Dritter Tag

Today was our first day of class, and of course I showed up late. Although unintentional, this meant that I missed the walking tour in the morning. In class we learned about the history and etymology of Vienna. Vienna is named for the river Wien, which now is just a trickle of water as they have diverted it. Vienna began as a Roman settlement known as Vindobona around 100 CE to the collapse of the Roman Empire around 476 AD. In the 8^th century, Frankish kings restored their power and expanded their empire eastward. This newly conquered area was opened for settlement but was constantly plagued by incessant warfare. On the 10^th of August, 955, King Otto I led an army against and defeated the Magdyars from Hungary at the Battle of the Lechfield. This victory allowed Otto to become Holy Roman Emperor. He placed the Babenberg dynasty in charge of keeping the Holy Roman Empire and Hungarian border stable. The Babenbergs ruled from 2 locations—Klosterneuburg and Melk. Klosterneuburg was (and still is) a monastery. Religious institutions at that time provided the most stable forms of local government. The Babenberg Heinrich II moved the court to Vienna and Duke Leopold financed the construction of the Viennese city walls by kidnapping Richard the Lionheart and holding him for ransom. He was excommunicated for this, yet the incident shows how much the rulers were willing to sacrifice for their territories. The Babenberg Dynasty ended in 1246 when Duke Frederick II died with no heir. The Habsburgs come into the Austrian scene after several decades.

After class we went on a guided bus tour. We visited the Belvedere castle, financed by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who defeated the Turks in the early 18^th century. The spectacular upper Belvedere is actually just a guest house—when the Prince would stay at the Belvedere, he would inhabit the smaller and less impressive lower Belvedere. We also visited the Hundertwasserhaus, designed by architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His buildings showcase his belief in organic unevenness and his hatred for straight lines and right angles. He also thought that if you are destroying vegetation for housing, then the only logical next step is to plant vegetation on your house. After that, we drove through Grinzing, the area of Vienna that Beethoven frequented and was often kicked out of for being too loud. Now many of these buildings have signs saying Beethoven lived there for a while. It seems to me like they are just trying to capitalize off his fame

We drove to the top of the mountains separating Vienna from Klosterneuburg and got an amazing 180 degree view of the city. It was from this location that the Polish king and Archduke Charles camped at while they waited for orders to attack during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, during which Vienna was almost taken. Back at the apartments, we had a potluck for dinner (I made salad) and then went to a microbrewery, where we witnessed the terrible Viennese waiters firsthand. In addition to kicking us out after one beer, they tried to overcharge us by 4 beers.