For the 10th time in a row, the Austrian capital has taken first place in the annual ranking by consulting firm Mercer, which rates cities by quality of life worldwide. We show you how beautiful Vienna is.
Image: picture alliance/ IMAGNO/G. Trumler
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Vienna, a gilded metropolis
Vienna is the city of Art Nouveau and its golden buildings. These places in the Austrian capital are particularly shining.
Vienna's historical and tourist center lies in the 1st District. Opposite the Palais Equitable (center left), St. Stephen's Cathedral is reflected in the Haas House (right), designed by Austrian architect Hans Hollein. Opened in 1990, the building, with its mirrored windows and curved, projecting façade, caused controversy. Is it a brutal eyesore or the arrival of modernism at long last?
Image: picture alliance/APA/picturedesk.com
Vienna Secession
Vienna has been ahead of its time before. This Jugendstil building from 1897/98 bears the inscription "To every age its art; to every art its freedom," the credo of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists led by the painter Gustav Klimt. They sought new, modern forms of expression in their works. An interesting architectural element is the leafwork dome which is nicknamed the "cabbage head."
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) created a frieze, now in a special room in the basement, for an exhibition in 1902, taking Beethoven's 9th symphony as its theme. Over 34 meters, an interconnected series of frescoes depicts humanity's yearning for happiness.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Schlager
Golden Phase
The Beethoven frieze is considered a major highlight of Viennese art nouveau. It also began what is known as its creator Klimt’s Golden Phase. This “Choir of Angels,” and “Embracing Couple,” as well as his famous paintings “The Kiss,” “Judith,” and “Adele Bloch-Bauer” all belong to that period. The last-mentioned provided exciting material for the 2015 film “Woman in Gold” with Helen Mirren.
Image: picture alliance/akg-images
Church of St. Leopold
One of the world’s loveliest art nouveau churches was designed by the Viennese architect Otto Wagner (1841-1918). Built between 1904 and 1907, it’s considered the first modernist era church in Europe. His fellow artist Koloman Moser from the Vienna Secession designed the stained glass mosaic windows. When it was renovated in 2006, two kilograms of gold leaf were needed for the dome alone.
Altars, tabernacle, confessional box, a hygienically dripping holy water font, light fixtures and even the priests‘ vestments were made according to Otto Wagner’s designs. When the Church of St. Leopold opened it was criticized harshly by the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914), who preferred imperial pomp and circumstance. The church can be viewed at weekends for an entrance fee.
Image: picture alliance/Godong/F. de Noyelle
Karlsplatz Station
Two pavilions on Karlsplatz show how beauty and practicality can be combined. They were set for demolition when the square's subway station was built, but after public outcry were renovated and reassembled two meters above their original level. They no longer provide direct access to the underground platforms. The western pavilion is now part of the Wien Museum; the eastern one is a café.
Apartment blocks were among the striking buildings Otto Wagner designed in Vienna during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One is the Majolica House, at Linke Wienzeile 40. The architect, also a committed urban planner, had it covered completely with decorative floral tiles at his own expense. It was meant to be both beautiful and practical. The ceramic surfaces are easy to clean.
Image: picture-alliance/robertharding/N. Farrin
Hohe Brücke
There was always a bridge at this location – first wooden, then walled. In 1904 the bridge over the street was rebuilt as an art nouveau structure, and it’s now historically listed. Views of its previous incarnations are engraved on its marble cladding. And by night the whole bridge seems to shine gold.
Image: imago
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Vienna thus leads the ranking for the tenth year in succession. Mercer praises, among other things, the quality of public transport and the wide range of cultural and leisure activities on offer.
Zurich ranks second; Munich shares third place with Vancouver in Canada and Auckland in New Zealand. Düsseldorf ranks sixth, followed by Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Geneva and Basel.
For its ranking, Mercer examines the quality of life in 231 major cities around the world. It takes into account 39 criteria, including health care, transport, air pollution, safety and political stability. The study is aimed at governments and companies that send employees abroad.
The Iraqi capital Baghdad (ranked 231), the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui (230), the Yemeni capital Sanaa (229) ranked last. The reasons include political instability, poverty and the climate.