Currently the City Hall forms the backdrop of the "Vienna Ice World". There's not only an ice rink in front of the City Hall but also an ice path winding trough the City Hall park. Restaurateurs pamper sportspeople and onlookers with regional delicacies at various outdoor booths. The ice rink is open until March 4 from 10 am to 10 pm.
In Austria we celebrate Christmas this very night: Traditionally we set up the Christmas tree and light it for the first time, gather around the tree, sing Christmas carols, unwrap the presents, have Christmas dinner and maybe go to the Midnight Mass. I will meet some friends for a brunch and will spend the evening with my parents. Have a merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!
Tonight the Life Ball, one of the biggest AIDS charity events in the world, will be held at the City Hall for the 24th times. This flashy, colourful and loud party promotes public awareness of HIV and AIDS and generates donations for AIDS relief projects. The opening show will take place on City Hall Square with numerous performances by international stars. When I passed by the City Hall last Monday, the installation of the stage (set design by Amra Bergmann) was still going on.
This week I take you to Graz, the capital of the federal state of Styria and Austria's second largest city where I spent the weekend before last. Let's start our tour with the city hall: It was designed by the Viennese architects Alexander Wielemans von Monteforte and Theodor Reuter and completed in 1893. In the 20th century the main facade was radically simplified.
This year the huge Christmas tree in front of the city hall is lit in the French national colours in homage to the victims of the tragic events in Paris on November 13...
In Austria we are celebrating Christmas this very night: The tree is set up and lit for the very first time, the Christkind (Christ child) places the presents beneath the tree, bells announce the arrival of the Christkind into the house - when he arrives the family gathers around the tree and sings Christmas carols. The presents will be unwrapped and a lot of families will eat a baked carp for Christmas dinner.
Dear readers, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!! Frohe Weihnachten!!
Last year Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), so this year the music event takes place in Vienna. There are two semi-finals (the first took place on Tuesday, the second will go off tonight) and on Saturday there's the finale. The Eurovision Village in front of the City Hall is currently a hotspot for the ESC fans. It offers live music from Song Contest participants, public screenings, themed evenings, a family program and much more.
The City Skyliner is a temporary attraction (until March 8) in front of the City Hall: A 60 persons accomodating observation capsule goes up to 72m and then rotates pleasantly through 360-degrees. The view must be gorgeous!
The square and the park in front of the City Hall have been transformed into a 7.000 sqm ice rink. As you can see, the ice path through the park has to be used in one direction... For more information about the "Vienna Ice World" please click here.
After the Islamic attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, Vienna's City government had a "Je suis Charlie" poster hung on the frontwall of the city hall as sign of solidarity. I took this photo yesterday at 3 p.m. when the march of unity in Paris started. An hour later there was a solidarity rally in Vienna, attended by 12.000 people.
The Christmas Market in front of the city hall with its 150 sales stands is Vienna's biggest Christmas market. Yesterday I passed by at 4 p.m., and as you can see, it was well attended.
