Vienna Ring Road

The Vienna Ring Road (German: Ringstraße, lit. ring road) is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular magnificent boulevard that circles the historic Innere Stadt area of Vienna, Austria. The route runs through areas where medieval city defenses formerly stood, including high walls and large open field ramparts (glacis), which were crisscrossed by roads that stretched ahead of them.

It was built when the city walls were demolished in the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1860s through the 1890s, several huge public buildings were built along the Ringstrasse in an eclectic historicist style known as Ringstraßenstil (“Ring Road style”), which included aspects of Classical, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture.

The Vienna Ringstrasse has been dubbed the “Lord of the Ring Roads” due to its architectural grandeur and history, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Many of the structures that line the Ringstraße date before 1870.

The following are some of the more notable buildings:

• Vienna State Opera (formerly K.u.K. Hofoper) in neo-romantic style by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll
• Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
• Palace of Justice
• Austrian Parliament Building, in neo-attic style (a reference to the democracy of ancient Athens) by Theophil Freiherr von Hansen,
• Rathaus (Town Hall) in Flemish-gothic style by Friedrich Schmidt,
• Burgtheater (formerly K.u.K. Hofburgtheater) by Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer,
• University of Vienna, in neo-renaissance style (a reference to the beginnings of the university system in northern Italy),
• Votivkirche, in neo-gothic style (a reference to the gothic Cathedrals of France) by Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel
• Wiener Börse (Vienna Stock Exchange)
• Urania observatory
• Österreichische Postsparkasse (Postal Savings Bank), in Jugendstil by Otto Wagner
• Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts) in neo-renaissance style by Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel
• Hotel Imperial (formerly Palais Württemberg)
• Palais Schey von Koromla
• Palais Ephrussi

The Votivkirche, the sole holy structure on the avenue, was constructed in tribute after Emperor Franz Joseph survived an assassination attempt in 1853.

The Winter Palace, or Hofburg, was expanded with the Neue Hofburg (New Hofburg), which now houses the Museum of Ethnology and the Austrian National Library. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) and the Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) were established for the imperial collections on the other side of the street. Originally, there was supposed to be a companion wing opposite the Neue Hofburg, across the Ringstrasse from the Museum of Natural History. This proposal, together with the Heldenplatz and the Maria-Theresien-Platz, would have formed the Imperial Forum/Kaiserforum. However, due to a lack of money, that proposal was canceled.

The Kriegsministerium (Imperial and Royal Ministry of War) was completed in 1913, bringing the construction to a close. The Ringstraßenstil was already somewhat out of date at the time, as seen by the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) influenced Postsparkassengebäude (Postal Savings Society Building) by Otto Wagner, which was erected beside the ministry building.

The Ringstraße was also lavishly built with green spaces and trees, with the most noteworthy parks being the Stadtpark with the Kursalon, Burggarten, Volksgarten, and Rathauspark, as well as other squares including as the Schwarzenbergplatz, Schillerplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz, and Heldenplatz. Various monuments may be seen along the Ringstraße. Among the many sculptures are those of Goethe, Schiller, Empress Maria Theresia, Prince Eugene of Savoy, Archduke Charles of Austria, the founders of the First Austrian Republic, Athena, Andreas von Liebenberg, Count Radetzky, Georg Coch, and Johann Strauss.

The Ringtheater fire in 1881 was the worst disaster, killing several hundred people. It was later dismantled and replaced by the emperor’s charity building, the Sühnhof, constructed in commemoration of the more than 300 fatalities and opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was demolished during the bombing of Vienna in 1945, and it now houses the municipal police headquarters.

Other structures that were destroyed or seriously damaged during WWII were the Opera House and the adjacent Heinrichshof, which was rebuilt in the 1950s by the Kärtnerhof. The Urania observatory, the Kriegsministerium, and the Parliament building were all severely damaged, while the Burgtheater was destroyed. The historic Hotel Metropole on the Franz-Joseph-Kai was totally demolished and rebuilt with a monument to Nazi victims.