Vienna Architecture – Our Compact Guide to the City’s Great Buildings

Vienna is a mecca for architecture lovers, a living, breathing museum of notable buildings. Let us introduce some of the city’s must-see structures while you time-travel with us through the evolution of architecture in Vienna.

Let’s start our tour in the very centre of Vienna at its beloved emblem, St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The lofty church has roots stretching back to the 12th century, and acquired its current Gothic form by the 16th century. As well as impressive altars and side chapels, its soaring interior is packed with precious relics and is the burial place of countless cardinals, bishops and Habsburg royals. Climbing the 343 steps to the top of the south tower – for centuries, no building in Austria was allowed to be taller – rewards you with a view of the distinctive sawtooth-patterned tiled roof.

• Stephansplatz, 1010 Vienna. (U1/U3 Stephansplatz).
• Open: Mon–Sat 6am–10pm, Sun 7am–10pm.
• Visiting the main nave of the church is free. There are charges for tours and for visits to the catacombs or the towers.

Our tip: Check out a beautiful, lesser-known Gothic jewel, the delicate Church of Maria am Gestade during your stay in Vienna.

In 1713, Kaiser Karl VI promised to erect a new church if the plague passed – it did, and the Karlskirche, designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, was completed in 1739. It’s dedicated to St. Karl Borromäus, whose life is depicted on two massive columns before the entrance. Resplendent in red marble with gold accents, the sumptuous interior is topped by a vast, lavishly frescoed dome.

• Karlsplatz, 1040 Vienna (U1/U4 Karlsplatz).
• Open: Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 11am–7pm (subject to variation).
• Visiting the church is free. It’s €9.50 (concession €5) to visit the treasury and the viewing terrace.

Our tip: Head to the terrace of the newly reopened Wienmuseum (free) for a spectacular perspective on the Karlskirche and Karlsplatz.

Not far from the Karlskirche is another Baroque marvel, the Belvedere (tram D Schloss Belvedere), the pair of palaces the great general Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736) had built as a summer domicile. Completed in 1723, the two buildings are separated by ornamental gardens over three terraces. The fabulously lavish halls of the Upper Belvedere house a magnificent art collection, including Gustav Klimt’s iconic “The Kiss (Lovers)”.

Doubtless Vienna’s most famed palace – and one of Europe’s most splendid Baroque masterpieces – is the vast summer residence of the Habsburg emperors, Schönbrunn. Originally a hunting lodge, the building was completely redesigned and expanded from 1743 at the behest of Empress Maria Theresa. The palace, with its 1,441 opulently rococo rooms, sits in manicured gardens with fountains, statues and monuments. Stroll up to the graceful hilltop Gloriette pavilion, where Kaiser Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi would take breakfast, for panoramic views. Since 1752, the gardens have also been home to Vienna’s zoo.

• Schönbrunner Schlossstrasse, 1130 Vienna. U4 Schönbrunn or Hietzing (for the zoo).
• Open: 8:30am–5:30pm April–October, 8:30am–5pm November–March. The gardens are open from 6:30am until around sunset.
• Tickets for various themed tours start at €20 (kids €13) and can be booked online.

In 1857, Kaiser Franz Joseph decreed that what remained of the medieval city walls be razed, to be replaced by a grand boulevard. The construction of the 5.3km horseshoe-shaped Ringstrasse triggered a veritable construction boom. The ascendent bourgeoisie built themselves imposing palaces, between which monumental public buildings were erected. Numerous architectural styles of the past were taken as inspiration by architects including Theophil von Hansen, Gottfried Semper and Heinrich von Ferstel – the avenue gave name to its own brand of Historicism: Ringstrassen-style. A walk (or a tram ride – we suggest hopping aboard Line 1 at the opera house) offers a buffet of revivalist styles from the Neo-Gothic Rathaus (city hall) and Votivkirche or the Neoclassical parliament to the Burgtheater’s Neo-Baroque or the Neo-Renaissance of the State Opera and the university.

