Leopoldstadt - 2nd district
Leopoldstadt, the second district, is an island in the city, divided from the city center by Danube Canal in the south and from Donaustadt by the wide River Danube. A large part of Leopoldstadt is occupied by the park and amusement park Prater. Leopoldstadt is also home to the fictive nation Kugelmugel. Leopoldstadt once had a large Jewish population, but was partly destroyed by the holocaust. Leopoldstadt south part has recently experienced a construction boom.
Looking towards Leopoldstadt from Ringstrasse. Modern office highrise buildings in glass and steel has been constructed at Leopoldstadt's river bank of Danube Canal recently.
UNIQA Tower is the first thing that meets you when you enter Leopoldstadt from the city center. 75m, 22 floors. It is the first so called green building in Austria.
New glass towers under construction in Leopoldstadt.
Traffic jam over Danube, at the foot UNIQA Tower.
Sunset over Danube Canal.
A floating swimmingpool in Danube Canal.
A tram rides over Danube. Ringturm in the background.
Swimming in the canal.
Modern architecture of Leopoldstadt.
Can you spot the golden tower of Hundertwasser's Plant?
Towards the mountains.
The "beach" of Leopoldstadt's strand.
Praterstern column. Praterstern is a busy railway station and traffic hub near Praterpark.
PRATERPARK:
Prater is a huge park, that occupies the majority of the land of Leopoldstadt. It is divided into 2 parts: A green area for cylcing and walking, and a famous amusement park.
Hauptallee in Praterpark, where I relaxed.
Wurstelprater amusement park is filled with rides, merry-go-rounds, a roller coaster, shooting galleries and restaurants. The most famous attraction is the more than 100 year old ferris wheel Riesenrad.
Prater Amusement Park - The Disneyland of Vienna!
Riesenrad ferris wheel is the landmark of Prater and is one of the world's oldest moving ferris wheels. It is 65 m high and was erected in 1897 to celebrate Franz Josef I's golden jubilee. In the past, there was a theme park "Venice of Vienna" with canals, gondolas and Italian buildings that surrounded the wheel.
It has been seen in many movies, such as The Third Man, Before Sunrise and James Bond: The Living Daylights.
An exhibition about Riesenrad with models inside red wagons that are similar to the ones of the wheel.
This model shows the damage of the wheel after WWII bombings. Before the bombings, Riesenrad had
twice as many wagons.
Some of the views over Leopoldstadt from Riesenrad can be seen below:
Views of other districts from Riesenrad can be seen in the Vienna skylines and views section that is highly recommendable.
Towards UNIQA Tower.
Leopoldstadt new highrises.
Leopoldstadt and Donaustadt.
Leopoldstadt with Landstrasse in the background.
Leopoldstadt with Donaustadt in the background.
There is a restaurant in the wagon below.
The other, smaller ferris wheel.
The old wooden interior of the ferris wheel's wagons. It is swinging in the air as it reaches the top. Some of the windows can be partly opened.
For views from Riesenrahd that is not in Leopoldstadt, look in the skyline section.
Prater Amusement Park.
Reichsbrücke (Empire brigde), the bridge to Donaustadt over Danube.
Mexikoplatz with Franz von Assisi Church. The name of the square comes from the fact that Mexico was one of only 2 countries that protested against Austria's Anschluss to Nazi Germany.
Assisi Kirche is one of Vienna's most underrated churches. It is not so famous despite it is very rare, built in a historicist style that resembles romanesque style. It was completed in 1913, but was planned to be completed upon Emperor Franz Josef I:s golden jubilee, so the opening ceremony was held in 1898 despite the fact that the building wasn't completed.
Assisi Church in Leopoldstadt seen from the bridge over Danube.