Vienna - a city of waltz and parks

A capital of Austria - beautiful city of Vienna - carefully keeps its traditions and cultural treasures. The city has managed to safe a lot of its ancient appearance and unique ambiance. Vienna is located at the footsteps of the Alps, on the banks of Danube River. It's a city of luxurious palaces, picturesque streets and cozy squares. A mix of the antique and modern, it's a city of artists and art-lovers. Vienna boasts its musicians and composer and a lot of monuments devoted to them still adorn the city. Another ground for Viennese proud is its parks. They vary in appearance and target groups (there are even special parks for the blind), but all are refined and beautiful. Viennese cafes have also become the symbol of the city. They are the oldest in the world and their special atmosphere has been attracting visitors for many centuries. The heart of the city - Stefanplatz - is known for its fiacres - carriages with horses. It's one of the few cities in the world where such mark of the olden time looks harmonically. The architectural symbol of Vienna - Domkirche St. Stephan was built about 800 years ago. Saint Stefan is the saint patron of Vienna. It's still a working church and you can witness divine services every day. Vienna receives more than 2 millions tourists a year, and almost all of them visit Domkirche St. Stephan. The cathedral has two towers - Southern (136 m high) with staircase and Northern with lift. Moreover, you can go deep down in catacombs. Domkirche St. Stephan is one of the most impressive and significant cathedrals in the world and its history is strongly connected with the history of Austria. The cathedral was rebuilt and restored several times. Here the emperors, scientists, merchants and bishops are buried. Vienna is famous not only for its musicians (Mozart is the most famous one), but for people of science too - Sigmund Freud, the leading psychologist of its time lived and worked in Vienna or a long time. Sigmund Freud Museum is in the apartments where Freud lived and worked from 1891 to 1938. It contains his furniture, possessions, letters, documents, photographs and even a home movie of Freud, narrated by his daughter, Anna. Very detailed notes in English illuminate the exhibits. Hofburg Palace has been the home for the Austrian Hapsburg Royal family for six centuries. Now the building houses President office, 22 museums, National Library, Spanish Riding School, The Burgkapelle and Augustinerkirche. The most popular museum is Kaiser apartments. Vienna is one of the Opera capitals of the world - Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) is almost as famous as La Scala Theater in Milan and Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Opera was opened in the beginning of the XVIII century. It's very difficult to buy tickets for the performances - the theatre is extremely popular! One more thing that attracts international attention to Vienna is the annual ball. It's very prestigious to be invited to the ball. Visit Vienna and discover its magic and you won't be disappointed!