Situated right next to the Spanish Riding School and to Hofburg Palace, the winter residence of the Habsbourgs, the church of St Augustine has a history as long as the imperial family. It was here that the royal heads attended the weekly masses and also here some very famous weddings took place. Among those who […]

In a capital of architectural class like Vienna, the town hall couldn’t be anything less than a work of art. The Rathaus, as it is known, looks like an aristocratic palace but is in fact much recent than its look. The reason is that its architect, baron Friedrich Schmidt deliberately chose a historic architectural style […]

Salzburg is to classical music what Memphis Tennessee is to rock and roll. You don’t see fans with side whiskers, but it’s clear that everybody has a white wig somewhere in the closet at home for special occasions. And the entire city is preserved in the Baroque shape that the brilliant child admired so much. […]

Though the Salzburger Dome is the most famous and the biggest cathedral in Salzburg, there are also other Baroque churches in the city of Mozart. The most important two, the Holly Third Church and the Collegiate Church, are the work of perhaps the most important Austrian architect, Johann von Erlach, the same man who designed […]

Half of millennium ago, on the place of Ringstrasse, the most important boulevard in Vienna, stood the mighty city walls that stopped the Ottoman army in its march to the heart of Europe. At the orders of the Hapsburg emperor Franz Josef, the remains of the walls were turned into a wide boulevard in the […]

The Hofburg Imperial Palace has witnessed history from the time of Habsburgs to modern era, but its cultural value overwhelms its past. When this place was first used by the monarchs of Vienna we do not know, but it was already a royal residence in the 13th century, expanding and being rebuilt constantly. The Hofsburg […]

Unfortunately, as the church was under restoration process, I only have some modest pictures from the outside of this Gothic wonder. Though built in the middle of the XIX century, the Votive Church integrates very well in a city that takes great pride in its medieval heritage. The architect Heinrich von Ferstel, who was only […]

The plaza of the catholic cathedral is the central point of Salzburg, Mozart’s hometown. It is the oldest cathedral in the city and one of the largest in Austria. Its monumental proportions are the endeavor of the ambitious archbishop Wolf Dietrich and of the Italian architect Santino Solari. This baroque masterpiece is the place where […]

The elegant Lutheran cathedral in Salzburg is a testimony of endurance after a turbulent time. It was built in 1867, by the local protestant community after the shock of the religious cleansing a century before. In 1731, the followers of Martin Luther’s Reform movement were forced to leave the city and their possessions by the […]

A landmark of Vienna, Schonbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the imperial house of Austria, is among the most important tourist attractions of the city. Be sure to reserve a whole day for a complete tour of the 1442 (!) rooms palace, the zoo garden, the famous labyrinth, the botanical garden, and all the alleys […]