The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, second municipal district of Vienna. It is located close to the city center and covers an area of 6 square kilometers. The Wiener Prater consists of two main parts: The “Wurstelprater amusement park” - simply called “Prater” - stands in one corner of the area, and the rest is “Green Prater” which offers a wide variety of recreational activities in its vast lawns, woods, and water areas.
In the late 16th century, PRATER was an imperial hunting ground and inaccessible to ordinary people. In 1766 the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, donated the area to the Viennese as a public leisure center and also allowed the establishment of restaurants and cafés. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and coffee-houses opened up on the edge of the former aristocratic hunting grounds. Seesaws and merry-go-rounds as well as bowling alleys and many other entertaining facilities were added gradually and the Wurstelprater was finally appeared. Throughout this time, hunting continued to take place in the Prater until 1920.
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| Complete map of Prater (Click to enlarge) |
The Wiener Prater has turned into a place to relax and have fun. Music was heard everywhere, from simple barrel organs and Heurigen singers to the great orchestras, performed by the Waltz King Johann Strauss. The lively activities in prater were inspiring for Many Austrians poets and writers, such as Adalbert Stifter and Peter Altenberg.
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| Rotunde |
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In 1873, a large World Exhibition (Weltausstellung 1873 Wien) was held in the Prater and gave a great boost to it. Around 53,000 exhibitors presented their achievements focusing on cultural issues in an area of about 2.3 million square meters. Many buildings were erected for this exposition, including the Rotunde; a large circular steel construction designed by Austrian architect Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer. The Rotunda was destroyed by fire on 17 September 1937. Its former location is now occupied by a portal of the Vienna International Fair (German: Messe Wien).
In 1938, the Prater became the property of the City of Vienna. During World War II, bombs and the construction of trenches destroyed large parts of the Prater area. A large part of the Wurstelprater caughtfire in April 1945. After that, the Wurstelprater was rebuilt with the help of private initiatives, and the devastated Prater grounds afforested by the Vienna public park authorities.
Wurstelprater
The Wurstelprater amusement park stands in one corner of the Wiener Prater. Its name refers to the "Wursteltheater", which was a puppet theater established in simple wooden booths around 1890. Today with about 250 attractions, it is a famous tourist place, and the Wiener Riesenrad in the Wurstelprater is now one of the symbols of Vienna.
The tallest structure of the park is the world's largest 117-meter high Chair-O-Plane, spins its visitors through the air at 38 mph (miles / hour) and offers a fabulous view over the city. This varied entertainment program is complemented by more than sixty cafés and restaurants, and ice cream and snack stands as well as several souvenir shops.
Wiener Riesenrad
The Giant Ferris Wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park is one of the most popular tourist attractions since its construction. The Riesenrad was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. It was erected in 1896 by English engineers Walter B. Basset and Harry Hitchins and officially opened to the public on 3 July 1897, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee (50th anniversary of the reign) of Emperor Franz Josef I. A ride on the Ferris wheel cost 8 Gulden, which was relatively expensive, therefore only few people could afford it. At that time a civil servant for example was earning only 30 Gulden a month.
Although a permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, the Ferris wheel survived from destruction due to lack of funds and turned to one of Vienna's landmarks until today. In 1944 during the Second World War, it was destroyed by fire and bombs almost completely. Reconstruction of the Riesenrad started one year later, the same time as the reconstruction of St. Stephan's Cathedral, the State Opera House, and the Burgtheater. Ultimately in 1947, it returned to service but due to stability related issues only 15 of 30 gondolas were installed.
Following the demolition of the 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Wiener Riesenrad with a height of 64.75 meters (212 ft) became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel and remained so for the next 65 years, until the 85-metre (279 ft) Technocosmos was constructed in 1985 at Tsukuba, Japan. Since 2002 "Panorama Museum" was added at the Riesenrad , an exhibition hall with eight replicas of the wagons , in which the historyof the Prater is presented.
