Vienna, the City of Palaces, Music and Opera
By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
It was early morning when I landed at the Vienna airport. The passport checking formalities were completed promptly and painlessly; however, the public announcements in German, the national language of Austria, were not intelligible to me. Even the name of the city, Wien, was unfamiliar.
It was a warm day in mid-October, and despite my scant knowledge of the language and the city, I decided to be adventurous and take public transportation to my hotel. The women at the airport information counter cheerfully informed me that an airport bus went close to my hotel, but declined to accept my credit card to pay for the fare. Except for large businesses, I discovered, credit cards were not generally accepted in Vienna.
The bus dropped me at its last stop and from there I was on my own. I knew that my hotel was not far, except that I did not know how to find it. Smart phones are far more ubiquitous in Vienna than in the US, especially among the youth, who also tend to have some command of the English language. The older people, although anxious to help, often felt frustrated at their inability to communicate in English. I approached a young man for help who seemed to be handing our posters about some political event. He quickly entered my hotel address in his smart phone, looked at the map and directed me to my hotel.
As I walked through the crowded streets, I noticed smoking was far more prevalent among people in Vienna, an increasingly uncommon sight in US cities where the smoking rate has plummeted in the past several decades. However, in Vienna, like the US, indoor smoking is banned. Also, unlike the US, where more than one-third of the adult population is obese, I did not see many overweight people. One reason might be that food in general is expensive, distances are short and people are used to walking.
My hotel offered easy access to an underground train station located on a pedestrian mall lined with exotic Viennese coffee houses, restaurants and a variety of shops. The underground train system, once I became familiar with it, was the most efficient and economical way to travel to various tourist sites in the city. Strangely, train stations are not staffed and nobody is around to help a traveler. Tickets are dispensed by automatic machines and there are no personnel or mechanism to check them either at the entry or exit points. The system works on honor, and I was surprised to watch people freely going through the barriers.
Vienna has a rich history. It served as the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918) ruled by the Hapsburg dynasty. Much admired, Emperor Francis Joseph (1848-1916) and his wife Empress Elizabeth were the last powerful rulers of the dynasty, which ceased to exist following the defeat of Austria at the end of the First World War in 1918. The city houses many imperial palaces, world-famous museums, and rich art galleries. The summer residence of the Hapsburg emperors, Schonbrunn Palace, is one of the most resplendent and luxurious palaces in Europe, with ceilings and walls bedecked with priceless paintings and coverings reminiscent of the grandeur of the palace of Versailles outside Paris. The palace is a museum now and I found large crowds, with separate guides speaking in many languages, being herded across its various stately chambers a little disconcerting. With cacophony of voices, it was often hard to concentrate.
The other noteworthy palace in the city center is the Hofburg Palace that served as the winter residence of the Hapsburg rulers. The royal apartments and other living areas are largely preserved as they were in the imperial days. Part of the palace area now serves as the residence of the president of Austria, while other parts accommodate various government offices.
Historically, Vienna has been famous for its music and opera houses. The city was the home of Mozart, the celebrated musician who lived here from 1781 until his death in 1791 at age 35. While in Vienna, he created some of his best symphonies , concertos, and operas. Also, Beethoven, the legendary composer, although born in Germany, lived in the city until he died in 1827. The majestic Vienna State Opera House is worth a visit, even when it is not possible to attend a musical performance. I found the guided tour very informative and enjoyable.
Once a year, the opera house stages a ball that is the highpoint of the city’s elite social life and reprises the splendor and magnificence of the Hapsburg Empire in its heyday. In 1814, there was a historic gathering of European monarchs in Vienna, known as the Congress of Vienna, to divide the continent and redraw state boundaries following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was a nine-month long extravaganza of unceasing festivities, with balls and feastings at the Hofburg Palace. However, the Congress led to no lasting peace.
Many international organizations are located in the city. It is the home of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). During my stay, an international conference of gastroenterology was being held there that brought hordes of doctors from many countries to the city. They have installed a public booth near the opera house to showcase progress being made in the treatment and diagnosis.
This year, Europe is commemorating the centenary of the First World War (July 1914-November 1918). Austria played an unfortunate and inadvertent role in this War. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand , was assassinated by Serbian nationalists in June 1914 whilst on a visit to Sarajevo. It triggered the war that engulfed many European countries costing millions of human lives. On November 11, 1918, following the defeat of Germany, the last Hapsburg king, Karl 1, abdicated and was forced into exile.
The Viennese tour guides point out the resilience of the city over centuries. By a sheer coincidence, it escaped destruction in the 13 th century at the hand of the Mongol hordes that had been ravaging Russia, Hungary, Poland and other parts of Austria. It is estimated that half of the Hungarian population perished during these attacks. Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, was on the verge of attacking Vienna in 1242 when luck intervened; news arrived of the death thousands of miles away in Karakorum, Mongolia, of Ögedei Khan , son of Genghis Khan. Batu Khan and other potential contenders to the throne hurried home to stake their claim to be the new supreme Khan. Historians agree that but for the timely demise of the Great Khan, Vienna and Western Europe would have been devastated by the Mongol juggernaut.
Several centuries later, Vienna nearly fell to the armies of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the magnificent who, commanding a large army, besieged the city in 1529. The Ottoman Empire was at its zenith and the fall of Vienna was thought to be inevitable. After nearly a month of punishing siege, the Ottoman armies withdrew, forced by biting cold and rainy weather, exacerbated by severe shortage of food. It is said that the Turkish withdrawal was the watershed event that removed the mortal threat to Christian Europe from the Ottomans.
