10 Things You Did Not Know about Vienna

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Statue of Mozart in Vienna. Image courtesy of Wien Tourismus on Flickr.

Vienna’s cultured capital is full of great museums and galleries by day and classical concerts by night. Once you’ve filled your itinerary with major sights, here are 10 things you did not know about Vienna.

People in Vienna speak German

Vienna is in Austria, not Germany. So why do Austrians speak German? In the 13th century, Austria became part of the German-speaking Habsburg Empire and remained under their rule for 640 years. As part of the empire, the Austrians had to speak German. German did not develop naturally but was standardized from a series of dialects spoken in central Europe. In the 16th century it was the language of Martin Luther’s bible and the leading language of Europe. The difference between Austrian German and the mother tongue is similar to the disparity between American and British English today.

Always stand to the right on public transport

Always stand on the right when riding the escalators on Vienna’s subways (U-bahn). You’ll see signs everywhere requesting you to ‘Bitte rechts stehen’ – Please stand to the right; make sure you do to allow busy commuters to rush past on the left. You might be on vacation but the Viennese still have to work so be prepared for snorts of indignation and a sharp request to move if you flaunt this rule.

The Naschmarkt is Vienna’s food basket

Spreading for a quarter mile (0.5 km) along Linke Wienzeile between Kettenbrückengasse and Karlsplatz, the Naschmarkt is Vienna’s most exotic and eclectic market. Selling everything from organic meats to olive oils, the market opens Monday through Saturday from 6am-6.30pm. Head for the western end near Kettengasse for top-quality fruit, veg, bespoke breads, kebab, falafel, andwürstel (hot dog) stands, cheeses, Turkish and Indian delicacies, Austrian wines and buckets of flowers. Towards the opposite end, the market starts to resemble a Middle Eastern bazaar where haggling is de rigueur, selling striking Indian fabrics, fake watches and trashy trinkets.

The HundertwasserHaus – Vienna’s answer to Gaudí. Image courtesy of Allesok on Flickr.

Mozart also lived in Vienna

Vienna may be the hometown of Johann Strauss but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart also came a-visiting. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, the great Baroque composer moved to Vienna in 1784 and spent three happy years in a first-floor apartment at Domgasse 5. This was opened to the public in 2006 as the Mozarthaus Vienna, a museum documenting his life and work in Vienna. The Marriage of Figarowas composed during this time and the score is exhibited alongside other original sheet music, letters and musical instruments. Although his body remains lost in a mass grave elsewhere in Vienna, a memorial to him exists in the Zentralfriedhof cemetery alongside the tombs of other mighty composers Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss.

Barcelona comes to Vienna

The HundertwasserHaus in Vienna’s Third District is one man’s wacky vision of an eco-friendly future where nature and man live in harmony. It’s a mass of cheerily colored apartments piled on top of each other, all undulating lines, curving walls, and fantastical window shapes with Moorish and Spanish elements. Eerily reminiscent of Gaudí’s work in Barcelona, the complex was designed by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1985 and enlivens a dull corner of Viennese suburbia. Topped with roof gardens, the complex is ornamented with two onion domes and a decorative courtyard adorned with a tinkling fountain. Nowadays the secret is out and tourists come in droves to see the complex, which led rather cynically to the building of a shopping mall right opposite that’s reminiscent of an Andalucían hill village.

A night at the opera does not have to be expensive

How about watching a world-class opera for €3? If you are willing to book at the last minute and stand at the back of the auditorium, you get a superb night’s entertainment and get to discover the glories of the State Opera House. Around 600 standing-room tickets are available only on the day and go on sale about 90 minutes before the performance from a side door off Operngasse and not from the main entrance to the ticket office. Get there ahead of time to be sure of grabbing tickets. Usually the line starts early and while formal dress is not required for these tickets, shorts and trainers are definitely no go in dressy Vienna.

Horse at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Image courtesy of J.Harwood on Flickr.

It’s not wise to talk politics

The Viennese don’t appreciate jokes about the Nazi past of Germany and Austria; WWII may have been over for almost 60 years but the scars of Nazism still lie close to the surface of the Austrian psyche. It’s better not to bring the subject up at all unless you are relatively close to the people you are talking to. It’s just not polite. Likewise conversations about state of the Euro and immigration are best avoided.

It’s cheaper to visit the Spanish Riding School in the morning

The famous gray Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School are schooled every morning in the same grand Baroque manège where the balletic evening dressage shows take place. Tickets for these regular two-hour workouts running from 10am-12pm are roughly half the price of the evening performances and it’s fascinating to see the horses under training.

Vineyard in Vienna. Image courtesy of simononly on Flickr.

The MuseumsQuartier was once the Imperial Stables

In what was once the Imperial stables of the Habsburg empire now stands three contrasting museums; the futuristic white cube of the Leopold Museum, the squat black and boxy MUMOK and the rather more traditional Kunsthalle Wien, which has been built around the former façade of the winter riding school. All three are worth a visit, but if you’re short on time, head to the Leopold for its fabled collection of Viennese Secessionist artwork, including masterpieces by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.

Vienna is the world’s largest wine-growing city

Amazingly there are three sq miles (seven sq km) of vineyards within Vienna’s city boundaries, mostly on the northern side of town, with the highest-quality vines lying across the Danube. These locally produced wines can all be sampled at any Viennese heuriger, one of scores of rustic inns – often little more than a shack with a couple of tables and chairs – dotted among the vineyards and all with glorious rural views. The best heurigen include Wieninger (Stammersdorfer Strasse 31), from Austria’s foremost winery producing rieslings and cabernets, and with a menu to match; and Weinbau Sirbu (Kahlenberger Strasse 210) for its remote location, lack of tourist buses and fine views over the rolling vineyards.