-
D
Sigmund Freud Museum
Sigmund Freud is a bit like the telephone – once it happened, there was no going back. The apartment where he lived and worked from 1891 till his forced departure from Vienna with the arrival of the Nazis in 1938 is now a museum devoted to the father of psychoanalysis. It contains a number of his possessions, and Freud’s obsessions – travelling, smoking and collecting ancient art – are well represented; Egyptian and Buddhist statues are everywhere. Notes (in English) illuminate the offerings and audio guides (€2) are available at the ticket desk. The 2nd floor is used for temporary exhibitions.
reviewed
-
Eisriesenwelt
Billed as the world’s largest accessible ice caves, Eisriesenwelt is a glittering ice empire spanning 30,000 sq m and 42km of narrow passages burrowing deep into the heart of the mountains. Even if it’s hot outside, entering the caves in any season is like stepping into a deep freeze – bring warm clothing and sturdy footwear.
A tour through these Narnia-esque chambers of blue ice is a unique experience. As you climb up wooden steps and down pitch-black passages, with carbide lamps aglow, otherworldly ice sculptures shaped like polar bears and elephants, frozen columns and lakes emerge from the shadows. A highlight is the cavernous Eispalast (ice palace), where the…
reviewed
-
E
Leopold Museum
This museum is named after Rudolf Leopold, a Viennese ophthalmologist who, on buying his first Egon Schiele (1890–1918) for a song as a young student in 1950, started to amass a huge private collection of mainly 19th-century and modernist Austrian artworks. In 1994 he sold the lot – 5266 paintings – to the Austrian government for €160 million (sold individually, the paintings would have made him €574 million), and the Leopold Museum was born. The building has a white, limestone exterior, open space (the 21m-high glass-covered atrium is lovely) and natural light flooding most rooms. Considering Rudolf Leopold’s love of Schiele, it’s no surprise the museum contains the…
reviewed
-
F
MUMOK
The dark basalt edifice and sharp corners of the Museum moderner Kunst (Museum of Modern Art) are a complete contrast to the MuseumsQuartier’s historical sleeve. Inside, MUMOK is crawling with Vienna’s finest collection of 20th-century art, centred on fluxus, nouveau realism, pop art and photo-realism. The best of expressionism, cubism, minimal art and Viennese Actionism is represented in a collection of 9000 works that are rotated and exhibited by theme – but take note that sometimes all this Actionism is packed away to make room for temporary exhibitions. On any visit you might glimpse: wearily slumped attendant (not part of any exhibit), photos of horribly deformed…
reviewed
-
G
Mozarthaus Vienna
Mozarthaus Vienna, the residence where the great composer spent two and a half happy and productive years, is now the city’s premiere Mozart attraction. The museum was revamped a few years ago and is well worth a visit for an insight into the life and times of Mozart in Vienna (a total of 10 years). One floor deals with the society of the late 18th century, providing asides into prominent figures in the court and Mozart’s life, such as the Freemasons to whom he dedicated a number of pieces. Mozart’s vices – his womanising, gambling and ability to waste excessive amounts of money – lend a spicy edge (you can look through some peepholes). Another floor concentrates on…
reviewed
-
Otto Wagner Buildings
Something of a problem zone due to flooding, the Wien River needed regulating in the late 19th century. It would be more accurate to say that its last semblance of being a natural river was utterly and completely obliterated. At the same time, Otto Wagner had visions of turning the area between Karlsplatz and Schönbrunn into a magnificent boulevard. The vision blurred and the reality is a gushing, concrete-bottomed creek (a shocking eyesore designed by Wagner) and a couple of attractive Wagner houses on the Linke Wienzeile. Majolika-Haus at No 40 (1899) is the prettiest as it’s completely covered in glazed ceramic to create flowing floral motifs on the facade. The second…
reviewed
-
H
Haus der Musik
The Haus der Musik is one of Vienna’s more unusual museums. Although some of the activities and exhibits could be a little more user-friendly, it manages to explain sound in an amusing and interactive way (in English and German) for both children and adults.
