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VIENNA
It is difficult not to be moved to hum a Brahms lullaby
or a Strauss waltz as you explore the sights of
Austria's beautiful Baroque capital, Vienna, which for
centuries was the centre of the splendid Hapsburg Empire.
The city remains infused with the grand imperial spirit
in the form of magnificent palaces and grand mansions
peppering the Innerestadt. The city's cultural heritage
is mainly musical, the great classical composers like
Strauss, Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn and Mozart
all having lived and performed here. Today the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera House help
keep alive the city's tradition by offering more
classical music performances a year than any other city
in the world.
Vienna is a city of music, but it is also synonymous
with gourmet fare, cream cakes, superb coffee, the
angelic strains of the Vienna Boys' Choir and the proud
prancing of the Lippizaner stallions at the world-famous
Spanish Riding School.
Vienna started out as a Celtic settlement on the banks
of the Danube and became one of the Roman's most
important central European bases. Its central location
on the strategic river contributed to the city becoming
a mighty empire, reaching its peak during the tumultuous
reign of the dazzling Hapsburg dynasty. At the end of
the 19th century the golden age of empire began to
decline as Vienna's coffee houses filled with radical
intellectuals like Freud, Klimt and Mahler. The Second
World War Nazi occupation left scars, but Vienna
survived it all to remain a captivating capital that
blends Italian romanticism with a Germanic orderliness.
Most of the city's tourist attractions are within the
largely pedestrianised inner city area which was once
enclosed by the city walls. The walls have been replaced
with the Ringstrasse, a wide ring road. Further out in
the suburbs is the thrilling Prater amusement park with
its massive ferris wheel, and the opulent Schonbrunn
summer palace. Visitors also should not miss a trip to
the Vienna Woods, peppered with ancient 'heuringen' (wine
taverns). |
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