Stadtpark, Vienna

Geschichte

The Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria is a large municipal park that extends from the Ringstraße in the Innere Stadt first district up to the Heumarkt in the Landstraße third district. The park is divided in two sections by the Wienfluss, and has a total surface area of 65,000 square metres . Scattered throughout the park are statues of famous Viennese artists, writers, and composers, including Hans Canon, Emil Jakob Schindler, Johann Strauss II, Franz Schubert, and Anton Bruckner. The opulent Kursalon building on Johannesgasse, with its broad terrace that reaches into the park, is the site of popular waltz concerts.HistoryEven as early as in the Biedermeier period, the glacis before the Karolinenstadttor (Caroline City Gate) was a popular site of entertainment. During the demolition of the city walls and the creation of the Vienna Ringstraße in its place, the mayor at that time, Andreas Zelinka, promoted the project of creating a public park on the territory. The park was designed in the style of English gardens by the landscape painter Josef Selleny, while the plans were made by the city gardener Rudolf Siebeck. On 21 August 1862 the park was opened, becoming the first public park in Vienna.