Day2-Streets of Vienna

Yellow cable bus

Walking toward the most popular shopping center in Vienna on Graben street.

Fancy store selling upscale Persian rug on the left.

Tesla is all over the world now.

Lots of Designer stores on this street.

Salvatore Ferragamo store.

In the distance you can see the Hofburg Palace (green Dome).  We will stop by there later.

Dior Store.

This 69-foot tall elaborate work of ancient art is to commemorate the Vienna plague.

Gilded in gold in parts, reaching for the sky, this arresting sculpture right in the middle of the Graben boulevard is a memorial to the plague that raged through the streets of Vienna and killed thousands in 1679.

Graben Street, lots of people...

Fountain close by

Vienna's Imperial Hofburg Palace -St. Michael wing facing the square

Vienna's Imperial Palace, the Hofburg, was for centuries the seat of the Habsburgs, rulers of Austria until the end of World War I.

Today, it's the official seat of the Austrian Head of State, the Federal President.

The palace complex is particularly interesting as its major buildings reflect more than 700 years of architectural history.  Nearly every Austrian ruler since 1275 ordered additions or alterations. As a result, the Hofburg shows many different architectural styles, from Gothic to Renaissance, Baroque to Rococo, and a smattering of Classicism for good measure.

Together with its many squares and gardens, the Hofburg occupies an area of some 59 acres and is, in many ways, a "city-within-a-city," comprising 18 groups of buildings, 19 courtyards, and 2,600 room services.

Lots of horse carriages in this area.

The Swiss Wing is the oldest parts of the palace date from the 13th to 16th century.

Why Swiss Gate? Simply because the Swiss guards protected the Hofburg under Empress Maria Theresa's reign.

Across from the Swiss Gate is the Amalienburg, named after Empress Amalie Wilhelmine, the widow of Joseph I.

Decorative statues on the roof top.

This wing had been in use for more than a century, constructed as the residence of the Emperor Rudolph II in the style of the late Renaissance.

Monument to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in the inner court of the Amalienburg wing.

Close view of the monument.  Notice how tall this monument is compare to the lady you see standing next to it.

NEXT... St. Peters Church