On 20 December 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered the city wall and the fortifications of the inner city as well as the moats to be abandoned and a boulevard to be built in their place.
Vienna's Ringstrasse was opened in 1865. As a central urban planning area of the 19th century, it combines architecture, representation and traffic. Numerous monumental buildings and public facilities are located along the street, reflecting the urban character as well as the political and cultural significance of Vienna during the Gründerzeit.
Ruprechtskirche
Ruprechtskirche is the oldest surviving church in Vienna. It was founded in the early 9th century. The first documentary mention dates back to the year 1200.
The Ruprechtskirche acquired its present appearance in the early 12th century. The lower tower storeys, the nave and the current nave date from this time. The apse was built in the 13th century and the side aisle was added in the 14th century.
Palais Coburg
The Palais Coburg is a late classicist city palace completed in 1845 and was built on the Braunbastei, which was part of Vienna's bastions built in the 16th and 17th centuries and demolished in the 19th century.
In the foreground a small remnant of the city wall.
Stadtpark
The Stadtpark (city park), the Vienna River on the left, the Ringstrasse on the right and the Renaissance-style Kursalon Hübner in the background.
There are several monuments to Austrian composers in the Stadtpark. The one to Johann Strauss is the best known and most photographed.
Oper
The Vienna State Opera was founded in 1708 next to the Kärtnertor. Today it is one of the largest opera houses in the German-speaking world and one of the most important in the world. The neo-Renaissance building was built between 1861 and 1869 by Franz Joseph I by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll as the Imperial and Royal Court Opera Theatre.
Museum of Art History and Natural History
The monument to Empress Maria Theresa stands between the two museums
The Kunsthistorisches Museum and its identical counterpart opposite, the Naturhistorisches Museum, were commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I and built by the architects Gottfried Semper and Carl von Hasenauer as part of the unfinished Imperial Forum (shell 1871-1889, opening 1891).
The picture shows the Klimt frieze in the staircase of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Volksgarten
The Volksgarten was laid out in 1821-1823. A gate leads from Heldenplatz to a semi-circular forecourt with a fountain in the centre. Pietro Nobile built the Theseus Temple in the centre of the garden in 1820-1823. This building, specially designed for the Theseus group by Antonio Canova, had the character of a monument to victory over Napoleon I.
Sisi monument in the Volksgarten, in the background the Burgtheater.
Burgtor and Heldenplatz
The gate, inspired by triumphal arches, was built to commemorate the victorious Battle of Leipzig (1813). Construction was begun in 1821 by Luigi Cagnola (foundation stone laid on 22 September 1821 in the presence of Emperor Franz I) and completed in 1824 by Pietro Nobile. It was opened on 18 October 1824, the anniversary of the battle.
Heldenplatz (Heroes' Square) is part of the Hofburg. The name is derived from the two equestrian monuments, both by Anton Dominik Fernkorn. The monument to Archduke Karl is remarkable because the horse is depicted leaping up and only the two hind legs are touching the plinth.
Parliament
The parliament building and the Pallas Athene fountain in front of it were designed by architect Theophil von Hansens in the style of a Greek temple.
Town hall
Vienna City Hall, built in 1872-1883 in historicist style according to plans and under the direction of the Imperial-Royal Chief Architect Friedrich Schmidt.
University
The building was designed by Heinrich von Ferstel in the neo-Renaissance style, modelled on Baroque monasteries, and is considered one of the major works of austere historicism. A ramp leads to the main entrance, which continues through an assembly hall to a central courtyard. The university was opened in 1884 by Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Mölker Bastei
There is actually nothing left of the former Mölker Bastei. The end of the Mölker Bastei came in 1861, when most of the Mölker Bastei, including houses no. 2 to 6, which had been located on the curtain wall between the Mölker Bastei and Elendbastei, fell in its place as part of the demolition of Vienna's city walls and the creation of Vienna's Ringstraße. The Lubomirski Palace, which is of great artistic and historical value, was also destroyed. The remainder was demolished in 1870-1871 and the current street of the same name was laid out. The actual Mölker bastion no longer exists today. What we can see are the remaining houses in an elevated position, such as the Pasqualatihaus.
Votiv church
The Votive Church in the 9th district on Rooseveltplatz was built in 1856 to honour a failed assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph I according to plans by Heinrich Ferstel.
Stock exchange
The stock exchange building was constructed between 1874 and 1877 by Theophil Hansen and Carl Tietz in classicist Renaissance style.
More about the Ringstrasse: im Geschichtewiki Wien
