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AUSTRIA
Top Things To See
(provided by worldtravelguide.net)
No visit to Austria is complete without seeing the
capital city, Vienna, which oozes Baroque elegance. The Ringstrasse
forms the boundary of the elegant First District (the Innerstadt
or Inner City), with its fine architecture, shops and hotels,
much of it pedestrianised. Every major architectural style
from the Baroque onwards can be found, with especial importance
given to the Art Nouveau (Secession) style, which had its
roots here. The Hapsburgs, who ruled the country for six
centuries, resided in the Hofburg where the Kaiser-Appartements
(Imperial Apartments) are - the Crown Jewels are now open
to the public. Schloss Schönbrunn, the sumptuous Imperial
summer palace, can be compared with that at Versailles; its
landscaped park is also home to the world’s oldest
zoo. For further culture, the Akademie der bildenden Künste
(with works by Hieronymous Bosch) is internationally renowned,
and there are of scores of other galleries too. In addition,
there are more than 50 museums open to the public, including
the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and
the Museumsquartier. Immortalised in the film The Third Man,
the Ferris Wheel (Riesenrad) in the Prater amusement park
is also popular. Well worth a visit are St Stephen’s
Cathedral, the art collection at the Belvedere Palace, the
Chapel of the Hofburg, the Parliament, and the Votive church.
There are also memorial sites for Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven,
Schubert, Strauss and Freud.
A recent European Capital of Culture, Graz is also Capital
of the Styria region. From the 15th century, it was a major
bulwark against the Turks and, in the 17th century, adopted
the Baroque before the rest of the Austrian empire. The city
is compact and most important sights are within walking distance
of the market square of the Hauptplatz. The Landesmuseum
Johanneum, a large complex of museums, is one of the world’s
oldest, and includes the Alte Galerie with its superb Gothic
paintings. The Neue Galerie in the Herbenstrein Palace displays
19th- and 20th-century paintings, including some works by
Schiele and Klimt. There are also coffee houses galore. Other
must-sees include the Cathedral; the Mausoleum of Emperor
Ferdinand II (begun in 1614); the pedestrian zone of the
old quarter; the Schlossberg (Castle Hill) with its Uhrtrum
(clock tower); and the Glockenturm (bell tower).
See the famous Lipizzaner stallions perform finely executed
dressage manoeuvres to Viennese classical music in the Hofburg
in Vienna, or at a stud farm in Piber, where they are looked
after, trained and ridden.
View multiple examples of Austria’s mountainous landscape:
the Grossglockner (3798m/12,457ft) in Carinthia is Austria’s
highest mountain; the Karawanken Mountains have a mild climate;
the Hohe Tauern National Park is one of the last large undisturbed
mountain environments in Europe; and the glaciers of the
Silvretta mountain ranges drop dramatically to the shores
of Lake Constance with its lush vegetation, plus those seeking
Austrian eccentricity will find it in the Vorarlbergers,
who speak a dialect close to Swiss German and declared independence
in 1918, requesting a union with Switzerland that was subsequently
refused by the Allied Powers.
Whilst you are at it, take in the awesome panorama of some
of Austria’s crystal-clear lakes: the province Klagenfurt
lies on the western edge of the Wörthersee, the largest
lake in the region; Wolfgangsee; Traunsee; Hallstättersee;
the Mondsee is one of the warmest lakes in the Salzkammergut;
Carinthia’s lakes famously reach temperatures of around
28°C (82°F) and have earned the European Environment
Award for their superb water quality.
Go visit a well-preserved medieval city, like Retz, which
boasts subterranean wine-cellars, well-restored medieval
city walls, windmills and a Dominican church.
Go to the last protected area of European rainforest in the
Donau-Auen National Park, a floodplain area of wilderness
that nurtures a diversity of plants and animals.
For an elegant and spacious baroque city, you cannot do better
than Salzburg, watched by the snow-capped mountains of the
Hohe Tauern to the south. The Altstadt (the old city) features
the fortress, Hohensalzburg, and was also recently granted
World Heritage Status by UNESCO. Interesting sights include
the Peterskirche (St Peter’s Abbey, with cemetery and
catacombs), the Domkirche (intended to rival St Peter’s
in Rome) and the Alter Markt (old market square). Salzburg’s
most famous son – although only after his death – is
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart’s birthplace (Mozart
Geburtshaus) is in the Getreidegasse, also the city’s
main shopping street, while the family residence (Mozart
Wohnhaus) is on the market square. Both are museums, with
the residence offering a particularly detailed insight into
his life and work.
Be overwhelmed at the magical sight of the Eisriesenwelt
in Werfen: ice caves, with wonderful ice sculptures all-year-round.
These caverns are buried deep beneath the mountain wall that
flanks the valley south of Salzburg.
Situated in the heart of the Alpine region, Tirol is the
most mountainous province, with forests, hamlets and alpine
pastures, beautiful valleys and mountain lakes. Traditional
Tirolean architecture is reflected in the villages, churches
and castles. Innsbruck is the Tirolean capital, and twice
home of the Winter Olympics. An 800-year-old university town,
it has numerous fine buildings dating from Austria’s
cultural Renaissance in the 16th to 18th centuries, and a
12th-century castle. When Kaiser Maximilian based the imperial
court here in the 1490s, the city became a European centre
of culture and politics. For spectacular views over the town
and southern Alps, take the funicular to Hungerburg and then
the cable car to Hafelekar at 2334m (5928ft). |
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