404 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp408–409

The imposing façade of Vienna’s

Opera House, Staatsoper

Staatsoper 7

Opernring 2. Tel (01) 51444 2250.

@ 59A. v 1, 2, D, J. % Karlsplatz.

http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at

Vienna’s Opera House, the

Staatsoper, was the first of

the grand Ringstrasse

Secession

Building 8

Friedrichstrasse 12. Tel (01) 587

5307. @ 59A. % Karlsplatz.

      10am–6pm Tue, Wed,

      
      

      Fri–Sun, 10am–8pm Thu. &
      http://www.secession.at

      
      

Designed by Joseph Maria

Olbrich in 1898, the unusual

Secession Building was a

showcase for the Secession

movement’s artists such as

Gustav Klimt, Kolo Moser and

Otto Wagner. The almost

windowless build ing, with its

filigree globe of entwined

laurel leaves on the roof, is a

squat cube with four towers.

Superb sculptures adorn Singer

Gate, Stephansdom

Stephansdom 6

Stephansplatz 1. Tel (01) 51552

3526. @ 1A, 2A. % Stephansplatz.

      6am–10pm daily. & 8 9am,

      
      

      1pm Mon–Sat, 1pm Sun &
      pub hols. 9 7 = Organ
      concerts May–Nov: 7pm Wed.
      http://www.stephanskirche.at

      
      

The Stephansdom, with its
magnificent glazed-tile roof, is
the heart and soul of Vienna.
A church has stood on the site
for over 800 years, but all that
remains of the original 13th-
century Romanesque structure

buildings to be completed.

It opened on 25 May 1869,

to the strains of Mozart’s

Don Giovanni. Built in Neo-

Renaissance style, the

Staatsoper did not appeal to

Emperor Franz Joseph, who

compared it to a “railway

station” leading Eduard van

der Nüll, its Austrian architect,

to commit suicide. Yet, when

the Opera House was hit by a

bomb in 1945 and largely

destroyed, the event was seen

as a symbolic blow to the city.

With a new state-of-the-

art auditorium and stage,

the Opera House reopened

on 5 November 1955, with a

performance of Beethoven’s

Fidelio. Gustav Mahler,

Richard Strauss and Herbert

von Karajan are among the

illustrious com posers who

have conducted here. Each

year, on the last Thursday

of Carnival, the stage is

extended to create a vast

dance floor for the Vienna

Opera Ball.

Splendid grand staircases gracing the side wings of the Burgtheater

Burgtheater 5

Dr Karl-Lueger-Ring 2. Tel (01)
5144 4140. v 1, 2, D.
% Schottentor. # Sep–Jun:
9am–6pm Mon–Fri, 9am–noon
Sat (tickets). & 8 3pm daily.
7 http://www.burgtheater.at

The impressive Burgtheater is
one of the most prestigious
stages in the German-
speaking world. The original
theatre, built under Maria
Theresa’s reign, was replaced
in 1888 by the present Italian
Renaissance-style building by
architects Karl von Hasenauer
and Gottfried Semper. It
closed for refurbishment in
1897 after it was discovered
that several seats had no view
of the stage. A bomb devas-
tated the building at the end
of World War II, leaving
only the side wings contain-
ing the grand staircases intact.
It has since been restored to
wide acclaim.

are the Heathen Towers and

Giant’s Doorway. Severely

damaged during World War II,

the cathedral was later

restored to its for mer glory.

Its interior contains an

impressive collection of art

spanning several centu ries.

Highlights are the Braoque

high altar and Pilgram’s

pulpit, decorated with por-

traits of the Four Fathers of

the Church. The 15th-century,

137-m (450-ft) Steffl or

South Spire, is the striking

symbol of the city.