During the advent season, a small Christmas Market can be found on Riesenradplatz, right beside the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel at the Wurstelprater entrance. This Wintermarkt is open from mid-November till beginning of January and features traditional Christmas gifts as well as seasonal food and beverages. The park is open from March 15. to October 31. Some attractions, as well as the food stands and restaurants, are open throughout the year. There is no entrance fee to get into the park; instead, each attraction charges its own fee, the attractions being individual businesses mostly owned by local families.
Madame Tussauds Wien
Madame Tussauds in Prater is the 11th branch of the famous wax museum in London and was opened in 2011. The first wax museum was founded by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud (1761 Strasbourg - 1850 London) in 1835 which is now one of the major tourist attractions in London.
Since 1971, the Museum has expanded in many other cities in the world. Wax figures at Tussauds Wien in Prater include many Austrian as well as international historical figures, film stars, Politicians, singers and composers.
Prater Dome
Prater Dome is the biggest discotheque in Austria. With four dance floors and twelve theme bars, it offers a party atmosphere at the Riesenradplatz in Vienna's Prater. The music also fulfills every wish: from house, technotrance, R’n’B, and soul to the 70’s, 90’s, salsa and latino. A special highlight is the sensational midnight opening: Accompanied by a spectacular laser show, the moveable walls turn the two main dance floors into a huge unique dancing palace. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, as well as on nights before public holidays, the doors of the Prater Dome is open to all dance fans over 18.
Green Prater
Right next to the amusement park area, one finds the spacious forest and meadow area, shady trees, and quiet paths. The "Green Prater" is a paradise for walkers, runners, bicyclists and horseback riders, and is highly appreciated as a large leisure area within the city limits.
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The Hauptallee (Main Avenue) is the “main artery" of the green Prater , a broad and straight boulevard with 4.5 kilometer-long between Praterstern and Lusthaus, a restaurant that was once an imperial hunting pavilion, and is lined with 2500 horse chestnut trees. Many sports enthusiasts and professional runners know the Hauptallee, which is marked by distance signs and running checkpoints, from the annual Vienna Marathon.
To get a better overview of green prater in a leisurely way, one can take the Liliputbahn, a miniature railway which leaves near the Riesenrad and takes the visitors on a 3.9 kilometers route around Prater. The Wiener Prater also houses a planetarium, Ernst-Happel-Stadion (Austria's national stadium), Golf club Wien, Vienna Harness Racing Club which was completed in 1878 as well as many other sport related clubs and entertaining activities.
Republic of Kugelmugel
Republic of Kugelmugel is the name of a micro-nation in Wiener Prater, proclaimed in 1976 by the artist Edwin Lipburger. Erected in 1971, Kugelmugel is a ball-shaped house with a diameter of7.68m and is made of 128 prefabricated wooden parts and covered by galvanized steel.
The artist placed his house initially in Katzelsdorf in the district of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria without any required building permits. According to his view, the ball house was only a temporary model for a larger building of concrete. However his justifications seemed not to be sufficient to the authorities and they promptly sought the demolition of the house as an illegal building project. In order to escape the laws, Lipburger had declared Kugelmugel an independent republic in 1976.
Disputes between Lipburger and Austrian authorities and his refusal to halt his construction program eventually resulted in court action being brought against him. Lipburger was convicted and sentenced to 10 weeks in prison. However, public opinion soon prompted the president of Austria to intervene; Lipburger was pardoned and freed, and the planned demolition of the Kugelmugel was halted.
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| Photo by Peter Gugerell / Wikipedia |
In 1982 the house was moved to Vienna by the authorities. Kugelmugel nowadays is located near the Zeiss Planetarium in Prater with a very unique address: "2,Antifaschismusplatz" (Number 2, Anti-Fascism Square). Despite being enclosed by a barbed-wire, Kugelmugel has since become a tourist attraction in Vienna due to its unique history and architecture. The founder is now the head of the state with more than six hundreds of non-resident citizens around the world owning Republik Kugelmugel`s documents.
