Façade Detail #28

 A beautiful Art Nouveau façade in the the 3rd district.

Fesch'markt

Last Saturday I was at "Fesch'markt", a fair for young designers, artists and gastronomers. The fair took place at Ottakringer Brauerei, the last large brewery remaining in Vienna. The parts of the brewery that aren't used any more for manufacturing are rented for events like clubbings, fashion shows, concerts etc. I love the atmosphere of such run-down places.

Sunday Flowers #97

"The silence of a flower: a kind of silence which we continually evade,
of which we find only the shadow in dreams." - Lewis Thompson

 

Coburg Palace

Coburg Palace was designed in 1839 by architect Karl Schleps in Neoclassical style, and built from 1840 to 1845 for Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha atop the Braunbastei, a part of the Vienna city defences dating to 1555. It was nicknamed "the Spargelburg" (castle of asparagus) for its central portico with many freestanding columns. The palace was owned by the family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until the 1970s, today it houses a 5* luxury hotel.

Stage Set

Here's another example of art in public space: Donald Judd's sculpture "Stage Set" was created for the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts on the occasion of his exhibition at the museum in 1991. The installation was gifted to the city of Vienna in 1995, and has been located in Stadtpark since 1996.

Prince Rehrücken

Rehrücken ("saddle of venison") is a traditional Austrian dessert, a chocolate almond cake in the shape of a saddle of venison with chocolate icing. In one window of the K. u. K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionary Bakery Demel I discovered this figure of "Prince Rehrücken", created after a drawing of Friedrich Ludwig Berzeviczy-Pallavicini, who designed the window decorations of "Demel" in the 1950s. If you want to know the recipe for this cake, please click here.

Palais Ferstel #9

When I recently was at the Palais Ferstel I sneaked into an open door and discovered this beautiful staircase.

Palais Ferstel #8

The Palais Ferstel in the city center was created by Heinrich von Ferstel in the late 1850s. At the time of its opening, it was considered as Vienna's "most up-to date" building. The palace briefly housed the Vienna Stock Exchange and the Austro-Hungarian National Bank. Nowadays there's a small, but very beautiful shopping arcade.

Keep Smiling

During my yesterday's afternoon walk I discovered another friendly face, this time in the Stadtpark.

Plaques of Remembrance

Today Vienna commemorates the 75th anniversary of the November Pogrom, which in Vienna took place from 6 a.m. to around 4 p.m. The pogrom against Jews throughout the Third Reich was carried out by SA paramilitary forces and non-Jewish civilians. In Vienna 42 synagogues and houses of prayer were destroyed, Jewish apartments and shops were plundered and confiscated and 6.547 Jews were arrested, 4.000 of them were deported to the concentration camp Dachau. The November Pogrom changed the nature of persecution of the Jewish population from economic, political, and social to physical with beatings, incarceration, and murder; the event is often referred to as the beginning of the Holocaust.
Walking the streets in the second district, the former Jewish quarter, but also in other districts, you can see plaques on buildings or on the pavement which commemorate the Jews who had lived there. Indicated are the names, the dates of birth, the dates of deportation and the dates of their death.

Statue of a Roman Politician

We started the week with a statue, so let's finish it with another one. This statue of the Roman politician and general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator is located in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. He was Roman Consul five times, Dictator twice and finally became a Roman Censor. His agnomen Cunctator means "delayer" in Latin, and refers to his tactics in deploying the troops during the Second Punic War. His cognomen Verrucosus means "warty", a reference to a wart above his upper lip.

More Beautiful Details

Looking down from yesterday's coat of arms, there are more beautiful details to be discovered. Look at the white decorations, the lamp and the wrought-iron door!

Façade Detail #27

I love to find interesting and/or beautiful details on the Viennese façades. During my last walk in the 19th district this coat of arms and the inscription "Voluntas Ferrea" (Iron will) caught my eyes. Unfortunately I couldn't find any information about this mansion on the internet.

Beautiful View

Schönbrunn Palace and a part of Vienna seen from the top of the Gloriette.

