For more than six centuries Vienna was the seat of the Habsburgs, and the empire left it palaces, a grand ring boulevard and a cathedral spire you can see from much of the centre. It is also a city of coffee houses, music and, less famously, vineyards. Here are the facts and stories behind it.
10 fun facts about Vienna
- A roof of 230,000 tiles: the steep roof of St Stephen's Cathedral is covered in some 230,000 glazed tiles, laid in zigzags and, on the south side, in the shape of the Habsburg double-headed eagle.
- A bell made from cannons: the Pummerin, the cathedral's great bell, was first cast in 1711 from Ottoman cannons captured after the siege of 1683. It crashed down when the cathedral burned in 1945 and was recast from its metal in 1951.
- Mozart's church: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber in St Stephen's in 1782, and his funeral blessing was held there in 1791.
- The oldest university in the German-speaking world: the University of Vienna was founded in 1365 by Duke Rudolf IV. Its main building on the Ringstrasse opened in 1884.
- A palace that grew for 600 years: the Hofburg was the Habsburgs' main residence in Vienna from the 13th century until 1918. Today it houses the office of the Austrian president and several museums.
- Horses since the 1500s: the Spanish Riding School, first mentioned in 1565, still trains Lipizzaner stallions in the classical style. Its name comes from the Spanish horses the breed descends from.
- The world's oldest zoo: the menagerie at Schönbrunn Palace was founded in 1752 and is the oldest zoo still in operation.
- A Ferris wheel with a film career: the Riesenrad in the Prater was built in 1897 and has a starring role in The Third Man (1949), shot in post-war Vienna.
- A capital of wine: Vienna has more than 600 hectares of vineyards within the city limits and its own field blend, Wiener Gemischter Satz.
- A cake that went to court: Franz Sacher was 16 when he created the Sachertorte in 1832. Hotel Sacher and the confectioner Demel later fought a long legal battle over who could sell the 'original'.
The siege of 1683 and the coffee legend
In the summer of 1683 an Ottoman army besieged Vienna for two months, until a relief army led by the Polish king John III Sobieski broke the siege on 12 September at the Battle of Kahlenberg. Legend says the retreating Ottomans left sacks of strange beans behind, and that Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, who had slipped through enemy lines as a messenger, used them to open Vienna's first coffee house. Historians note that the first known coffee licence actually went to an Armenian, Johannes Diodato, in 1685. Either way, Viennese coffee house culture was added to Austria's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.
The Ringstrasse, explained
Until the 1850s, central Vienna was enclosed by fortress walls. In 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph ordered them torn down, and in their place came the Ringstrasse, a boulevard around the old town opened in 1865. Along it rose the State Opera, the Parliament, the City Hall, the University and the great museums, each in a historical style chosen to suit it: Greek for the Parliament, Gothic for the City Hall, Renaissance for the University.
What to eat in Vienna
- Wiener Schnitzel: under Austrian food rules the name belongs to breaded veal; the pork version is sold as Schnitzel Wiener Art.
- Tafelspitz: boiled beef served in its broth with apple-horseradish and chive sauce, said to have been a favourite of Emperor Franz Joseph.
- Sachertorte: dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam, served with unsweetened whipped cream.
- Käsekrainer: a cheese-filled sausage from a Würstelstand, the street stands that keep the city fed late into the night.
Good to know before you go
- You can climb the 343 steps of the cathedral's south tower, or take the lift up the north tower to see the Pummerin up close.
- The State Opera sells standing-room places for most performances, a long Viennese tradition. Most shops close on Sundays, but museums and coffee houses stay open.
- For a day trip, the Wachau valley on the Danube, with Melk Abbey and terraced vineyards, is a UNESCO World Heritage landscape within easy reach by train.
Explore Vienna with World City Trail
Our Vienna scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 64 minutes of walking, and its stops include the University of Vienna, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Hofburg.
At each stop you solve a puzzle and hear a short story, at your own pace. You can start whenever you like.
Play the Vienna scavenger hunt →
Facts checked in October 2026.