Vienna, Austria - Essay Example

The researcher of this essay aims to provide a brief description of Vienna, that is the capital of Austria and also one of the nine States of Austria. The population of Vienna is 1.6 million today, so that Vienna is the largest city of Austria as well as its cultural, economic and political center. The city lies on both sides of the River Danube, and only 60 kilometers off Austria's Eastern border. Vienna lies in the South East corner of Central Europe and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

The Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) and the foothills of the Eastern Alps begin shortly after the western suburbs of Vienna. The city was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy between 1867 and 1918. Today, Vienna city is composed of 23 districts, which though have their own names, are also numbered. However, the elections in these subdivisions are held on the district level, which gives the representatives the political clout. The researcher states that Vienna is famous for beautiful architecture and breathtaking buildings, history and culture.

Café Society, the place to take a break from sightseeing, was invented in Vienna. One of the attractions of Vienna is State of Opera, that was built in the late 1800s. At once the Inner city was surrounded by defensive walls known as Innere Stadt, today it is within Ringstrasse, that is a broad boulevard, lined with imposing buildings, monuments, and parks, such as Gothic St Stephen's Cathedral, which has 113 m steeple that can be seen from most parts of Vienna. (Austria, 1) In Vienna a number of United Nations offices and various international institutions and companies are located.

Some of these major institutions are: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) (Vienna, 1). Vienna has a long tradition of art and culture in the areas of theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts. Burgtheater together with its branch, the Akademietheater, is considered to be one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world.

The other theatres offering high quality entertainment are: Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt. There are also other many theatres offering excellent quality in performing arts like modern, experimental plays or cabaret. Two theatres, Staatsoper and the Volksoper offer great opportunities to the Opera lovers. At Wiener Musikverein, the well-known theatre, concerts of classical music are performed. The Theater an der Wien has become famous in the recent years for hosting premiers of the musicals.

Even in many Roman Catholic churches in central Vienna a number of religious and other music is organized. Vienna is famous for its glorious architecture. The buildings are made with beautiful designs of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and typical Austrian Biedermeier styles. The Secession, Karlsplatz Metropolitan Railway Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best-known examples of Art Nouveau in the world. The Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sngerknaben), Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte, and various pastries, including the bagel are some of the other special features of Vienna.

Viennese Kathreintanzn is the best-known folk dancing of Vienna. In the Vienna city, also located are a number of educational institutes, universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums. There are a number of museums in Vienna of which the most famous is Hofburg, the former imperial palace that was built during the 13th century (Austria, 1). The treasury of this museum holds the imperial jewels. Kunsthistorisches Museum is located directly opposite to Hofburg; it houses a number paintings made by the old masters.

Then there is Leopold Museum that displays works of the Viennese Secession, Viennese Modernism and