The 1st floor hosts historical archives of the Vienna Philharmonic. Here you can listen to a shortened version of the world-famous New Year’s concert, and a bizarre interactive tool allows you to compose your own waltz with the roll of a die. The 2nd floor, called the Sonosphere, is where you can delve into the mechanics of sound. This features plenty of engaging instruments, interactive toys and touch screens. Here…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
I
Nationalbibliothek
Austria’s flagship library, the Nationalbibliothek contains an astounding collection of literature, maps, globes of the world and other cultural relics; its highlight, though, is the Prunksaal (Grand Hall), a majestic baroque hall built between 1723 and 1726. Commissioned by Karl VI (whose statue is under the central dome), it holds some 200,000 leather-bound scholarly tomes. Rare volumes (mostly 15th century) are stored within glass cabinets, with books opened to beautifully illustrated pages of text. The central fresco, by Daniel Gran, depicts the emperor’s apotheosis.
reviewed
-
J
Schatzkammer
The Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) contains secular and ecclesiastical treasures of priceless value and splendour – the sheer wealth of this collection of crown jewels is staggering. As you walk through the rooms you see magnificent treasures such as a golden rose, diamond studded Turkish sabres, a 2680-carat Colombian emerald and, the highlight of the treasury, the imperial crown. The wood-panelled Sacred Treasury has a collection of rare religious relics, some of which can be taken with a grain of salt: fragments of the True Cross, one of the nails from the Crucifixion, a thorn from Christ’s crown and a piece of tablecloth from the Last Supper. Audio guides in German,…
reviewed
-
K
Kirche am Steinhof
Situated in the grounds of the Psychiatric Hospital of the City of Vienna, Kirche am Steinhof, built from 1904 to 1907, is the remarkable achievement of Otto Wagner. Kolo Moser chipped in with the mosaic windows, and the roof is topped by a copper-covered dome that earned the nickname Limoniberg (Lemon Mountain) from its original golden colour. It’s a bold statement in an asylum that has other art-nouveau buildings, and it could only be pushed through by Wagner because the grounds were far from the public gaze.
reviewed
-
Swarovski Kristallwelten
Swarovski Kristallwelten tops the list of Austria’s most-visited attractions. Call them kitsch or classy, there is no doubting the popularity of these crystals, displayed in all their glory at this fantastical playground. A giant’s head spewing water into a pond greets you in the park. Inside you’ll find Alexander McQueen’s crystal tree, zebras drifting past on ruby slippers in a twinkling theatre, and the world’s biggest crystal, weighing in at 62kg. Terence Conran’s shop by the exit is where, depending on your budget, you can buy a bejewelled pen for €1.30 or splurge on a €14,800 crystal-studded iguana. Decisions, decisions…
reviewed
-
Schloss Hellbrunn
An archbishop with a wicked sense of humour, Markus Sittikus built the yellow-painted Schloss Hellbrunn in the 17th century as a pleasure palace and an escape vault from his functions at Residenz. The Italianate villa became a wild retreat for rulers of state who flocked here to eat, drink and generally be merry. It was a Garden of Eden to all who beheld its exotic fauna, citrus trees and trick fountains – designed to sober up quaffing clerics without dampening their spirits. Domenico Gisberti, poet to the court of Munich, once penned: ‘I see the epitome of Venice in these waters, Rome reduced to a brief outline.’
reviewed
-
L
Postsparkasse
The celebrated Post Office Savings Bank building is the work of Otto Wagner, who oversaw its construction between 1904 and 1906, and again from 1910 to 1912. The Jugendstil design and choice of materials were innovative for the time, with the grey marble facade held together by 17,000 metal nails, and an interior filled with sci-fi aluminium heating ducts and naked stanchions. The small museum at the back of the main savings hall hosts temporary exhibitions focusing on design – anything from office buildings to nifty kitchenware.
