WIEN

Capital of the Federal Republic of Austria, Wien is one of the most prestigious metropolis of Central Europe. Situated on the right shore of a branch of the Danubio, the Donaukanal, a part on a plain, a part on the slopes of the Wiener Wald, dominates a huge landscape between the plain of the Danub at East, and the first part of the Alps at West. The city by the noble aspect, with its churches, its stately Baroque buildings and the neoclassical ones and its gardens, is the point of meeting of different civilization - the Germanic, the Latin and the Slavonic - and the symbol of the majesty of the old Habsburg empire. Great center of art and culture, full of Museums and seat of a famous University, but Wien is also a live and modern metropolis, commercial and industrial center of the whole nation.
By Roman origin, Wien is considered the glorious legacy of the Habsburg dynasty, that had an important role in all the Europe for over 600 years. Despite the presence of numerous architectural beauties and an interesting musical inheritance, some years ago the city seemed to be exclusively populated by old ladies who spent their time drinking coffee in the konditorei.
However in the last years the city has taken back its vivacity and it develops the new role of ambassadress of Austria in United Europe.
The golden period of Wien as cultural capital of Europe  has been between the XVIII and the XIX century. Great part of the stately architectures, today still visible, were ordered by the emperor Franz Joseph who had the ambitious plan to build a city that reflected the power of Habsburg. He demolished for exercises some useless fortifications and courtyards that surrounded the central zone called Innere Stadt and traced the Ringstrasse between 1858 and 1865. In the following decade started the construction of the greatest part of the stately buildings that stand on this road.
Great part of the places of tourist interest in Wien are situated inside the Ring, in the Innere Stadt. The Cathedral of S. Stephen with the Romanesque Towers of the Pagans is really spectacular, but also the Gothic Südturm (southern tower) high 136 meters and the magnificent roof of enameled tiles. The catacombs of the cathedral hosts an ossuary of the innumerable victims of the plague.
The Hofburg (Imperial Building), that is found in the neighborhood, was the residence of the Habsburg and is a monumental symbol of culture and historical inheritance. It includes the Church Agostiniana of the XIV century, the opulent imperial apartments, the Chapel of court (where on Sundays are held the mass sung by the white voices of the Young Choristers), the imperial treasure (that includes religious relics among which one of the nails of the Crucifixion and one of the thorns of the crown of Jesus), the National Library, the Baroque Prunksaal and the fascinating collection of old musical instruments.
For people who love culture, the Museum of Belle Arti exposes the works taken to Wien by the Habsburg. The museum is itself a delicious and rich construction, and boasts collection of pictures of Rubens and Peter Brueghel the Old. It is not possible to see everything in only a visit. The Sigmund Freud Museum is situated in the apartments where the founder of the psychoanalysis lived and worked; there are the original furniture, documents, photos and different objects among which the curious male genital made by clay.
Outside the centre of the city there is the Belvedere, built for the prince Eugene of Savoia. Today the building entertains the Austrian Gallery, that exposes The kiss of Klimt. The other famous Baroque building of the city is Schönbrunn, a time residence of Maria Teresa and then of Napoleon. The inside, a triumph of rococo excesses, had two thousand rooms, a chapel and a theatre. In the Room of the Mirrors Mozart performed his first concert. The Room of Napoleon (who lived in the building from 1805 to 1809) contains a taxidermy skylark.


SALZBURG

Salzburg, capital of the Austrian Baroque style and place of birth of Mozart, is placed near the border with Germany, crossed by the river Salzach and surrounded by beautiful mountains. The most beloved and known Salzburg, rich of pinnacles, domes, towers and turrets, it is due to the patronage of three bishop-princes and was built between the end of the XVI and the beginning of the XVII century. The old city, on the southern bank of the river, it is a Baroque masterpiece of churches, squares, courtyards and fountains. Museums, houses, squares, chocolate, liqueurs, here everything brings the name of the famous musician.
The central point of a trip to Salzburg is constituted by the visit to the fortress of Hohensalzburg, a building of the XI century built on a rocky peak high 120 meters above the city. It is almost a separate city with all the infrastructures of a small self-sufficient centre like representation and  torture rooms, a tower and two museums.
On the oriental side of the old city, the Museum of Natural History contains the usual exhibition of flora and fauna, scientific exposures with practical activities and some gruesome examples of malformations. To complete this happy experience, the catacombs of the cemetery of the Abbey of S.Peter can be visited (IX century).
If you take part to a musical pilgrimage, you can visit the place of birth of Mozart, his house, the grave of his father and of his widow, the house of the friend of someone whose great-grandfather once played the second bundle in a work of Mozart. Naturally, during the International Festival that is held in the city in July and August the music of the genial composer are performed in a perfect way. If you are a kitsch lover instead you can try The Sound of Music tour: 10 dollars for the best imitation of Julie Andrews that sings 'The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music.' Four kilometers south of the old city is placed the Baroque building of Hellbrunn, ordered in the XVII century by the bishop Marcus Sitticus. The park contains clever and deceivers fountains: watch out to not wet yourselves!


