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The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as many other international institutions and companies, are located in Vienna.
HistoryMain article: History of Vienna Vienna was originally a Celtic city founded around 500 BC. In 15 BC, it became a frontier city ("Vindobona") guarding the Roman Empire against the German tribes to the north. In the Middle Ages, it became the home of the Babenberg and, later, the Habsburg dynasties and through the latter the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ottoman Turkish invasions of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries were stopped two times in total at Vienna. See the Battle of Vienna (1683). In 1815, Vienna was the site of the Congress of Vienna which redrew national boundaries in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Waterloo. During the Cold War, Vienna was a hotbed of international espionage owning to its location in neutral Austria, between the Western and Eastern blocs. Other famous Viennese features include the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sängerknaben), Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte, and various pastries. Viennese cafes claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from the captured baggage after the second Turkish siege of 1683. Historical populationThe population of Vienna increased sharply during the Austro-Hungarian period (1867-1918), when there was a lot of immigration from other parts of the country. However, after World War I, a lot of Czechs returned to their ancestral country, which resulted in a decline in the population. Following the immigration at that time, about one third of the population of Vienna has a Slavic or Hungarian family name. As can be seen, the population gradually declined up to the 1980s. 1800: 231,900 inhabitants DistrictsThe city itself is composed of 23 districts (Bezirke), which although they all have their own names are numbered for the sake of convenience. Legally, they are not districts in the sense of administrative bodies with explicit powers (such as the districts in the other Austrian states, but mere subdivisions of the city administration. However, there are election on the district level, which gives the representatives of the districts some political clout (e.g. in matters of planning, traffic etc.).
By looking at the postal code it can be determined in which district a given address is located; 1XXA - 1 denotes Vienna, XX the district number (if it is a single digit then with a leading zero), A is the number of the post office (irrelevant in this case, usually zero). Example: 1070 for Neubau. ReligionsVienna is the seat of the Viennese archdiocese, and its acting Archbishop is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. The religions of the Viennese resident population is devided according to the 2001 census as follows:
Culture Theatre and opera
Museums
In the Hofburg, the Sisi Museum allows visitors to see the emperor's apartments as well as the silver chamber. Directly opposite the Hofburg, is the Kunsthistorisches Museum (along with Vienna's Natural History Museum) that houses multple paintings by the old masters. Architecture
There are buildings all architectural styles in Vienna, from the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche to the Baroque Karlskirche, and classicist buildings all the way to modern architecture. Likewise, art nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna, such as The Secession, Karlsplatz Metropolitan Railway Station, and the church at Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of art nouveau in the world. Other cultureBetween Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz is the Spanish Riding School. It is a famous equestrian school. In terms of folk dancing, the Viennese Kathreintanz is the most important. Education Vienna is also Austria's main center of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums. Universities
Transportation12 Danube bridges connect the city, which is divided by the Danube and the Danube Canal. Public transporationVienna has a large public transportation network.
Vienna has an extensive tram network, which is one of the largest in the world, and also large number of bus routes. As all routes in densely populated areas operated at dense intervals, even during off-peak hours, it usually not necessary to remmber the time when the train or bus goes. Public transportation is thus used quite a lot. The Viennese public transport is connected to services of train and bus lines operating 50 kilometres into the surrounding countryside, which can be used under the same system of tickets. Public transportation mostly closes during night hours, but there is a special bus service, the Nightline, operating on the most important routes. However, those buses go only every thirty minutes. In Vienna there are also two park railways: the Liliputbahn Prater in the Viennese Prater and the Donauparkbahn in Danube Park. RailwaysHistorically, all traffic facilities were oriented towards the main capitals and residential cities of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy consequently, Vienna has several train stations that form the beginning of several train lines:
as well as several through train stations:
Between these, there are still many smaller stations that are particularly important for local passenger traffic. In order to bundle all long-distance traffic it has become necessary to build a tunnel, colloquially known as the Wildschweintunnel ("boar tunnel"), underneath Lainzer Tiergarten linking the West Railway to the South Railway. The new bundled train line will connect to a new train station called Vienna-Central Europe that will be constructed somewhat to the south of today's South Station. This new station will give Vienna a main train station for the first time. Road traffic
Like the train lines, the old freeways (Late Federal Highways) leave the city in a star shapped pattern. They are designated after their final destination (Prager Straße -- to Prague, Linzer Straße -- to Linz, Triester Straße -- to Trieste and Brünner Straße -- to Brno). Air trafficSoutheast of Vienna is Vienna International Airport. In 2003, there were over 197,000 separate flights departing or arriving, and the airport was used by 12.8 million passengers. Naval transportation
Vienna is connected to water by the Rhine-Main-Danube canal via the port in Rotterdam and its nearby German Industrial areas, as well as Eastern European countries up to the Black Sea. The planned Danube-Oder canal remains unfinished. Leisure activitiesNightlife
Viennese coffeehouses
Yet another unique aspect of Viennese culture is represented by the Viennese Coffeehouse, in which is served both a number of coffee-based speciality drinks and light snacks. A number of visitors will take advantage of the opportunity during their visit to read through the typically rich selection of newspapers available. In addition to the many modern chrome-brightened 'Espressi', a number of 'real' Vienna coffeehouses still exist to maintain the original charm of this institution. Viennese parks and greenspace
Sport
Missing image Wien040531w.jpg View of Vienna Vienna has become a popular host of many different sporting events including the Vienna City Marathon, which attracts more than 10,000 participants every year and normally takes place in May. In 2005 the Ice Hockey World Championships will take place in Austria, with the final being played in Vienna. After already being the stage of four Champions League (originally European Champion Clubs' Cup) finals (1964, 1987, 1990, 1995) the final of Euro 2008, the European Football Championships, will take place in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium. Austria's capital is also the home of numerous sports teams. The best known of them are the local football clubs FK Austria Wien (22 time Austrian national champions) and SK Rapid Wien (30 time Austrian national champions). Other important clubs are the Chrysler Vikings Vienna (American Football), who won the Eurobowl title as Europe's best American Football team in 2004, the Vienna Hot Volleys, one of Europe's premier Volleyball-organisations, and the Vienna Capitals (Ice Hockey). Native Vienese
Culinary specialities
Tourist attractionsAmong the most important places of interest are:
other tourist attractions:
International organisations in Vienna
Twin citiesVienna is twinned with the following cities: In addition, individual Viennese districts are twinned with Japanese cities/districts:
See alsoExternal links
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