The Prater is something that gets mentioned in books. Before coming to Vienna I had a rather nebulous idea of it - some kind of park? Or possibly a fairground?
It is in fact both. Previously the imperial hunting ground, the 6km² area was opened to the public by Kaiser Joseph II on 7th April 1766. It includes an amusement park known as the "Wurstelprater" with the famous Riesenrad (see
this post).
I went on Saturday to enjoy the autumn weather. Here are a few pictures so that you can all visualise it the next time it comes up in a novel.
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| The main avenue ("Hauptallee") is 4km long. |
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| Beloved of cyclists. |
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| Autumn light. |
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| The natural beauty is briefly interrupted by a road bridge crossing over the park. This is for Norman, who liked the graffiti. |
Hmmm. Guilty as charged, I suppose. I liked the other graffiti better; somehow it seemed to fit the urban setting (canal?). In the park, perhaps not so much. Or maybe it's the artist. At any rate, I have the feeling of malt and hops going to waste.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the park is beautiful. I especially like the allee; to me it feels very European.