GRAZ

In Graz the place for buying food with the wicker basket under the arm, is the market of Kaiser-Josef-Platz, where products are sold by the farmers that every day (except Sunday), arrive from the countries. Second in Austria, after the capital, for population (240mila inhabitants), Graz is called "green city" for the avenues and the gardens, but also because the near highway was buried preserving the landscape of its hills. The whole historical centre (reserved to pedestrians, bicycles and buses from the seventies) is from the 1999 and had the recognition of the Unesco of  Patrimony of the Humanity: thanks to its medieval,  Renaissance, Baroque and jugendstil buildings, situated on the left shore of the river Mur. However it is not an open air museum: it is an industrial city (tied up above all to the automobile) and a university one (frequented by 40 thousand students in the three seats; it also boasts the first jazz faculty founded in Europe). Every year are organized important performances of music(Styriarte, the Summer Festival directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, from Graz and nephew of the archduke Giovanni of Habsburg), of avant-garde drama (Steirischeer Herbst, the Stiriano Autumn, which Samuel Beckett has contributed, Günter Grass, Allen Ginsberg, Eugène Jonesco) and of literature(from the sixties is held Forum Stadtpark that has consolidated its fame of point of reference for the literature of German language). 
To visit and live Graz is always a pleasure. The period of the Advent is perfect for people who loves to walk along the snowy streets and buildings of the historical centre, illuminated by an avant-garde technology that projects the decorations; for the Christmas markets (close to the Franziskanerkirche, in the Hauptplatzes, Mariahilferplatz, Faberplatz); for admire the Renaissance court of the Landhaus, the Region Palace and for the masterpiece of the sculptor Gert J. Höldl: a crib carved in 50 tons of ice.
In the 2003 Graz has been named European Capital of Culture. Today is a lively reality rich of culture and art, and its Schlossberg is a beautiful balcony on the city.


INNSBRUCK

Innsbruck is an alpine city of around 120.000 inhabitants, situated on the confluence of the river Inn with the Sill.  Its name means "bridge on the Inn", from the river that crosses the city. It is the capital of the Tirol and Episcopalian centre, charming not only for the landscape, but also for many interesting historical monuments. It was a Roman settlement and then seat of the Habsburg of the Tirol in the XIV and XV century. Among the monuments to be visited there are the Baroque church of St.James, the Goldenes Dachl palace of ‘500, the Hofkirche and the Imperial Palace.
While Innsbruck has world fame as congressional, sporting and cultural city, its inhabitants enjoy a quality of life of the most elevated of Europe. And this for a good reason: here is the point of meeting of extremely varied natural and cultural landscapes, a mix that gives the opportunity to live very exciting moments.
If you deal with the World Cup of jump with the skis, or the "Summer of the dance", or the Autumn Festival or of the great Party of New Year's eve "Bergsilvester", Innsbruck is a city to fall in love with. Long the main road, the Maria-Theresien-Strasse, it is possible to admire the Triumph Arc, erected to celebrate the marriage of the future emperor Leopold II, and the Annesaule, the          Sant' Anna column, built in 1704 to celebrate the liberation of the town from the Bavarian troops. Finally you rich the Covered Market, open everyday and full of characteristic products. Going on to the historical centre you cross the Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse, a very particular road completely paved of cobbles. Here there are the more ancient monuments, like the Altes Rathaus, the municipality dominated by the civic tower of 1442 from which it is possible to enjoy a spectacular view on the town, the palace where lived Mozart (1769); the Neuer Hof, residence of the dukes Frederich IV and Sigismond Of The Tirolo. On its façade is situated the very famous Goldenes Dachl, composed by a decorated balcony that is covered by 2657 copper leaves.
There are many others things to see in Innsbruck: the Hofburg, for instance: it is the Imperial Palace used by the Empress Elisabeth, surrounded by the magnificent garden; close to it the Hofkirche, the court church and the theatre of court, today palace of the congresses. Among the museums, the Ferdinandeum, with rich prehistoric collections and the greater Austrian Gothic collection, the Museum Of The Alpine Club, which presents the alpine art of the last two centuries, the Weiherburg Castle (1480), seat of contemporary exhibitions, and the Museum Of The Swarovski Crystals.
The most ancient inn of Austria (1390) also deserve a visit, the inn of the Gold Eagle (Gasthof Goldener Adler): at the entrance are written the names of all the famous people who stopped there. Innsbruck is the ideal destination for people who want spend a holiday between town and mountain. The countries connected to the capital of the Tirolo are 15, and offer sports, nature, walks and entertainments. Patsch and Ellbogen offer the families a view and an uncontaminated landscape; in the evening, it is also possible take part to a suggestive excursion lighted up by lanterns.
For people who loves the high tops, it is also possible have dinner or a party at 2000 meters of height, cause thanks to the cableway you can easily reach the Nordkette and enjoy a spectacular sight of Innsbruck during day and night, with its lights, its colors and its magic atmosphere.
The countryside life, the use of ancient tools and the biological cuisine of Tirolo made this splendid town and his neighborhood an ideal place for your health and to forget the stress.


