Parliament

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  • Address
    Dr-Karl-Renner-Ring 3, 1st District, Innere Stadt
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  • Phone
    401 10 2577
  • Website
  • Transport
    underground rail: U2, U3 Volkstheater
tram: D, J, 1, 2, 46, 49

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Lonely Planet review

With its recent renovation complete, the squat Parliament building opposite the Volksgarten once again strikes a governing pose over the Ringstrasse. Its neoclassical façade and Greek pillars, designed by Theophil Hansen in 1883, are quite striking, but the beautiful Athena Fountain, sculpted by Karl Kundmann, that guards the building steals the show with its gold-tipped spear and regal helm.

Grecian architecture was chosen, as Greece was the home of democracy; Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom. It was hoped that both qualities would be permanent features of Austrian politics. The four statues flanking Athena are of horse breaking (though some would say horse punching).

In general, guided tours (leaving from Gate 1) run at , , , and Monday to Friday year-round; on Saturday they leave at , , and . They're cancelled when the parliament is in session. The Parlament's visitors centre (admission free; - Mon-Fri, - Sat), directly behind Athena, covers the history of Austrian politics and how parliament runs using a multimedia show of video clips and interactive screens.