Tag Archives: Austria

Schonbrunn – The Habsburgs’ Summer Retreat

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Schonbrunn - The Habsburgs' Summer Retreat

Each summer, the Habsburg royal family would leave the hotchpotch Hofburg behind and escape to their sumptuous palace on the edge of the Vienna Woods; and no trip to Vienna would be complete without visiting Schonbrunn, the city’s answer to Versailles.

Over a 350 year period, the estate was transformed from a relatively simple hunting ground to a magnificent palace with landscaped gardens that would require any self-respecting visitor at least a couple of days of their time to do it real justice. I’ve been here twice and still haven’t seen it all.

As regards this post, I’ve decided to split it into two sections: The first describes some of Schonbrunn’s history and how it evolved, and in the second part I’m going to take you on a tour around the gardens and estate. The main reason for doing it this way is because, not unexpectedly, photography isn’t allowed inside the palace, and so picture taking was restricted to the outdoors. That said, the Schonbrunn Group (who manage the estate on behalf of the Austrian Republic) have provided a few short videos of some of the rooms which I’m able to share with you.

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Originally posted 2022-10-07 17:03:45.

Hundertwasser in Vienna

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Hundertwasser in Vienna

Vienna is renowned for its classical architecture, but there’s more to the city than palaces, theatres and churches – and there’s no better exponent of a completely different type of architecture than Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna in 1928, he changed his name (for reasons best known to himself) to Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser which translated into English means ‘Peace Realm Rainy Day Darkly Multi-Coloured Hundred Water’ – so now you know. From now on though I’m just going to refer to him as Hundertwasser which sounds more appropriate somehow.

Hundertwasser was an artist and keen environmentalist who used the natural forms of nature as a basis for his art. He was inspired by the likes of Antoni Gaudi and Gustav Klimt, and really disliked the use of straight lines.

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Originally posted 2023-05-18 15:48:19.

From St Stephen’s Cathedral to Vienna’s Imperial Palace

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From St Stephen's Cathedral to Vienna's Imperial Palace

This short post gives a brief description about Graben and Kohlmarkt, two streets that connect the Stephansdom (Cathedral) to the Hofburg (Imperial Palace).

Graben is the more interesting of the two, both architecturally and historically. Up until the 12th century it was just a ditch (graben) that marked the city’s western limit, but today this grand pedestrianised street has some lovely buildings of different styles harbouring a selection of fine cafes and upmarket shops.

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Originally posted 2021-12-05 16:45:38.

Stephansplatz and the Stephansdom

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Stephansplatz and the Stephansdom

Vienna is a city of around 1.9 million people, famous for its imperial palaces, museums and coffee houses, and although some of its attractions will require a metro or tram ride to one of the city’s other districts, the Inner Stadt has so many things to keep you occupied, that you may well think there’s no need to venture any further, but even though I think that would be a mistake, this is still the best place to start.

The boundary of the Inner Stadt (or Old Town) is more or less the same as the famous Ringstrasse: This Ring Road was constructed during the 19th century over the top of the city’s medieval fortifications, and in 2001 the whole area inside the Ringstrasse was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites.

At the heart of the Inner Stadt, and therefore the whole city, stands the Stephansdom, so where better to start a tour of this fabulous city than at its most famous landmark?

The Stephansdom (St Stephen’s Cathedral) stands in the centre of Stephansplatz, and due to heavy bombing during WWII, the square has few buildings left of any real merit. Apart from the church of course, there is one building that you can’t fail to miss – the Haas-Haus, a controversial glass and polished stone building completed in 1990. I don’t think people objected to the building as such, more the location. In my opinion (and some of you may disagree) there are examples of where modern architecture sits comfortably alongside the traditional: The glass dome on top of the Reichstag in Berlin and the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris are two that immediately spring to mind, but the Haas-Haus doesn’t fall into that category for me I’m afraid.

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Originally posted 2020-10-29 13:08:18.

Zell am See at Christmastime

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Zell am See at Christmastime

Anyone who follows my posts will know that they’re basically a collection of travel memories for me, and hopefully some inspiration to others, and so as another Christmas approaches, I thought it was about time I wrote about Zell am See, a fabulous place to spend Christmas if ever there was one.

Zell am See is a well-known ski resort in the Kitzbuhel Alps approximately 50 miles south of Salzburg, but let me tell you straight away that I wasn’t here to go on the piste, but to enjoy Christmas in a winter wonderland – and that’s exactly what it was.

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