KLAGENFURT

Klagenfurt, capital of the Carinzia, compete with the other Austrian cities displaying the glamour of the province centre, and it is presented by the elegance of eighteenth-century, the urban style of 1500, and the green and the flowers, from the gardens to the balcony of the houses. The lively youthful and familiar animation spread from the coffee to the banks of the close lake. 
Klagenfurt has 88.000 inhabitants and recently became a university centre and seat of the bishopric of Gurk.  It is considered an outpost of the German culture towards the Slavic world, situated in the basin of the middle of the Drava, to the convergence of the rivers Glan and Gurk, not far from the Worthersee, that is connected by a channel.  It is an important point of communication  for trade of the rest of the Country, Italy and the Balkans.  The commercial life is also very dynamic (annual fairs of the wood, the gastronomy and the tourism) and supported by a cultural life (university, museums, galleries of art, theatres) and an effective tourist promotion. 
The territory of the city had originally swampy features, but was recovered thanks to great operations of reclamation.  Today Klagenfurt is set in a wonderful landscape, covered by over than one thousand pools that constitute a large attraction for the tourists together to the lake coastline, one of the largest in Europe.  The town is one of the main holiday destinations for the Austrians, besides to constitute a point of  connection with Slovenia Italy. 
With a little fortune it is possible to see navigate on the waters of the lake ‘Thalia’, an old restored steamboat. The ancient legends narrate of a dragon that used to live in this region frightening and killing the inhabitants. Today this ancient monster has become the symbol of the city and it is also represented in the statue of the fountain in the centre of the Neuer Platz. The historical centre is disposed around this rectangular square sheltered by platans, following the rigid lines of the decuman. The Neuer Platz is bordered by some buildings in neoclassical style, like the Palais Porcia, today an hotel, and the Palais Orsini-Rosemberg, housing the new town hall. The Alter Platz maybe represents the zone more fascinating of Klagenfurt: long and narrow like a road, it is surrounded by the old town hall of the XVII century and some baroque houses of the first part of the XVIII century.
The Stadtpfarrkirche St. Agyd, that is the church of S. Egidio, was rebuilt at the end of the XVII century on a gothic building of a previous period; inside there are some frescos of J. Von Molk and some Renaissance and baroque graves.  The building of the Domkirche St.  Peter und Paul was seriously damaged and in part demolished during the world second conflict; it was erected in the XVI century, has only one nave decorated with stucco works and lateral chapels, facing a garden.  Nearby it is possible to visit the Diocesan Museum that collects some valuable examples of sacred art from the gothic period to the neoclassical one. 
Probably the building that deserves greater attention is the Landhaus in Renaissance style, with a horseshoe bat courtyard decorated with two towers surmounted by a Baroque bulb dome, loggias and arcades. It was planned by Hans Freymann in 1574 and finished only few years later. Inside there is the important room of the coats of arms, the so-called Wappensaal, decorated by the emblems of the noble of Carinzia. The Landhaus is surrounded by some splendid buildings in neoclassic and Biedermeier style.


EISENSTADT

Eisenstadt is the chief town of the Burgenland.
Its name means "iron city" and it derives from the belief that its impregnable boundaries were constituted by this element. It was the residence of the principles Esterházy, whose castle dominates the city. Today the theatre of court is still open to the public and concerts of music are performed. Besides the castle there are many other baroque buildings, among which the house-museum of Haydn. In the main square is held a colored country market.


ST. PÖLTEN

St. Pölten recently became chief town of the southern part of Austria. City of Roman origin, placed on the two banks of the Traisen in a fertile plain. It owes important industries and it is an Episcopalian center. The centre preserves the elegant Baroque aspect, for this reason it is called  "city of the Baroque".


BREGENZ

Bregenz is the chief town of the Vorarlberg. Lively town situated in the depression formed by the Rhine at the extremity of the lake of Constancy (Bodensee), part in plan and part on the slopes of the Pfänder Mountain, is center of trades between Switzerland and Germany, seat of industries and famous events.


LINZ

Linz is the chief town of the northern part of Austria.
Third city of Austria and port on the Danube river, it is constituted by an ancient nucleus, situated on the right bank of the river, and by a modern part. Seat of important industries, great knot of communications and Episcopalian center. Founded by the Romans (Lentita), it was all Middle Ages long the fortress of the dukes of Baviera and then of the Empire.

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