Fiaker flight

Finally, take a seat in a cozy carriage and fly back to the present with the fantastic Fiaker Ride.

Explore Vienna from the air and experience fantastic views of the Hofburg, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönbrunn Palace and the Vienna Prater. Enjoy the new Fiakerride with laser effects and 3D mapping. Experience fireworks at the end of your time travel with Time Travel. The fantastic views over Vienna are unique and confirm that Vienna is one of the most liveable cities in the world.

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We can look back on around 300 years of hackney carriage history in Vienna. Fiakers are to Vienna what gondolas are to Venice. The hackney carriage consists of three parts: Horses, carriage and coachman.

The term “Fiaker” originally comes from the French, as the first stand for hired carriages was located in the Rue de Saint Fiacre in Paris. These were first used by a merchant as early as 1662. However, they were named after the Irish monk Fiacrius, whose picture was on the outside wall of the local inn. St. Fiacrius was given heavenly patronage over this new profession.

The first horse-drawn carriage license was issued in Vienna around 30 years later. In the 19th century there were already around 1,000 horse-drawn carriages in Vienna. Since the First World War, horse-drawn carriages in Vienna have mainly been hired for city tours, visits to the Prater (popular for confirmations) and special occasions (e.g. weddings).

Today there are around 40 hackney carriage companies with 200 hackney carriages in Vienna. Many of these carriages are now over 100 years old.

There is even a Fiaker coffee among the 40 or so Viennese coffee specialties. This is a drink that consists of half black coffee and half whipped cream and is refined with rum.

Fiakergulasch is a popular Viennese dish. The horse-drawn carriage is and has been sung about in numerous Viennese songs.

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Fiakers and Vienna today

The first female coachmen were introduced in 1984. The prices for the tours are set by the City of Vienna and the traditional clothing is also regulated by law. Since 1998, a driving test has been required in Vienna in order to work as a hackney carriage driver. Today there are around 40 hackney carriage companies with 200 hackney carriages in Vienna. Many of these carriages are now over 100 years old. There is even a Fiaker coffee among the 40 or so Viennese coffee specialties. This is a drink that consists of half black coffee and half whipped cream and is refined with rum.Fiakergulasch is a popular Viennese dish. The horse-drawn carriage is and has been sung about in numerous Viennese songs.

The state treaty

The Austrian State Treaty was signed in the Marble Hall of Belvedere Palace on May 15, 1955 , after 10 years of occupation (1945-55) . It concerned the restoration of a free, independent and democratic Austria. Neutrality was an important negotiating criterion. Leopold Figl and Julius Raab were the politicians involved. Leopold Figl, the Foreign Minister at the time, was one of the signatories of the State Treaty, together with the respective Foreign Ministers and High Commissioners of the four occupying powers. Figl is known for his famous words: “Austria is free”.

It was signed by the respective foreign ministers and high commissioners of the victorious powers: Molotov and Ilyichov for the Soviet Union, Macmillan and Wallinger for Great Britain, Dulles and Thompson for the USA and Pinay and Lalouette for France. Leopold Figl signed in green ink .

It is interesting to note that the original of the State Treaty is kept in Moscow and not in Vienna. The document comprises almost 300 pages with translations into Russian, English, French and German. It is kept in the archives of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Occasionally the document comes to Austria for exhibitions.

Austria's capital

With just under 1.9 million inhabitants, Vienna is the capital of Austria and also one of the nine Austrian federal states.

By 1900, Vienna already had over 2 million inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the world. At the time, Vienna was the imperial capital and was considered the cultural and political center of Europe.

Architecturally, Vienna is still characterized today primarily by the buildings around the Vienna Ringstrasse from the Gründerzeit, but also by Baroque and Art Nouveau. The Hofburg was an imperial residence for more than 640 years and is one of the largest building complexes in the world.

Today, the Hofburg is the seat of the Federal President and the Federal Chancellor. There are around 15 museums here and a modern conference center attracts many guests from abroad. This was already the case at the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, where Vienna played an important role in international diplomacy that has survived to this day.

The historic center of Vienna and Schönbrunn Palace are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Vienna is associated with classical music. The Vienna State Opera is one of the most important and beautiful opera houses in the world.

Vienna is a green city, as almost 50% of the area is a green zone. The Prater, Vienna’s green lung, also plays a large part in this. There you will find the Giant Ferris Wheel, one of Vienna’s landmarks, next to St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Vienna is considered a city with a very high standard of living and in recent years has consistently ranked first among cities with the best quality of life worldwide.

After his father died suddenly of scarlet fever in 1849 at the age of just 45, his son was able to take over his father’s orchestra. It was not until 1852 that Johann Strauss Sohn was entrusted with performing the music at the imperial court. This was later followed by the title of k.k.Hofballmusik-Direktor.

The operetta “Fledermaus” and the “Gypsy Baron” created further hype. As the Waltz King, he was showered with invitations and honors. During the day he composed countless waltzes and operettas and in the evening he played late into the night. He became famous worldwide for the Danube Waltz, which is considered Austria’s secret anthem.

Strauss’ enormous workload took its toll: physical breakdowns necessitated a series of stays at a health resort in the years 1853 – 55. He was inspired in Badgastein and then spent several seasons as a guest in Pavlosk near St. Petersburg, where he was also able to win over the Russian Tsar’s family. It was the performances in Pavlovsk that finally allowed Strauss’s son to step out of his father’s shadow in Vienna.

In 1862, he married Henriette, a former singer seven years his senior, called Jetty, who also became his manager. After she died in 1878, he married the actress and singer Ernestine Dittrich, known as Lili , who was 25 years his junior . However, they soon divorced because of another man. He consoled himself with Adele Strauss, 31 years his junior. In order to be able to marry her, he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism and even left the Austrian state and became a citizen of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In 1872 he embarked on his longest concert tour, which took him across the Atlantic to the “World Peace Festival” in Boston and on to New York . However, he soon suffered from homesickness and was happy to be able to perform in Vienna again.

He died on June 3, 1899 at the age of 74 as a result of pneumonia. He was married three times and left no children.

His monument in the Stadtpark is one of the most photographed in Vienna and we can visit his grave of honor at the Central Cemetery. His former home on Praterstrasse, where he composed the famous Danube Waltz, can also be visited. There is also an interesting museum about the Strauss dynasty in the 9th district.