reviewed
-
KZ Mauthausen
Nowadays Mauthausen is an attractive small town on the north bank of the Danube east of Linz, but its status as a quarrying centre prompted the Nazis to site KZ Mauthausen concentration camp here. Prisoners were forced into slave labour in the granite quarry and many died on the so-called Todesstiege (stairway of death) leading from the quarry to the camp. Some 100,000 prisoners died or were executed in the camp between 1938 and 1945.
reviewed
-
M
Festung Hohensalzburg
Salzburg's most visible icon is this mighty 900-year-old cliff-top fortress, one of the biggest and best preserved in Europe. It's easy to spend half a day up here, roaming the ramparts for far-reaching views over the city's spires, the Salzach River and mountains. The fortress is a steep 15-minute jaunt from the centre or a speedy ride in the glass Festungsbahn funicular.
The fortress began life as a humble bailey, built in 1077 by Gebhard von Helffenstein at a time when the Holy Roman Empire was at loggerheads with the papacy. The present structure, however, owes its grandeur to spendthrift Leonard von Keutschach, prince-archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 to 1519 and the…
reviewed
-
Hitler’s Geburtshaus
Not far from the Torturm is the house where Hitler was born in 1889; he only spent two years of his life here before moving with his family to Linz. The inscription outside simply reads Für Frieden, Freiheit und Demokratie, nie wieder Faschismus, Millionen Tote mahnen (For peace, freedom and democracy, never again fascism, millions of dead admonish).
reviewed
-
N
Seeschloss Ort
On the western shore, a pretty nature reserve known as Toscana Park forms a backdrop to Seeschloss Ort. This castle on the lake is believed to have been built on the ruins of a Roman fortress. It dates from 909 or earlier (rebuilt in the 17th century after a fire) and has a picturesque courtyard, a late-Gothic external staircase and sgraffito from 1578.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Festung Kufstein
For an insight into Kufstein’s turbulent past, head up to cliff-top Festung Kufstein. The castle dates from 1205 (when Kufstein was part of Bavaria) and was a pivotal point of defence for both Bavaria and Tyrol during the struggles. The round Kaiserturm (Emperor’s Tower) was added in 1522.
The lift to the top affords sweeping views over Kufstein and the surrounding peaks. Inside is the small but imaginatively presented Heimatmuseum (Heritage Museum), showcasing everything from Bronze Age urns to folk costumes and – drum roll please – Andreas Hofer’s shoe. Below the Kaiserturm is the Heldenorgel (Heroes Organ) with 4307 pipes, 46 organ stops and a 100m gap between…
reviewed
-
O
Pferdeschwemme
Designed by Fischer von Erlach in 1693, this is a horse-lover's delight, with rearing equine pin-ups surrounding Michael Bernhard Mandl's statue of a horse tamer.
reviewed
-
P
Mozarts Geburtshaus
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg's most famous son, was born in this bright yellow townhouse in 1756 and spent the first 17 years of his life here. Today's museum harbours a collection of instruments, documents and portraits. Highlights include the mini-violin he played as a toddler, plus a lock of his hair and buttons from his jacket. In one room, Mozart is shown as a holy babe beneath a neon blue halo – we'll leave you to draw your own analogies…
reviewed
-
Zammer Lochputz
A rollercoaster of water thrashes the limestone cliffs at Zammer Lochputz gorge just outside of Landeck. Leading up through pine forest, a trail passes viewpoints and some interesting rock formations – look out for the head of a bull and a nymph.
reviewed
-
Römerhofgasse
A classic saunter leads along gingerbready Römerhofgasse, a reconstructed medieval lane that looks fresh-minted for a Disney film set with its overhanging arches, lanterns and frescoed facades. Even the crowds and souvenir kitsch – marmot ointment, Dirndls, strapping Lederhosen, you name it – detract little from its appeal.
reviewed