Vienna's tourist treasures - secret places not everyone knows about
Vienna's tourist treasures - secret places not everyone knows about
Oh, Vienna! Stay at Stephansplatz, enjoy the view of St Stephen's Cathedral, then turn off at Domgasse to visit the home of great Mozart. Walk to the Wehrhahn Market and admire the magic of the 'dancing' Anker Clock. Take a stroll to the Imperial Hofburg and Vienna Opera House. Stop at the Café Sacher. Then turn off at the New Market and walk to Stephansplatz again to compare modern and classical architecture at the Haas Haus - the starting point of nearly every well-known guide to one of Austria's top cities. Now - forget everything you knew about tourist destinations. We will discover a completely different Vienna.
The Butterfly House
The Hofburg palace complex is a sight to see for every visitor who comes to Vienna. But the House of Butterflies, which is located in the Burggarten Palace Park, is for some reason not widely known.
Meanwhile, this place is amazing and truly unique. It has dozens of species of exotic butterflies from Costa Rica, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries. All conditions have been created for tropical beauties: the temperature in the pavilion never drops below 26 degrees, and the humidity is 80%. Besides, to make the insects feel like home, plants familiar to their habitat are grown there. Butterflies flutter gracefully between hibiscus and lantana flowers.
Not only can you enjoy the beauty of this tropical oasis, but also watch butterflies "drink" nectar and experience the miracle of a new butterfly being born from its chrysalis.
The Coffee Museum
If you ask me, what does Vienna smell like? The answer is definitely coffee! This drink plays a special role in the history and culture of the city. The first coffee houses appeared in Vienna in the 17th century, after the Turkish siege, and are still more than just coffee houses today. They are places of refined relaxation. Be sure to drop into one of Vienna's coffeehouses for a taste of the atmosphere, and go to the Coffee Museum to learn about the history of the drink.
The Coffee Museum was opened in Vienna in 2003. It is a merit of private collector and great coffee aficionado Edmund Mayr. It was Edmund Mayr who put together most of the collection, which is now housed in four exhibition spaces. In the first one you can discover the history of Viennese coffee, in the second you can look at old coffee utensils and get to know some famous coffee drinkers. Among the exhibits, for example, is Vladimir Lenin's coffee mug. The leader of the world proletariat enjoyed it while staying in Finland. In the next rooms, you'll find all kinds of coffee-making devices, from coffee machines to coffee grinders. In addition, the Museum holds various coffee seminars. For example, you can take a barista workshop.
The Treasure House of the Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order of Spiritual Knights was founded in the twelfth century, and rather quickly developed into an influential political organization. Although it was more like a state, the Order had its own head - the Grand Master, the Prime Minister (Landmaster), the Commander-in-Chief (Marshal of the Order), the Minister of Health (Supreme Hospitaller), the Minister of Finance (Chief Treasurer). During the Crusades in Palestine, a chapel was founded in Jerusalem in the name of the Holy Mary. And the same name is given to the Austrian residence of the modern Teutonic Knights, based in Vienna.
The brothers and sisters are still united by the motto "Helfen - Wehren - Heilen" (Help - Protect - Heal), but, unlike in the Middle Ages, they no longer show military expansionism and are engaged in purely spiritual activities.
What is more, they now organise guided tours for those who wish to learn more about the history of the Teutonic Order. In the monastery, between the church of St. Stephen and the Treasury, there is the Teutonic Treasury of Vienna. The museum is not very large, but one can still see the weapons of the crusaders, the trophies of war from Malaysia and Persia. But the most curious object in the Treasury is a "tree" made from the teeth of a shark. The Teutonians used it to determine whether food was poisoned or not.
Street Art Gallery
Vienna is a world treasure of paintings. The Belvedere Gallery, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Albertina and the Leopold Museum are home to thousands of masterpieces by great artists. It would seem that in this 'temple of classical painting', there is no place for avant-garde urban graphics.
Interestingly enough, street art is alive and flourishing even in the traditionally "formal" Vienna. In 2006, Viennese street artists joined together to communicate and share their experiences and created the Inoperable Gallery. Together they have created a street art project which seamlessly blends in with the cultural and historical landscape of the city. Since then they have regularly exhibited with well-known street artists including the renowned Australian artist Shida who now lives in Vienna, the legendary Tara McPherson and others. Moreover, Inoperable frequently organises street art festivals and performances.
Linzer Tiergarten
On the outskirts of Vienna, in the district of Hitzing, there is a unique place - the Leinzer Tiergarten Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 2,450 hectares, most of which is covered by the fabulous Vienna Woods. Majestic oaks and beech trees have been standing there for around 400 years. It's hard to describe just how cool the air is!
The forest is home to around 100 bird species, including some very rare ones, and dozens of reptile species (salamanders, alpine newts). The more "serious" representatives of fauna are bison, wild boars, deer, mouflons and other animals. However, it is strictly forbidden to feed and come close to them: Linzer Tiergarten is not a zoo and the animals are not tame. There are several hiking trails for nature lovers to explore this untouched wilderness. There are also several recreational areas: a children's corner, a picnic area and an observation tower.
Of particular interest is the Villa Hermes, located in the nature conservation area. This beautiful palace was built in 1886 by the Emperor Franz Joseph I. He was passionately in love with his wife, Empress Elisabeth, and she loved travelling. The monarch therefore decided to build a palace from which his wife would never want to leave. The surprise was a success. The villa turned out really stunning: luxurious interior decoration, a garden with a gazebo and antique statues, a fountain and stables for the empress's horses. Most remarkably, it was one of the first buildings in Vienna to have electricity and telephone service. Sisi visited Villa Hermes quite often until the anarchist Luigi Luccheni killed her with a knife into her heart in 1898.
Strudlhofstieghe Staircase
The Strudlhofstiege is one of the jewels of Vienna's art nouveau architecture. It is located in Vienna's 9th district and connects Liechtensteinstraße with Strudlhofgasse. The staircase is made of Mannersdorf limestone, decorated with a wrought iron handrail, small white bollards, elegant lanterns and wild vines. The architectural ensemble is crowned by a terrace with a fountain in the form of a fish head.
The staircase was designed by Johann Theodor Jaeger and named after the sculptor and painter Pieter Strudel, who established his manor nearby in 1690. However, another name more often comes to mind when referring to it. The Austrian writer Chaimito von Döderer was a man with an uneasy fate. During the First World War he volunteered for the front and was taken prisoner in Russia. He was sent to a Russian camp, where he discovered his vocation as a writer. In 1920 he returned to Vienna, and in 1930 he published The Secret of the Empire, a novel about the Russian Civil War. In 1933, von Doderer joined the National Socialist party, and 10 years later returned to Russia. In 1951 he published another book, Die Strudlhofstiege (The Strudlhof Steps), which takes place right on Peter Strudel's Staircase.
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