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Vienna Ring Road

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TheSchubertringsection of theRingstraßein Vienna

TheVienna Ring Road(German:Ringstraße,pronounced[ʁɪŋˌʃtʁaːsə]ⓘ,lit.ring road) is a 5.3 km[1](3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as aring roadaround the historicInnere Stadt(Inner Town) district ofVienna,Austria.The road is located on sites where medieval city fortifications once stood, including high walls and the broad open field ramparts (glacis), criss-crossed by paths that lay before them.

It was constructed after the dismantling of the city walls in the mid-19th century. From the 1860s to 1890s, many large public buildings were erected along theRingstrassein an eclectichistoriciststyle, sometimes calledRingstraßenstil( "Ring Road style" ), using elements ofClassical,Gothic,Renaissance,andBaroquearchitecture.[2]

Because of its architectural beauty and history, the ViennaRingstrassehas been called the "lord of the ring roads" and is designated by UNESCO as part of Vienna'sWorld Heritage Site.[3][4]

History

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City plan of Vienna (or Wien in German) in 1858, showing the context before construction of the ring boulevard and location of former city walls and glacis surrounding theinner city

This grand boulevard was built to replace thecity walls,which had been built during the 13th century and funded by the ransom payment derived from the release of Richard the Lion Heart,Richard I of England,and reinforced as a consequence of theFirst Turkish Siegein 1529 and theThirty Years' Warin 1618.[5]The walls were surrounded by aglacisabout 500m wide, where buildings and vegetation were prohibited for military defensive reason. But by the late 18th century these fortifications had become obsolete. Under EmperorJoseph II,streets and walkways were built in the glacis, lit by lanterns and lined by trees.[6]Craftsmen built open-air workshops, and stalls were set up. But theRevolution of 1848was required to trigger a more significant change.

TheSchottenringsection of the Ringstraße in 1875

In 1850, the suburbs orVorstädte(today theDistrictsII to IX) were incorporated into the municipality, which made the city walls an impediment to traffic. In 1857, EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austriaissued the decree "I have resolved to command" (Es ist Mein Willeat Wikisource) ordering the demolition of the city walls and moats. In his decree, he laid out the exact size of the boulevard, as well as the geographical positions and functions of the new buildings. The Ringstraße and the planned buildings were intended to be a showcase for the grandeur and glory of theHabsburg Empire.On the practical level, EmperorNapoléon III of France's boulevard construction inParishad already demonstrated how enlarging and widening the size of streets effectively made the erection of revolutionarybarricadesdifficult and thus an easier target for artillery.

Since the Ringstraße had always been meant primarily for show, a parallelLastenstraße(cargo road) was built on the outside of the former glacis. This street is commonly known as2-er Linie,named after the number "2" in the identifiers of the various streetcar ortramlines which used it. It is still an important traffic thoroughfare.

After some disputes about competence between thegovernmentand themunicipality,a "City Extension Fund" was created, which was administered by the government. Onlythe city hallwas planned by the city.

During the following years, a large number of opulent public and private buildings were erected. Both the nobility and the plutocracy rushed to build showy mansions and palaces along the boulevard. One of the first buildings was theHeinrichshof,owned by thebeerbrewerHeinrich Drasche,which was located opposite the Imperial and Royal Court Opera House oropera houseuntil 1945.

One of the earliest art historians to study the Ringstraße isRenate Wagner-Rieger,a professor and alumnus at the University of Vienna.

Famous admirers

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  • Sigmund Freudwas known to take a daily recreational walk around the Ring.
  • Adolf Hitlerwas supposed to be a great admirer of the architecture of this area and that influencedNaziarchitecture.[7]

Buildings

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See also:Tourist attractions in Vienna
TheRingstraßewith parliament on the left andVolksgartenpark to the right
Burgringwith the Museum of Natural History to the left
Opernringwith the opera house, in 1905
Parkringwith the city park to the right
Stubenringwith the large former Ministry of War building in the back right

Many of the buildings that line the Ringstraße date back to the time before 1870. The following are some of the more notable buildings:

The only sacred building on the boulevard is theVotivkirche,which was built in dedication after EmperorFranz Josephhad survivedan assassination attemptin 1853.

The Winter Palace orHofburgwas extended by an annex, theNeue Hofburg(New Hofburg), which houses theMuseum of Ethnologyand theAustrian National Librarytoday. On the other side of the boulevard, there are theKunsthistorisches Museum(Museum of Art History) and theNaturhistorisches Museum(Museum of Natural History), which were built for the imperial collections. Originally, there should have been a parallel wing opposite the Neue Hofburg, which would have been located across the Ringstrasse from the Museum of Natural History. Together with theHeldenplatzand theMaria-Theresien-Platzthis plan would have constituted the Imperial Forum/Kaiserforum. However, that plan was shelved for lack of funds.

The construction ended only in 1913 with the completion of the Kriegsministerium (Imperial and Royal Ministry of War). At that time, the Ringstraßenstil was already somewhat outdated, as is shown by the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) inspired Postsparkassengebäude (Postal Savings Society Building) by Otto Wagner opposite the ministry building, which was built at the same time.

The Ringstraße was also generously planned with green spaces and trees, the most notable parks being theStadtparkwith theKursalon,Burggarten,Volksgarten,andRathauspark,as well as a number of squares such as theSchwarzenbergplatz,Schillerplatz,Maria-Theresien-Platz and Heldenplatz. Dotted along the Ringstraße are various monuments. They include statues toGoethe,Schiller,Empress Maria Theresia,Prince Eugene of Savoy,Archduke Charles of Austria,the founders of theFirst Austrian Republic,Athena,Andreas von Liebenberg,Count Radetzky,Georg Coch,andJohann Straussamongst many.

The biggest catastrophe was the fire of theRingtheaterin 1881, in which several hundred people died. It was subsequently demolished and replaced by the emperor's charity building, the Sühnhof, which was built in memory of the more than 300 victims, and inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was destroyed during the bombing of Vienna in 1945; today the municipal police-headquarters is there.

Other buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged duringWorld War IIwas the Opera House, the opposite building Heinrichshof which was replaced in the 1950s with the Kärtnerhof. The Urania observatory, the Kriegsministerium and the Parliament building were heavily damaged, and the Burgtheater burned down. The famousHotel Metropole,which was located at the Franz-Joseph-Kai, was completely destroyed and replaced with a monument to the victims of Nazism.

Sections

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In many parts of the city with many historic buildings the old street signs are still in use.

The Ringstraße has several sections. It surrounds the central area of Vienna on all sides, except for the northeast, where its place is taken by theFranz-Josephs-Kai,the street going along theDonaukanal(a branch of theDanube). Starting from theRingturmat the northern end of the Franz-Josephs-Kai, the sections are:

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Vienna's Ringstrasse.Vienna: Sightseeing. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  2. ^"Historicism – the architectural style of the Ringstrasse".The World of the Habsburgs.Retrieved6 May2014.
  3. ^Malathronas, John (24 April 2015)."Vienna's Ringstrasse: Lord of the ring roads celebrates 150 years".CNN.Retrieved29 July2018.
  4. ^"Historic Centre of Vienna".UNESCO World Heritage Centre.Retrieved29 July2018.
  5. ^Bousfield, Jonathan; Humphreys, Rob (2001).The Rough Guide to Austria.Rough Guides.ISBN978-1-85828-709-6.
  6. ^"From fortification to promenade".The World of the Habsburgs.Retrieved6 May2014.
  7. ^"Hitler's Vienna".30 March 2011.
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