Vienna is perfect destination for autumn visit. October and November is period when gold, and bronze colors erupt around the city, and its numerous parks. From Schoenbrunn Palace park to Kahlenberg vineyards, beauty is everywhere around you. I am presenting my favorite places in Vienna for visiting in the most colorful season of the year:
City Hall
Friedrich von Schmidt, who had been the architect of the Cathedral of Cologne, designed and built Vienna’s City Hall, the most important secular building in the neo-Gothic style in the city, between 1872 and 1883. The height of the tower is 97.9 m, plus the so-called “Iron Rathausmann”, who measures 3.4 m (6 m including the standard) and has become a symbol of Vienna.
City Hall was built between 1872 and 1883 and is a building of superlatives: Around 30 million bricks and more than 40,000 cubic meters of natural stone were used. The Arkadenhof of City Hall is one of the biggest inner courtyards in Europe with an area of 2,804 m². The Festival Hall is 71 meters long, 20 meters wide and 18.5 meters high. If the fire authorities were to allow it, 1,500 couples could dance the waltz here at the same time.
Schoenbrunn Palace and park
The former summer residence of the Habsburgs impresses with imperial ceremonial rooms and magnificent gardens. Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Elisabeth and others once resided here.Schönbrunn Palace is one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque complexes and has been in the possession of the Habsburgs since 1569. The wife of Emperor Ferdinand II, Eleonore von Gonzaga, had a pleasure palace built on the site in 1642 and called the property “Schönbrunn” for the first time. The palace and garden complex created from 1696 onwards following the siege of Vienna was complete redesigned under Maria Theresa after 1743. Today, due to its historical significance, its unique layout and magnificent furnishings, the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Schönbrunn Palace park is open to visitors free of charge all year round and is home to impressive fountains, statues, monuments, trees and flowers as well as the magnificent Gloriette. The Imperial Carriage Museum, Crown Prince Garden, Orangery Garden, Maze & Labyrinth, Zoo, Palm House and Desert Experience House are also part of the palace park and can be visited for an admission fee.
Kahlenberg
The Kahlenberg is located in the Vienna Woods and is one of the most popular excursion destinations for the city’s residents. This is mainly because of the stunning view afforded by the Kahlenberg: on clear days, one can not only see the entire city from above, but even the Schneeberg, where Vienna’s mountain spring water comes from.
St. Charles Church
A magnificent religious building with a large cupola: St. Charles’ Church, the last work of the eminent baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.The church, finished in 1739 by his son Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, was built as the result of a vow taken by Emperor Charles VI during a plague epidemic. The church is consecrated to the patron saint of the Habsburg emperor, Saint Charles Borromeo: The exhibits in the small Museo Borromeo include the traveling clothes of the Bishop of Milan.
The renovation of the High Altar, designed by Fischer von Erlach, has been completed and it has regained its original splendor. The opulent frescoes in the cupola by Johannes Michael Rottmayr contain 1250 square meters of incredible splendor and beautiful colors; they show the glory of Saint Charles Borromeo. A panoramic elevator carries visitors to a platform at a height of 32.5 meters, where they can look at the frescoes from close up. The view into the nave from above is breathtaking.
Belvedere Palace park
Prince Eugene of Savoy had this Baroque garden, which is presently one of the most important of its kind in Europe (open all year, free admission), laid out around the year 1700. In the nearby Botanical Garden – established by Maria Theresa in 1754 – you’ll find indigenous and exotic plants. 11,000 plant species from six continents are cultivated and presented here on ten hectares for scientific research, species protection and recreational purposes.
The garden is also an inner-city habitat for indigenous species (e.g. 130 types of bee) and a green oasis in the heart of Vienna, with its stock of old trees as well as meadows. Admission to the Botanical Garden is free! Guided tours are also offered on weekends from March to October
Danube Tower
252 meters high, two fast lifts, 35 seconds up: the observation terrace of the Danube Tower at a height of 155 meters offers the best view over Vienna. The 360° panorama view of the city is breathtaking. Freshly renovated, the Danube Tower presents itself in a new splendor. Or rather, in its old glory. The restaurant and café at the top of the tower revolve around its own axis at a height of 170 meters. The interiors have been restored to the style of the 1960s but of course the technology has been brought completely up to date. The Danube Tower was built on the occasion of the Vienna Garden Show in 1964.
On the indoor and outdoor viewing platforms at 155 meters above sea level, interactive panoramic screens provide information on the surrounding sights in eight languages. In the newly adapted entrance area, more than 60 multimedia touch screens make the history of the tower and the city of Vienna tangible. But the absolute highlight is the panoramic view. From nowhere in the city can you get a better view of Vienna and the Danube.
The Church of St. Leopold
The Church of St. Leopold, also known as the Kirche am Steinhof, is an architectural masterpiece designed by Otter Wagner and built between 1904 and 1907; it is first church of the Modernism period in Europe. Wagner also designed most of the interior fittings, from the luminaires to the pews and the altars. Many of Otto Wagner’s artist colleagues collaborated on the project, including Kolo Moser (glass mosaics for the windows) and Othmar Schimkowitz (column angels on the main portal and angel at the high altar). The copper-plated dome can be seen from afar because the church towers over the entire complex of the former City of Vienna Psychiatric Hospital in the city’s hilly western suburbs. St. Leopold’s was constructed as an institutional church.
The Hundertwasser House
The Hundertwasser House in Vienna is one of Austria’s architectural highlights. The house designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser draws visitors from around the world. The Hundertwasser House in Vienna bears the unmistakable hand of the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whose birth name was Friedrich Stowasser. The colorfully decorated exterior façade of Hundertwasser House in Vienna draws attention to itself almost magically. Anyone who lives in the Hundertwasser House also has the right to decorate the façade around the windows entirely to their own taste. More than 200 trees and shrubs on the balconies and roof terraces make the Hundertwasserhaus a green oasis in the heart of the city. The Hundertwasserhaus can only be viewed from outside.