"Sparkling" Trees

When I took this photo of the trees at Ringstraße two weeks ago, I just wanted to document the atumnal trees and sun, but my camera added a "sparkling effect". No perfect photo, but I like it.

Staircase Statue

No, this is (unfortunately) no statue of my staircase. It is located in the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, a high-Baroque palace in the city center, constructed from 1695 to 1724. Ulitmately the palace has housed the Federal Ministry of Finance. After extensive renovations the main rooms of Prince Eugene's state apartments recently became accessible to the public as a new exhibition venue of the Belvedere. When I visited the palace on the open day, there where so many people that I could only photograph one of the staircase statues.

Sunday Flowers #96

 

“But he who dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.” - Anne Brontë

Totem Modern

"Totem Modern" is a new permanent installation by the French artist Honet (*1972) on 14 columns along the subway line 2 in the second district. The minimalist figures visually refer to the superheroes of the 1970s and - according to the press release - transform the columns into "cult objects".

November Theme Day: Heights

The 250m tall DC Tower, designed by French architect Dominique Perrault, is the highest building in Vienna (and Austria). After slightly more than three years, the DC Tower is outwardly complete, while works inside the building are still going on. Most of the available floor space will be used for offices. The upper floors will be used for sky lofts, while the first 15 floors will house a four-star hotel. There will also be a restaurant in one of the top floors.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Happy Halloween!

I recently read in the newspaper that every second Austrian under 30 celebrates Halloween. So this festivity has gained ground since my childhood when it was completely ignored... I discovered these two pumpkins last Sunday in front of a house in the 19th district, obviously the home of some youngsters. How about you? Are you celebrating Halloween?

Japanese Autumn

Beautiful autumnal colours in the Setagaya Park, a Japanese garden in the 19th district. For a similar photo in spring please click here.

Entrance of a Courtyard

I don't like crowds (see yesterday's photo), I prefer the city's quiet corners, especially courtyards. Here is the entrance of the courtyard of the Teutonic Order. For photos of the courtyard itself please click here, here, here and here.

Sunny Holiday

Last Saturday was Austrian National Holiday and we were spoiled with sunshine and (for this time of the year) unusual temperatures of around 20°C. Everybody was out and about and a lot of people had a break at the café/restaurant "Palmenhaus" in the Burggarten.

Sunday Flowers #95

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November." - Rose G. Kingsley

The Vienna River

The Wien (Vienna River) has its source in the western Wienerwald and flows into the Danube canal. It is 34 kilometres (21 miles) long, of which 15 km are within the city of Vienna. In this photo you see the river running through the autumnal Stadtpark.

Breaking The Rules: Bratislava #4

The Old Town Hall is a complex of buildings from the 14th century. It is the oldest city hall in Slovakia and one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in Bratislava, with the tower being built approximately in 1370. It houses the city's oldest museum, the Bratislava City Museum.

Breaking The Rules: Bratislava #3

The beautiful Art Nouveau Palace of the Hungarian Exchange Bank in the main square.

Breaking The Rules: Bratislava #2

Kapitulská ulica, constructed in the 13th century, is one of the oldest streets in Bratislava. It is lined with beautiful old and landmarked but also with ruinous palaces.

Breaking The Rules: Bratislava #1

Sunday before last I made an excursion to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, only 1 hour by train away from Vienna. Slovakia's president resides at the Grassalkovich Palace, a Rococo/late Baroque summer palace with a French garden. It was built in 1760 for Count Antal Grassalkovich and soon became a center of Baroque musical life in Bratislava: Joseph Haydn premiered some of his works here.

Friendly Face

I recently discovered this friendly face in the Viertel Zwei area. It makes me smile every time I look at it. I hope you feel the same and have a good start into the new week!

Sunday Flowers #94

"Deep in their roots all flowers keept the light." - Theodore Roethke

Autumnal Leaves

Autumnal Viriginia creeper in a courtyard in the city center. 

