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Parks and Gardens in Vienna
Sightseeing can be tiring sometimes, but not when you stroll through Vienna's green parks housing numerous sculptures, palaces and other cultural sites. And even when you don't want to explore them all, but simply relax and enjoy your free time in peaceful surroundings, the parks in Vienna will welcome you with beautiful nature and lots of sports facilities. You can go to Tuerkenschanzpark – one of the city's largest parks, or to Donaupark prestigiously located in the vicinity of numerous UN establishments along the Danube river, comprising several beaches. Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis, since 18th Century serving as an educational facility has always been an island of piece and quite in the busy city and to this day performs both of these functions, so especially if you'd like to learn something new about the plant world, consider paying it a visit.
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Tuerkenschanzpark
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Phone: +43 01 478 34 98 9
e-mail: post@m42.magwien.gv.at
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Turkenschanzpark is a city park situated in the 18th district of Vienna, called Waehring, and is the city’s largest park with a total area of 150,000 square metres. It was established in 1888, on a plateau-like hill called Turkenschanz, which might have gotten its name from the first Turkish siege of Vienna, and was further affirmed by the building of the schanze (sconce) during the second Turkish siege. Afterwards, it went unused for quite a long time – only cornfields and meadows grew there, and in the nearby vicinity was a yellow sand quarry. The first houses and cottages that were built by Vienna’s citizens on the Turkenschanz appeared at the end of the 19th Century. At that time, Turkenschanz was seen as a possible park site, and an organisation (Comité zur Bildung eines öffentlichen Parks auf der Türkenschanze) that fought for turning it into a park was established in 1883. The task of deciding the layout of the new park was commissioned to landscape designer Heinrich Ferstel. An area of only 50,000 square metres was obtained due to financing issues, and it was laid out in the traditional English style. Thus, in 1888 Emperor Franz Joseph officially opened the new public park.
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Herderpark
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Phone: +43 01 68 81 170
e-mail: post@m42.magwien.gv.at
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Stretching over an area of almost 43,000 square metres, Herderpark is situated in the 11th Viennese district called Simmering. The namesake of the park is the great philosopher and poet Johan Gottfried Herder and the idea to call the park after him came from the bordering square Herderplatz that caries his name since 1911. The park used to be a yard of a public school (Volksschule) located at Herderplatz. At first, during World War I and until the 1920s the area of the future Herderpark consisted of small gardens. Those were gathered by the initiative of garden architect Fritz Kratochwjle to form a public green space that was established as a park in 1930 to make living conditions in the quarter better.
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Donaupark (Danube Park)
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Phone: +43 01 269 79 21
e-mail: post@m42.magwien.gv.at
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One of the vastest Viennese parks covering an area of 800,000 square metres, Donaupark (Danube Park) is certainly not to be missed by curious tourists visiting the capital of Austria. This park is easy to access, as it not only has numerous entrances but also borders many main roads, including Wagramerstrasse and Arbeiterstrandbadstrasse. Its location on the northern bank of the Danube River in the 22nd district of Vienna determines its neighbouring sights, some very state-of-the-art constructions. For example, there‘s the United Nations’ headquarters in Austria. In the so-called 'UNO-City‘ rises the largest conference building in the country, the Austria Centre Vienna (ACV). A whole 'city within the city' called Donau City was also constructed upon this Danube island. The banks of the Danube close to Donaupark even offer beaches for all to enjoy.
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Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis (Botanical Garden of Vienna University)
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Phone: +43 01 42 77 54 100
e-mail: botanik@univie.ac.at
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Website: http://www.botanik.univie.ac.at
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Like every country and self-respecting capital, Vienna also has its botanical garden, Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis (Botanical Garden of Vienna University), which stands out with its diversity and the specific ordering of the plants inside it. This spot is really worth visiting, not only because it houses such a rich collection of plants under scientific arrangement, but also for its proximity to another tourist hot spot, the Belvedere Palace and its own adjacent gardens. Moreover, the whole complex of attractions is situated in the heart of Vienna’s 3rd district, which is advantageous from a transport perspective. The Botanical Garden of Vienna University stretches over eight hectares and features plant species ranging from mountain varieties to tropical ones in the 1.5 square metres of greenhouse area.
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Schoenbrunn Garten
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Phone: +43 01 87 75 087
e-mail: direktion@bgwien.bmlfuw.gv.at
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Website: http://www.schoenbrunn.at
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Schloss Schoenbrunn (Schoenbrunn Palace) is definitely a wonderful place to visit, but its adjacent park makes it even more attractive. Many people have appreciated Schoenbrunn’s qualities, as it’s currently one of Vienna’s most renowned sights. Besides, UNESCO has also shown interest in the palace complex by adding it to the list of the world’s cultural heritage sites. The name of the complex comes from the rule of Emperor Matthias, who built an exceptionally beautiful well (in German, Schoener Brunn) here. However, Schoenbrunn Palace and its surroundings hold much more than merely the building and the park itself. There’s also the world’s oldest zoo still operating on the premises.
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Belvedere Garten
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Phone: +43 01 79 55 70
e-mail: info@belvedere.at
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Price: 0 - 13 EUR
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Website: http://www.belvedere.at
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Unlike many other gardens that consist of a garden with plants and maybe scarce sculptures, Belvedere features an entire complex of structures, including two palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere) and a garden that links them. Belvedere was constructed for the renowned general Prince Eugene of Savoy starting from the Lower Belvedere Palace in the early 18th Century that housed the Prince’s quarters as well as a greenhouse and staples. The first plant deliveries for the Orangery were started in 1719, but today it is refurbished into an exhibition room.
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Burggarten
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Phone: +43 01 533 90 83
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Like most of the park facilities situated along Viennese Ringstrasse (a street that came into existence after the destruction of the old glacis that once encircled the city), Burggarten (Town Garden) was previously a part of these fortifications. However, at the beginning of the 18th Century these areas were transformed into green spaces. The architects of Burggarten were the same who planned Volksgarten - Ludwig von Remy and Franz Antoine. Although this time, Emperor Franz took part in the designing process because he was an educated gardener himself, and prime attention was given to foreign plants.
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Schweizer Garten
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Phone: +43 01 796 36 13
e-mail: post@m42.magwien.gv.at
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Covering about 11 hectares, the Schweizer Garten (Swiss Garden) is a perfectly balanced city park with a lot of attractions and, above all, peace. It is situated in the 3rd Vienna district, neighbouring the well-known Belvedere palace and the Botanical garden of Vienna University. The garden was established in 1904, its name was Maria Josefa Park but after World War II, it was renamed Schweizer Garden, its current name, in honour of the great help the Swiss nation rendered during the war.
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