Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the Vienna World’s Fair; an event that cemented Austria’s capital as a major global city. It helped Vienna become the city of culture, music, design and urban vision it is today, and in 2023 the destination will celebrate its past, present and future.
RAPID DEVELOPMENT
The World’s Fair saw the birth of modern city tourism in Vienna, as new hotels, coffee houses, rail stations and train lines sprang up. Many are still popular today, including the coffee house institution Cafe Landtmann and the legendary Hotel Imperial.
At the same time, the first Viennese high-source pipeline was installed, bringing crystal-clear spring water from the Alps to the city. The Ringstrasse boulevard continued to take shape, and more train stations and railway lines were built. Vienna’s path to becoming an important city of the industrial age was laid.
Exactly 150 years later, Vienna is undergoing a similar transformation. Its hotel industry is flourishing, the subway system is growing and all of its major train stations were renewed in the 2010s, making it Europe’s most important night train hub. The city is also home to one of Europe’s largest urban development areas, with the Seestadt Aspern district.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Visitors can celebrate Vienna’s past and present when visiting new attractions and events in 2023. The Weltmuseum Wien will mark the anniversary of the World’s Fair with a special programme, alongside a permanent space dedicated to the event, while the Museum of Applied Arts has two exhibitions linked to the Fair. The Museum of Technology will present an exhibition on Women At Work, and the Panorama Vienna exhibition venue opens in the spring.
Music lovers can visit the new House of Strauss museum, concert hall and hospitality venue, which opens in the historic Casino Zogernitz this spring. Foodies can indulge in Vienna’s contemporary food scene, and activities are planned to celebrate the soya bean, which Japan presented to the world for the first time at the World’s Fair. Vienna became the hub from which soya was spread around the globe, and in June it will host the International Congress of Soya Beans.
In 2022, Vienna was named the city with the world’s highest quality of life for the third time by The Economist, and with around 50% of green space it’s one of the greenest cities there is.
Clients can uncover the past, embrace the present and discover the future with a trip to Vienna in 2023.