Prince Eugene's Summer Residence

Prince Eugene of Savoy, famed military leader and art connoisseur was born 350 years ago (18 October 1663 - 21 April 1736). He had the two Belvedere palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere) built by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as his summer residence. The construction work took place between 1717 and 1723. This photo shows the Upper Belvedere which primarily had a representative function at the time of the Prince and later served as an Imperial painting gallery. Today it houses the permanent collection of the "Österreichische Galerie Belvedere" museum: Austrian art dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Hidden Flower Shop

This beautiful flower shop is hidden in a courtyard in the city center. You have to pass another courtyard to get there. I guess it doesn't have a lot of occasional customers and I'm wondering how long it will survive financially...

New University of Economics #5

Somehow I'm attracted to the new campus of the University of Economics and Business with its interesting and (still) fresh looking buildings. The campus was officially inaugurated on October 4 and now starts to "come to life".

Parallel Vienna

Here's an impression of the "Parallel Vienna", a very contemporary art fair held at the former K&K Telegrafenamt (Imperial and Royal telegraph office).

Beautiful Staircase

Besides the art fair "Viennafair" (mentioned here and here), last weekend another art event was going on: the "Parallel Vienna", a platform for innovative forms of presentation of contemporary art. It took place at the former K&K Telegrafenamt (Imperial and Royal telegraph office), a city palais from the 19th century. The building is very much run down, but the staircse is still beautiful.

Sunday Flowers #93

 “Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.” - William Cullen Bryant

Tony Soprano

This huge (5,5m) sculpture of Tony Soprano by the Lithuanian artist Donatas Jankauskas is located in the center of the stands at the Viennafair.

Wooden Art

The other evening I attended the opening of the art fair "VIENNAFAIR" where more than 100 galleries from Eastern and Southeastern Europe are showing contemporary works of visual art, painting, graphics, sculpture, photography, installations and performances. I love these kind of events, not only for all works of art, but also for the extravagantly dressed art people ;-) The works in this photo are by the Austrian artist Alfred Haberpointner.

Autumnal Tree

An autumnal tree in the modern Viertel Zwei area. Although I don't like autumn I have to admit that at this time of the year the colours of the foliage are great...

New University of Economics #4

A detail of the building on the campus of the new University of Economy and Business that I showed you yesterday: a modern, wavelike bench.

New University of Economics #3

Last Friday the new campus of the University of Economics and Business was officially inaugurated. Each of the six groups of buildings was designed by another architect of international repute. The one in the photo was designed by Sir Peter Cook and CRABstudio, London, and strikes the eyes not only because of the colours but also the horizontally and vertically mounted planks on the façades.

Sad Sunflowers

These sunflowers seem to be sad that summer is over. I'm feeling exactly the same way...

Sunday Flowers #92

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as  from August to November."-  Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden

Looks (And Feels) Like Autumn

I took this photo one week ago when the temperature was still agreeable and I enjoyed a sunny afternoon walk, in the meantime we had to dig out warmer coats (a lot of people are already wearing their padded jackets).

Beautiful Façade

The beautiful neo-baroque façade of a ***hotel in the city center.

Urban Gardening #9

First I thought this is another community garden, but then I did some research and found out that this pop-up garden, located in the courtyard of a former school  in the 4th district, is part of an art festival. "Paraflows" is dedicated to open gardens, cultures and data. The festival was opened some weeks ago with a culinary performance, the produce came only from this garden.

Vienna Design Week

Currently the Vienna Design Week is turning the city into a showroom for design. In cooperation with the Vienna museums, manufacturing enterprises and designers from around the world, the festival offers different options for becoming familiar with the subject of design - exhibitions, installations, parties. At the festival headquarter (located in a former polytechnic) the British designer Oscar Wanless presents - in cooperation with the Austrian company Riess - unconventional forms of enamelware.

October Theme Day: Details

Given the current temperature it seems that autumn has finally found its way to Vienna. The outdoor areas of the restaurants and cafés will soon be closed. On Sunday I passed by the piled up chairs in front of a restaurant and thought they would make a good motif for this month's theme day.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants.