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Friedensreich Hundertwasser was one of the most controversial architects in history. He was called “the king of five skins ” (It was taken from his theory, that every man possesses five skins: natural skin, clothes house, social environment and planet). He maniacally postulated the protection of environment. So on one of the meetings he even prepared a meal of nettles that caused stomach inflammation the long standing treatment. He died in 2000.

He crated one of the main tourist attractions of Vienna and Europe. The Hundertwasserhaus, that is the House of Hundertwasser, is the attempt to show in architecture a union of man and nature. The escape from regularity , symmetry and straight lines proves his exceptionality. Hundertwasser hated straight lines treating them as “ungodly and immoral ”. Therefore his house looks like it is of rubber and it seems not to have right to stand stably. The postulate of rejection of straight lines the architect contained in his “Mould Manifesto”, which was read for the first time in 1958 during the International Meeting of Art and Architecture in Seckau. Besides these specific views, he became famous because of the way of performing - he often appeared in public completely naked.

In 1983 the town council of Vienna offered Hundertwasser to build a house at Lowegasse. It was quite risky order because the architect mixed baroque colonnades, irregularily put windows, different colours of each flat, mosaic and cupola or plants. It was also risky because Hundertwasser did not give the workers exact instructions so they worked according to their individual inclinations. He claimed that “everyone, who works for him, likes him ”. The building was led by the architect Jozef Krawin. The house was open in 1985, but it was given to use a year later, and on the first day over 70 thousand visitors wanted to sightsee it.. The plants are natural element of Hundertwasser’s projects. He thought that planting trees is an ecological action and cutting them down is a political move.

In the building there are 50 flats (from 30 to 150 m2), four restaurants, doctor’s surgery, 16 private and 3 public terraces. Around the house there are over 250 trees and shrubs. The house area is about 3550 m ² and it cost 6 millions Euro . The architect did not want the money for the project. He claimed that the consciousness that nothing ugly was built in this place was a sufficient payment for him .

Although this is one of the most significant places for sightseeing , tourists can admire it only from outside - because this is normally functioning house where residents live. The neighbouring places offers the wide choice of accomodation in hotels Vienna and apartments.

The Hundertwasserhaus is the first, but not the only apartment complex of this kind in the world. Similar buildings were also constructed in Plochingen (1998/1999), Darmstadt (called Waldspirale) and Magdeburg (Grune Zitadelle).

Hundertwasser was underestimated by critics and the public, because of his extremely difficult theories. He was a man who presened unconventional opinions. And he created the building which is well-known in the whole world and about which students learn at art history or architecture studies . Thanks to Hundertwasserhaus Vienna has its symbol of postmodermistic art and hundreds of thousands of interested tourists.

The tallest building of Vienna (50 metres higher than Millennium Tower) is at 4 Donauturmstrasse on the area of Donauparku ( a garden created in 1963-64). It is between Dunaube and Old Danaube, the centre of Vienna, Florisdorf and Donaustadt. This relatively new tourist attraction of Austrian capital is only 40 years old, but it has 252 metres of height. The tower was designed by prof. Hannes Lintl in 1962 . In 2001 the architect was awarded Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art. His projects are also television towers in Bagdad (destroyed during the war), in Montreal and Djakarta. The building of the Danaube Tower started on October 12 and continued for next 18 months. In 1964 Austrian president Adolf Schärf officially opened the tower.

The Donauturm or “Neue” (“New” - as it is called now) was built for the International Horticultural Show of Vienna. The originator of the project was Eberhard Födisch. The building belongs to the WFGT (The World Federation Of Great Towers) alongside Japanese Tokyo Tower, Chinese Oriental Pearl Tower and Canadian CN Tower. It is the 19th highest tower in the world.

The Dunaube Tower has three lookout levels that offer panoramic view of Vienna. The first observation deck is located at a height of 150 metres. The tourists get there in an elevator (It takes only 35 seconds to get to the top of the tower because the elevator races upwards at 22 kilometres per hour. It can take fourteen people. In 1964 it was the quickest lift in Europe.) or they can climb the stairs (According to different sources there are 775 or 779 steps). The new attraction of Dunabe Tower is bungee jumping but that can be done only in the summer. Ten and twenty metres above the first observation deck there are rotating restaurants (The floor in the restaurant rotates once every half an hour.), where guests having tasty meal can enjoy the view of Vienna . Tourists especially enjoy the view of setting sun over Wienerwald.

On the top of the tower there are also antennas of cellular phone networks and private VHF radio stations (like Radio Arabella Wien, Radio Orange, Sunshine Radio or Radio Stephansdom and a few other antennas of radio communication). Although the Danube Tower is similar to television towers it is not used to television broadcasting. (The tower in Kahlenberg is used to that).

In the neighbourhood of the tower it is possible to find a lot of lodgings offering accommodation for tired guests of Vienna.

The Hofburg Palace, one of Viennese palaces, is surely the most impressive. The dynasty of Habsburg resided there for six centuries and every generation had its own contribution in the building extension. The first emperor who lived in Hofburg was Rudolf I (1279 r), and the last - Charles I (1918 r.). Nowadays in winter this is the official residence of Austrian president (In the summer the president resides in Schönbrunn Palace). It is a tradition that every Sunday the Vienna Boys Choir sings in Hofburg.

For six hundred years the main building was enlarged and there were built palaces (for example Amalia’s Palace from XVI century), chapels (Hofkapelle, Hofmusikkapelle, Burgkapelle - built by Frederic III and rebuilt in the baroque style by the empress Maria Teresa), museums (Naturhistorisches, Kunsthistorisches), the National Library, Treasury, the National Theatre, the Horse Riding School, and Stables.

The greatest architects worked at the project of the palace. Among them there were Filiberto Luchese, Lodovico Burnacini, Martino and Domenico Carlone, or Lukas von Hildebrandt, Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, and Johann Fischer von Erlach (he worked at the project of the library - Prunksaal).

Before the Hofburg Palace became the residence of Austria’s emperors it had been the seat of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The palace was probably constructed by Babenberges or Ottakar II the Great . The oldest part of the palace, Schweizerhof (the Swiss Court), was occupied by the Swiss Guard which in XIII century protected Hofburg. We can find there the Swiss Gate (which was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in 1533) and next to the gate there is a square, called In der Burg, with the statue of Francis II.

In the imperial apartments tourists can see rich decoration, furniture, tapestries, crystal chandeliers, or the collections of Chinese porcelain and table-services (Visitors can find the collections in the Silver Hall - Silberkammer). But the objects exhibited here are not the only things that tourists can admire in the rooms. Even if the Hofburg Palace is so important place on a map of Vienna, it is not as splendid as Schönbrunn, the summer residence, that is full of baroque decorating. Of course while visiting Hofburg we can not forget about the Imperial Treasury, where visitors can see amazing treasures such as 2860-carat Colombian emerald, 416-carat ruby, 492-carat aquamarine, Ferdinand’s goblet and a piece of the agate, or the Imperial Crown from X century and the insignia of Rudolf II from 1602. All these treasures are masterpieces of the worked jeweller. But in that place visitors can also admire sacred treasures like the piece of authentic Cross, the nail from crucifixion and thorn from the Crown of Thorns, or the ministers’ garments made from the most expensive and softest fabrics.

The Renaissance elements of the palace combine with the baroque architecture. And the best example of this combination is the Austrian National Library (Prunksaal) designed in 1723-1726 by the Fischer von Erlach family ( Joseph and his father Johann). It was Charles VI who ordered to build the library (Thanks to his so-called Pragmatic Sanction his daughter Maria Teresa Habsburg could inherit the throne from him). His statue is situated in the main dome which is decorated with frescos from Daniel Gran . In showcases visitors can see manuscripts from XV century which are open on beautifully decorated pages. People who are interested in this place can easily find the accommodation in that part of Vienna.

One November night in 1992 there was a fire in the palace. It started near Redoutensäle on Joseph Square. The fire destroyed the part of the roof and upper floor. The renovation of this part of the building was held to 1997. Now the ceiling is decorated with Josef Mikl’s paintings.

The Innere Stadt literally means “internal city ” in other words “the city in the city”. The district is situated between Leopoldstadt (the North East), Landstrasse ( the East), Wieden and Mariahilf (the South), Neubau and Josefstadt ( the West) and Alsergrund ( the North). The Innere Stadt is the oldest district of Vienna, it contains the historic areas and the Centre. The district was split into quarters - Stubenviertel (the North East), Kärntner Viertel (the South East), Widmerviertel (the South West) and Schottenviertel (the North West). Until 1850 the Innere Stadt was the equivalent of Vienna, and after that year it started to be treated as a separate district in extending city.

In the Innere Stadt we will find some of the most significant tourist attractions of the capital of Austria. We can see the oldest churches such as Ruprechtskirche or the Maria am Gestade ( the oldest Gothic church in Vienna), baroque Peterskirche, the archbishop’s seat (Stephansdom) and the last open pre-war synagogue (Stadttempel from 1825, which was not destroyed during so called “Crystal Night”). Except sacred buildings there are also other monuments like the prestige Court Theatre (Burgtheater - created in 1741 during the reign of Maria Theresa, partly rebuilt after the war) or the Albertina - a gallery from 1768 which has one of the largest collection of the graphic artist. Apart from those places in the Innere Stadt we will also find the largest Viennese museum - the Naturhistorisches Museum, or the Imperial Palace Hofburg. There is Graben Street which has a shape of a long square. It is rather important part of the city where we can see the baroque Morow Column - Pestsäule. Leopold I put it in a burial place as a special thanks for rescuing him from plague in 1679. The original column put by Leopold I had been made of wood, and later Matthias Rauchmiller designed a marble one. There is also Vienna State Opera (Staatsoper) which began its activity with Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanniego”in 1869.

Truly speaking - if we see the Innere Stadt we can say we have seen almost whole old Vienna.

The growth of the city and war caused that in recent years the number of inhabitants of the oldest district of Vienna decreased very quickly. In 1869 over 68 thousand people lived in the Innere Stadt, and eleven years later the population of the district grew to about 78 thousand inhabitants. But in 2005 only 17 thousand persons lived there. Over half of them are Roman Catholics, other are the confessors of Orthodox Church, Protestantism and Judaism. About 20 per cent of occupants of the Innere Stadt do not belong to any religious group. Except Austrians there are also Serbians, Germans, Hungarians and Croatians.

The first, after war, president of the district, only for several months, was Theodor Köpl. Presently, since 2005, Ursula Stenzel is the president of the Innere Stadt. Now in the representation of the Innere Stadt there are 18 councillors from Austrian Populist Party (Österreichische Volkspartei), 13 from Social Democratic Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs), 7 from Green (Die Grünen - Die Grüne Alternative) and two councillors from Austrian Liberation Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs).

The tour around the Innere Stadt is a tour full of history, art and culture. And the night in one of numerous hotels and apartments Vienna scattered throughout the city can be unforgettable experience.So remember if you are in Vienna and you do not visit Innere Stadt, you cannot say you have seen Vienna.

The Liechtenstein Museum is, as many people say, a temple of baroque . For a long time that statement was offensive. But now exactly this place is the proof that the wealth of baroque does not have to overwhelm, but also serve certain mission. The Liechtenstein museum enlivens the art. Famous Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach was one of the people who seeked the possibility to build the palace on the order of duke Adam I. However he became engaged in the project of Belveder Palace . But there were still two other architects, Domenico Egidio Rossi and Domenico Martinelli, interested in duke’s offer. Eventually it was Martinelli that after three years from the beginning of works replaced Rossiego and finished working on a project .

The whole building is a mixture of the urban and country style , Romanesque and baroque style , and it represents the prince’s conservative taste.

Not only the facade and interior can impress , but also the private collection of Liechtenstein family , and particularly the collection of prince Adam II of Liechtenstein. Admiring the collection is possible since 29 March 2004. The public can see works of the greatest painters of four ages, from the renaissance to romanticism. There are displayed paintings of Rafael, Breugle family , Peter Paul Ruben, Anton van Dyck, Fransa Hals, Rembrandt, Franza Xaver Messerschmidt, Jakob Gabriel Mollinarolo, Giambologna and Adrian de Fries . This is certainly the reason why tourists cannot miss the visit in the Liechtenstein Museum.

The aim of the exhibition is to present the spectator the historical integrity, not the division on the separate kinds of art. The paintings and sculptures are integrated with the artistic interior decorations creating the whole. That place can be treated as the example of classic temple of muses . The largest baroque hall in Europe, which is situated in the central part of the museum, is the artistic phenomenon. Walking around the halls of the museum we feel the breath of the art history which in a certain way „happens” before our very eyes. Also the garden and orangery surrounding the building make an impression on visitors. There we will also find vases and sculptures - originally they were placed by Giovanni Giuliani according to Giuseppe Mazz’s plan, but later, in 1820, they were arranged in more neoclassical style, according to Joseph Kornhaeusel’s plan .

The Liechtenstein museum possesses also its divisions in different parts of Vienna. Kunstmuseum in Vaduz is also connected with the Liechtenstein museum.

Except the regular exhibition, the museum organizes thematic exhibitions. Local hotels offer the lots of places. In the neighbouhood you can also find cheap apartments vienna and guesthouses.