The Danube’s metropolis of Vienna is located in the centre of the European Union. It was once the imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire and imperial residence of the Emperor of Austria for more than six hundred years.

Vienna’s St. Stephens Cathedral is one of the most cherished buildings in Austria and also one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the world. Around the cathedral the lower external walls are decorated with ornate pulpits and reliefs with figures of saints and Late Gothic passions. With its Giant Gate, the vast Western Front measures sixty metres tall.

The city is located within the all-embracing Ringsstrasse and the Graben with its Plague Column is considered to be a morbid attraction. In the city’s most exclusive shopping street, a Holy Trinity Column recalls the Great Plague. Just steps away is St. Peter’s Church, one of the most outstanding works of Austrian High Baroque.

Today the Imperial Chancery Wing contains the former court silver and table chamber. It provides a good insight into courtly dining culture. The Silver Kämmerer was responsible for the cutlery, crockery and table linen. The imperial apartments are situated upstairs in the Old Castle and the bedroom of Emperor Franz Joseph is somewhat modest with a simple iron bed, washstand and small table.

The overall architectural city plan is dominated by the wide Ringsstrasse, a four kilometre long boulevard that travels around the inner city, a successful combination of historic centre, and suburbs, the Vienna State Opera being its most popular building.

The modern Vienna north of the Danube presents itself with skyscrapers and newly created city districts, a successful addition of the third millennium to the time-honoured buildings and districts of the Imperial City.

Gone now is all the Habsburgian power of an empire, but its pomp and splendour have been preserved. Vienna has become a contemporary international metropolis!