Michael Schafler

Viennese Architecture Prior to 1848

The architecture of Vienna is based mostly on a centralized, partially radial organization. The reason for this is that the city expanded past its walls time and again throughout its history. What is so unique about Vienna, pertaining to its physical layout, is the Ringstrasse. The Ringstrasse is a circular road which encloses the inner city. It is lined with shops of all kinds, as well as great monuments, parks, and important buildings. This circular organization is a far cry from the more linear organization of the main boulevards in cities like London and Paris. The Ringstrasse also serves (again unlike London or Paris) as a type of division line between city and suburbs. The area inside the ring is the home to the most important buildings in Vienna, and as one passes by it into the inner suburbs, the grandeur and importance of the constructions decreases. Building on the radial theme of the city, the inner suburbs are surrounded by another circular road, the Gò rtel, past which are the primarily residential outer suburbs. This radial organization also adds to the uniqueness of Vienna's cultural distribution. The rich and important people in Vienna would live in the city center, not in the suburbs or country as the aristocracy in others cities would. The buildings in Vienna consist of a large number of Baroque masterpieces, like the church of Saint Peter, designed by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. Gothic buildings also dominate the landscape, examples of which include the famous Saint Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom). The imperial palace, the Hofburg, is located on the Ringstrasse and includes many different styles of architecture, as well as parks, courtyards, and state apartments.