Blue Danube: Tourist attractions in Vienna : Wiener Stadtpark

Vienna City Park is located on the east side of the Ringstrasse, between the Parkring street in the first district of Vienna and the Heumarkt street in the third district and covers an area of over 6 hectares (approximately 65,000 m²). The park is divided in two sections by the Wienfluss (Vienna River).

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When the medieval walls encircling Vienna were finally demolished in the 19th century, large open spaces near the city center became available for development. It marked the start of a building boom around the newly created Ringstrasse, but some areas were set aside for the creation of city parks. The mayor at that time, promoted the project of creating a public park on those areas. Wiener Stadtpark was designed in the style of English gardens by the landscape painter Josef Selleny, while the plans were made by the city gardener Rudolf Siebeck .

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The park on the left bank of the Vienna River was opened in 1862 . In 1863 the so-called children's park was added on the right bank of the Vienna River, which is today still used mainly as a playground and for sports. The final layout was completed in 1872, by completion of the Kursalon building and surrounding areas.

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The two part of the Stadtpark on the two sides of the Vienna River, are connected with the Caroline Bridge (German: Karolinenbrücke), which was built in 1857 (since 1918 it is known as Stadtparkbrücke or City Park Bridge). Stadtparkbrüke also provides a link from the center of Vienna to the third district.

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After the regulation of the Vienna River, the whole river area was rebuilt by Friedrich Ohmann and Josef Hackhofer between 1903 and 1907, with a gate out of which the river flows, and stairs to its shores and series of elegant pavilions in Jugendstil style.

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Stadtpark is the park with the largest number of monuments and sculptures in Vienna. Throughout the park several statues and monuments of various artists, in particular musicians such as Franz Schubert, Anton Brückner, Franz Lehár, Robert Stolz and Hans Makart can be seen.

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One of the most popular and most frequently photographed monuments in the park is the gilded bronze monument of the Waltz King, Johann Strauß II (1825-1899). It was unveiled to the public in 1921 and is framed by a marble relief made by the Austrian sculptor Edmund Hellmer.

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The largest structure in the Stadtpark is the Kursalon, built in 1867 according to plans of Johann Garben in the historicist style of the Italian renaissance. It was originally intended solely as a spa pavilion in which mineral water with healing properties was served, but the building was soon used as a concert venue. Johann Strauss II gave his first concert here on 15 October 1868. Since then, the Kursalon became a popular place for concerts and for dancing, especially during the era of the Strauss brothers. Today, after undergoing some renovation, it is still used for balls, concerts, clubbing and congresses. Strauss and Mozart concerts are held here regularly .

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The Meierei is another construction that was erected as part of the installations surrounding the Vienna River according to plans of Friedrich Ohmann and Josef Hackhofer during the years of 1901 to 1903. After suffering heavy damage during World War II, the building was extended during reconstruction. Today there is a restaurant in the Meierei. There are also several fountains installed in the Stadtpark. The oldest is the Danube Woman (Donauweibchen) fountain, created in 1865 by Hans Gasser. The fountain group entitled 'The Liberation of Spring' was created in 1903 by Josef Heu. A more recent fountain is the Vogeltränkebrunnen, a small fountain with penguins created in 1953 by Mario Petrucci.

Text Source: wikipedia.org and aviewoncities.com

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Tourist attractions in Vienna : Wiener Stadtpark