No doubt you’re familiar with kindergarten. And maybe you’re familiar with Ina Garten. (The beef stew recipe in her latest cookbook takes beef stew to a whole new level). How about Vienna’s Volksgarten? It’s a park in central Vienna. We’re headed there now. And on the other side of the Volksgarten lies the Heldenplatz. C’mon!
It’s a new day in Vienna, Austria. Yesterday we spent time walking around in the pedestrian zone of the Inner Stadt. Today we’re heading toward Hofburg Palace.
To get there, we’ll walk alongside one of Vienna’s main thoroughfares, the Ringstrasse, or Ring Road. The Ringstrasse will lead us to one of Vienna’s nicest parks, the Volksgarten.
The Ringstrasse is a multi-lane road encircling central Vienna. Most of the Ringstrasse has been built where Vienna’s fortified city wall used to stand. The Ottoman Turks couldn’t destroy it in 1687, but time and progress managed to make most of it disappear.
Der Volksgarten
We didn’t have to go far to reach the Volksgarten. It’s beautiful. Located in the heart of the city, it’s an expanse of manicured lawns, big trees, flowers, and statues.
Just like “Volkswagon” means “car of the people,” “volksgarten” means “peoples’ park.” Most of Vienna’s big museums are nearby, so it’s surrounded by classic buildings. The overall effect is like being dropped into a fairly world.
We walked along through the park’s long, curvy walkways, following a map we picked up at our hotel. I wanted to find the statue of Johann Strauss II. It’s around here somewhere.
Maybe you remember Johann Strauss II? He’s the kid who wanted to be a musician, but whose dad, the great composer Johann Strauss I, said “Nein way!” (Or words to that effect).
But Johann II was determined. Johann senior wasn’t able to stop him. Good thing, too, because today, Johann II – the Waltz King – is Vienna’s favorite composer.
We managed to find the statue of Johann Strauss II. There are statues and there are statues, but the statue of Johann Strauss II is special. Wow. This whole area is neat. What a nice place for volks to come and hang out.
Der Heldenplatz
We left the Volksgarten, heading towards the Heldenplatz. It’s just a short walk. Central Vienna is nice that way.
“Heldenplatz” means “Hero’s Square.” It’s a large open area in front of Hofburg Palace. Statues of two of Vienna’s hero’s watch over the square. They aren’t familiar figures outside of Austria, but the statues are nice. (By the way, in case I haven’t mentioned it, Vienna gets an A+ in the statue department).
One of the statues is of an Austrian commander who, as far as I can tell, is referred to as Archduke Karl. Does that name sound a bit odd, or is it just me? A bit too casual for an archduke, maybe? What if there was an Archduke Joe or Archduke Herman? Something wrong with that.
Go Karl!
Anyway, Archduke Karl is famous in Austria because he handed Napoleon Bonaparte his first loss in battle. How sweet that must have been. Napoleon thought his army could beat anyone, and Archduke Karl smacked him a good one.
The thrill of victory didn’t last long. Napoleon beat Karl in a rematch a couple of weeks later. But the win was good enough for Karl to get a cool statue on the Heldenplatz. On horseback, even!
When there’s something big going on in Vienna, chances are it will happen in the Heldenplatz. It’s the Viennese equivalent of Washington DC’s National Mall. Sometimes it’s a festival. Sometimes it’s a demonstration.
One time, in 1938, it was Adolf Hitler informing a huge Austrian crowd that as of that day, Austria was becoming part of Germany, and not to worry – he’d take it from there. It’s hard to image what that must have been like.
Next up – Hofburg Palace
To be continued…
Heldenplatz photo at the top of this post credit: Gwengoat,iStock photo ID:1824907717
