Vienna - geography. I INTRODUCTION Vienna or Wien (ancient Vindobona), city in northeastern Austria, the capital and largest city of the country, coextensive with Vienna (Wien) Province. Vienna is located on both banks of the Danube River, with the foothills of the Eastern Alps on the west and the plains of the Danube basin on the east. The city lies about 203 m (666 ft) above sea level and has a continental climate, with a mean annual temperature of 10° C (50° F) and an average annual rainfall of 610 mm (24 in). Vienna was for many centuries the political and economic center of the Austrian Empire under the Habsburg family, and between 1867 and 1918 the capital of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (see Austria-Hungary). Following World War I (1914-1918), with Austria greatly reduced in size, the city found itself with a suddenly limited role and its importance declined. At the end of World War II (1939-1945), Vienna was heavily damaged, but after the signing of the State Treaty in 1955, guaranteeing neutrality for Austria, it again resumed considerable importance as a commercial and transportation center. Today the city dominates the economic and cultural life of Austria and contains about one-fifth of the country's population. II ECONOMY Vienna is an important port on the Danube. Because of its strategic location on Europe's major river, at the lowland passage between the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains, Vienna has been an important communications hub since the first Celtic settlement was established on the site. Today, railroad lines link Vienna with nearly all the important cities of Europe. A modern limited-access highway extends north from Vienna to Germany, and in the 1980s a highway was constructed to the south. Vienna's international airport is located at Schwechat to the southeast. Vienna is by far Austria's most important manufacturing, banking, and insurance center. The city contributes roughly one-fifth of Austria's total industrial plant. Principal manufactures are food products, electrical equipment, chemicals, machinery, metal products, textiles, clothing, printed materials, and paper. Also important are handicraft industries, producing such goods as porcelain, jewelry, glass items, leather goods, and musical instruments. Since the mid-1950s the city has been the site of many international political and economic meetings and conferences. The United Nations City, a complex completed on the left bank of the Danube in 1979, is the seat of several international organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also has its headquarters in the city. The biennial Vienna Fair (founded in 1921) continues to play an important role in the economic life of central Europe. Of special importance to Vienna's economic well-being in the post-World War II period is the large number of foreign visitors attracted to the city. III THE URBAN LANDSCAPE The heart of Vienna, the Innere Stadt (Inner City), was once surrounded by protective walls. The walls were razed in 1857, and in their place a broad boulevard, the Ringstrasse, was built and subsequently lined with imposing buildings, monuments, and parks. Among the more important structures here are the town hall (Rathaus, 1872-1883), the Burgtheater (1874-1888), the University (1873-1883), the Parliament (1883), and the State Opera (1861-1869), which was burned in 1945 and rebuilt in 1955. Also here is the Hofburg, the former imperial palace, the oldest part of which was built during the 13th century. The Gothic Saint Stephen's Cathedral (rebuilt 13th-15th century) in the center of the Inner City has a 113-m (370-ft) steeple that can be seen from all parts of Vienna. Beyond the Ringstrasse was a secondary fortified wall, the Gürtel, which also was torn down to make space for the expanding suburbs during the second half of the 19th century. These suburban settlements were eventually incorporated into the city, and a pattern of radiating roads connects them with the Innere Stadt. The names of these districts are a reminder of the former autonomous suburban settlements. Industries are today located mostly in the southern and eastern districts. The Danube Canal, which branches south of the Danube River, was completed in the 1880s. The Innere Stadt borders the canal to the south, and Vienna's second most important district is located between the canal and the Danube. Across the Danube are newer districts; it is here that the new international center has been built. The greatest period of building in the city was between 1870 and 1890, which was also the period of the most rapid population growth. Vienna's population was approximately 2.4 million in 1918. Much of the large foreign population migrated after World War I to the various successor states of the monarchy. Vienna's many monumental buildings reflect the city's cultural importance, and although the city exhibits a certain harmonious aspect, its buildings are of many different architectural styles. Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, and typical Austrian Biedermeier structures are found together with early 20th-century barracklike apartment buildings and modern apartment buildings of the post-World War II period. Vienna is famous for its numerous parks, many with monuments, such as the Stadtpark and Belvedere Park, with its baroque-style castle, where the State Treaty was signed. The principal public park in Vienna, the Prater, is situated on an island formed by the Danube River and the canal. Schönbrunn, the beautiful rococo Imperial Summer Palace, has an 18th-century park and the world's oldest existing zoo (1752). To the west of the city lies the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald), rising on foothills of the Alps. IV EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS Vienna has long been known for its cultural and educational institutions. During the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, it was the musical capital of the world, the home of many famous composers and musicians, including Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Alban Berg. Franz von Suppé supplied early models for Viennese operetta, and Johann Strauss the Younger brought the form to a high romantic level in Die Fledermaus (The Bat; 1874). Other composers of operettas include Karl Millöcker, Franz Lehár, Robert Stolz, Oscar Straus, and Emmerich Kalman. Vienna remains a city of strong musical heritage and is the seat of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, and a music conservatory. Among Vienna's many major halls are the famous Musikvereinssaal (Society of Music), the home of the Vienna Philharmonic; the Theater an der Wien (built 1788); the State Opera House; and the Volksoper. Also notable are the Burgtheater, home of the national theater, and the Theater an der Josefstadt. The most outstanding of Vienna's many schools and scientific organizations is Vienna University (1365) with its many institutes; it is known throughout the world, particularly for its medical school, and has a large percentage of foreign students. Other schools include the Vienna Technical University (1815), the Vienna University of Commerce (1898), the Academy of Fine Arts (1692), and veterinarian and agricultural colleges. Vienna is a city of numerous museums and art galleries. Among the most prominent are the Albertina, the Museum of the 20th Century, the Natural History Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts. V HISTORY Throughout its existence Vienna has been a frontier post. Originally a Celtic settlement (Vindobona), it was taken over by the Romans in the 1st century BC and fortified by Emperor Augustus as part of the defenses against the Germanic tribes that lived north of the Danube. In the 5th century AD, however, the Romans evacuated the area. In the 9th century Austria became part of the renewed Roman Empire of Charlemagne, and in 976 Emperor Otto II granted it to the Babenberg family. By the end of the 12th century the city covered what is now the Inner District, and in 1221 it was granted municipal privileges. A Habsburg Vienna After the extinction of the Babenbergs in 1246, Vienna came briefly under King Ottokar II of Bohemia, but he was expelled in 1278 by the German king Rudolf I of Habsburg and from that time the city was a possession of the Habsburg family. Rudolf IV of Habsburg, called The Founder, made an indelible impact on Vienna, completing the construction of Saint Stephen's Cathedral, founding the university (1365), and launching municipal reforms. In the next three centuries the city was struck by religious strife, Turkish sieges (1529 and 1683), and the plague (1679). The title of Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire) became hereditary in the Habsburg family in the 15th century, and the Habsburgs added Hungary and Bohemia to their domains in 1526. Vienna became the seat of their central administration and the imperial residence. In the 17th and 18th centuries the city was beautified with splendid baroque churches and palaces. In 1804 it became the capital of the new Austrian Empire, and after the Napoleonic Wars Europe's leaders met there in the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). In 1848 the Viennese staged an unsuccessful revolt against the Habsburgs. During the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph I, Vienna became a modern city and capital (1867) of the Austro-Hungarian empire; its old walls were dismantled and replaced by the Ringstrasse. Mayor Karl Lueger was a model municipal administrator and fiery popular leader. The city grew, by immigration and absorption of suburbs, from 431,100 inhabitants in 1851 to 2,239,000 in 1916, and its ethnic and religious minorities included 200,000 Czechs and 147,000 Jews. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vienna was the center of psychoanalysis under its originator, Sigmund Freud. B Vienna since 1918 After World War I and the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna became the capital of a small Austrian republic. Known as Red Vienna, it was the stronghold of the Austrian Social Democratic Party and the scene of violent confrontations between socialist and right-wing groups. Between 1938 and 1945 it was a provincial capital in the German Reich; the Nazis exterminated most of its Jewish population during World War II (see Holocaust). After World War II and ten years of Allied occupation, Vienna reemerged as the capital of a neutral Austrian republic. After 1979, it became one of the world headquarters of the United Nations. Population (2006 estimate) 1,651,437. Contributed By: George W. Hoffman Klemens von Klemperer Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
