Vienna is the capital
and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is
Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million (2.6 million
within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria's population), and
its cultural, economic, and political centre.
Austria’s capital offers a unique
blend of imperial traditions and stunning modern architecture. It is famous for
its cultural events, imperial sights, coffee houses, cozy wine taverns, and the
very special Viennese charm.
It is the 7th-largest city by
population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the
20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before
the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2
million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers
after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations,
including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part
of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and
Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region.
Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million
inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World HeritageSite.
Apart from being regarded as The City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be
"The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psycho-analyst
– Sigmund Freud. The city's roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements
that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the capital of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an essential role
as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism
through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is
rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, and the
late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist
Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada and
San Francisco, US) for the world's most livable cities. Between 2011 and 2015,
Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. For eight consecutive
years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna
first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey of hundreds of cities
around the world, a title the city still holds in 2016. Monocle's 2015
"Quality of Life Survey" ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25
cities in the world "to make a base within."
The UN-Habitat has classified
Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city
was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and
sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which
analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure, and
markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as
a case study by urban planners.
Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was
the world's number-one destination for international congresses and
conventions. It attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year.
Art and culture had a long
tradition in Vienna, including theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts.
The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking
world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the
Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a
multitude of smaller theatres, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms
of the performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.
A Vienna ball is an all-night
cultural attraction. Major Viennese balls generally begin at 9 pm and last
until 5 am, although many guests carry on the celebrations into the next
day.The Viennese balls are being exported with the support of the City of
Vienna in around 30 cities worldwide such as New York, Barcelona, Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Prague, Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow.
Vienna is Austria's main centre
of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and
gymnasiums (high schools).
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
PEF Private University of Management Vienna
University of Applied Arts Vienna
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
University of Vienna
Vienna University of Economics and Business
Vienna University of Technology
Webster University Vienna
Sigmund Freud University Vienna
International Anti-Corruption Academy
Danube International School
International University Vienna
SAE Vienna
Lauder Business School
Lycée Français de Vienne
Vienna Christian School
Vienna International School
American International School
Japanische Schule in Wien (Japanese school)
Amadeus International School
Vienna possesses many parks, including the
Stadtpark, the Burggarten, the Volksgarten (part of the Hofburg), the
Schlosspark at Schloss Belvedere (home to the Vienna Botanic Gardens), the
Donaupark, the Schönbrunner Schlosspark, the Prater, the Augarten, the
Rathauspark, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Dehnepark, the Resselpark, the
Votivpark, the Kurpark Oberlaa, the Auer-Welsbach-Park and the
Türkenschanzpark. Green areas include Laaer-Berg (including the Bohemian
Prater) and the foothills of the Wienerwald, which reaches into the outer areas
of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as Beserlparks, are everywhere
in the inner city areas.
Vienna has a long tradition of producing cakes and
desserts. These include Apfelstrudel (hot apple strudel), Milchrahmstrudel
(milk-cream strudel), Palatschinken (sweet pancakes), and Knödel (dumplings)
often filled with fruit such as apricots (Marillenknödel). Sachertorte, a
delicately moist chocolate cake with apricot jam created by the Sacher Hotel,
is world-famous. In winter, small street stands sell traditional Maroni (hot
chestnuts) and potato fritters.
Sausages are popular and available from street
vendors (Würstelstand) throughout the day and into the night. The sausage known
as Wiener (German for Viennese) in the U.S. and in Germany, is called a
Frankfurter in Vienna. Other popular sausages are Burenwurst (a coarse beef and
pork sausage, generally boiled), Käsekrainer (spicy pork with small chunks of
cheese), and Bratwurst (a white pork sausage). Most can be ordered "mit
Brot" (with bread) or as a "hot dog" (stuffed inside a long
roll). Mustard is the traditional condiment and usually offered in two
varieties: "süß" (sweet) or "scharf" (spicy).
Vienna is well known for Wiener Schnitzel, a cutlet
of veal (Kalbsschnitzel) or pork (Schweinsschnitzel) that is pounded flat,
coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in clarified butter. It is
available in almost every restaurant that serves Viennese cuisine and can be
eaten hot or cold. The traditional 'Wiener Schnitzel' though is a cutlet of
veal. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include Tafelspitz (very lean boiled
beef), which is traditionally served with Geröstete Erdäpfel (boiled potatoes
mashed with a fork and subsequently fried) and horseradish sauce, Apfelkren (a
mixture of horseradish, cream and apple) and Schnittlauchsauce (a chives sauce
made with mayonnaise and stale bread).
Major tourist attractions include the imperial
palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo,
Tiergarten Schönbrunn) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights
include the Burgtheater, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lipizzaner horses at the
spanische Hofreitschule, and the Vienna Boys' Choir, as well as excursions to
Vienna's Heurigen district Döbling. There are also more than 100 art museums,
which together attract over eight million visitors per year. The most popular
ones are Albertina, Belvedere, Leopold Museum in the Museumsquartier, KunstHausWien,
BA-CA Kunstforum, the twin Kunsthistorisches Museum and Naturhistorisches
Museum, and the Technisches Museum Wien, each of which receives over a quarter
of a million visitors per year.
Vienna is served by Vienna International Airport,
located 18 km (11 mi) southeast of the city centre next to the town of
Schwechat. Vienna has an extensive transportation network with a unified fare
system that integrates municipal, regional and railway systems under the
umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR). Public transport is provided
by buses, trams and 5 underground metro lines (U-Bahn). There are also more
than 50 S-train stations within the city limits. Trains are operated by the
ÖBB. The city forms the hub of the Austrian railway system, with services to
all parts of the country and abroad. The railway system connects Vienna with
other European cities, like Munich, Venice, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava and
Zürich.
Vienna is the seat of a number of United
Nations offices and various international institutions and companies, including
the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations
IndustrialDevelopment Organization (UNIDO),
the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC),
the Preparatory Commission for
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyOrganization (CTBTO), the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),
the United Nations Office for
Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
and the European Union Agency for
Fundamental Rights (FRA).
Currently Vienna is the world's third "UN city", next to New York,
Geneva, and Nairobi. Additionally, Vienna is the seat of the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law's secretariat (UNCITRAL). In conjunction,
the University of Vienna annually hosts the prestigious Willem C. Vis Moot, an
international commercial arbitration competition for students of law from
around the world.
In Vienna, the old coffee house culture and rustic wine taverns
stand alongside top restaurants and shops, and time-honored events alternate
with internationally-acclaimed extravaganzas such as the Life Ball to create a
unique and very special ambiance. All of this, plus plenty of greenspace and
recreational areas including the Wienerwald, the Prater
and the Danube Island make Vienna
a very special city to visit.
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