Archive: Aug 2018

Franziskanerkirche (or Franciscan Church of Vienna) is one of the several hidden gems of Vienna’s first district. Located in a small, beautiful Italianesque square in the medieval core of the old city the building is, as Lonely Planet calls it, ‘a glorious architectural deception’. The ‘deception’ comes from the difference between its simple, well-proportioned Renaissance…

The city center is home to several types of architecture and there are some buildings that are more visible than others either because of their beauty or their peculiar architecture. Under the category of the latter, one could include Jugendstil buildings, the Haas Haus, as well as those built during the “Red Vienna” years. Once…

Walking along the Kärntnerstraße could be a difficult endeavor as it is usually very crowded. And because of this perhaps one does not have the chance to admire the nice details that are to be found in that long and historical street. Maybe some of you have missed the mosaic located in the façade of…

If you have been in Vienna long enough you will definitely remember the “Südbahnhof” (Vienna’s south train station). The original Südbahnhof was built in 1859-1873, was damaged in WWII, and was eventually demolished. Its replacement started operations in the 1950s and served the city well for many decades. At the end, it was believed that…

Some days ago, your SV explorer came across a beautiful portal in the city center. This portal is part of the Batthyánypalais and is located at Bankgasse 2 (the Palais has another portal on the side of Herrengasse). The Batthyány was a family that originated in Hungary and one of them had this Palais built…

In the past we have written stories about the Albertina and the Coburg Palais and have mentioned that these are two of the three elevated spots that are left from Vienna’s city walls. The third spot is the “Mölkerbastei”, which is located right in front of the University of Vienna. Its construction dates back to…