Our tip: The highly recommended ivie app offers a great audio tour of the Ring.

Around the turn of the century, a group of artists rebelled against conservative revivalism, joining together as the Vienna Secession. The headquarters of Jugendstil, the local variant of Art Nouveau, the Secession museum was designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich – with its lavish leafwork dome (“the Golden Cabbage”) it’s still a stand-out landmark.

The group’s most prominent architect was Otto Wagner, whose handprint is all over modern Vienna. A couple of his ornately decorated buildings, featuring rich, botanically inspired adornments, are a few steps from the Secession on the Linke Wienzeile street. Perhaps the most renowned example of his architecture in Vienna is his remarkable Church at Steinhof on the edge of the city, featuring a spectacular gold-plated dome. Wagner designed the interior himself, with a focus on harmony between decoration and practicality.

• Baumgartner Höhe 1, 1140 Vienna (U3 to Volkstheater then bus 48A).
• Open Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 2pm–5pm, Sun 11am–5pm. (Winter hours may vary).
• Tickets €5 (concession €4).

Otto Wagner was also an urban planner, conceiving the Stadtbahn city railway, and his design of many stations on today’s U4 and U6 U-Bahn lines is unchanged. (We suggest hopping out at U4 Stadtpark.) Later in his career, he moved his focus more toward functionality, and his Postsparkasse bank (U3 Stubentor) is a prime example of Viennese modernism, where every detail inside and out is meticulously considered. There’s now a café in the entrance hall where you can soak up the ambience.

Adolf Loos, a colleague of Wagner, also rejected superfluous ornamentation – his Loos House on Michaelerplatz was loathed by the Kaiser for its lack of decoration.

After WWI and the collapse of the monarchy, the Social Democrat local government undertook a bold plan to improve the living conditions of workers. Large social housing complexes, many conceived by students of Otto Wagner, featured well-equipped apartments, as well as amenities such as swimming pools, shops, laundries and kindergartens. The buildings are scattered all over Vienna, but the most iconic 1920s “Red Vienna” estate is the vast Karl-Marx-Hof (U4 Heiligenstadt), with over 1,200 apartments. From 1930, the city also began to build small single-family houses based on the design concepts of the Bauhaus movement. The project was sadly curtailed by the rise of Austrofascism, but the Werkbund Estate (U4 Ober St. Veit then bus 54A) survives as a fine example of Viennese modernist housing. The visionary ideas of Red Vienna still inform city housing policies today.

One quirky public housing project was designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The 1980s Hundertwasserhaus features colourful facades and around 200 trees and shrubs on balconies and terraces. You can’t enter the building, but Hundertwasser’s nearby Kunst Haus Wien also evinces his characteristic love of flowing curves, colours and greenery. It has a permanent Hundertwasser exhibition as well as changing art shows.

• Hundertwasserhaus, Kegelgasse 37-39, 1030 Vienna (U3/U4 Landstrasse).
• Kunst Haus Wien, Untere Weißgerberstrasse 13, 1030 Vienna (U3/U4 Landstrasse).
• Open daily 10am–6pm.
• Tickets €15.

Our tip: Watch out for the towering, mirrored chimney Hundertwasser designed for the Spittelau waste incineration plant.

Vienna’s most offbeat church, and a rare example of Brutalist architecture in Vienna (the United Nations HQ is another), is the mid-70s Wotrubakirche (Bus 60A), designed by sculptor Fritz Wotruba and comprising daringly stacked concrete blocks rising heavenward.

Strict regulations to protect Vienna’s architectural heritage (and perhaps a touch of conservatism) mean that contemporary architecture is often separated in the cityscape from its historical counterparts. One remarkable exception is the MuseumsQuartier (U3 Volkstheater), where the Baroque former imperial stables sit together with the white cube of the Leopold Museum (with a marvellous collection of Austrian art including the foremost Secessionist painter Gustav Klimt) and the striking grey Cubist mumok contemporary art museum. The three form a beautifully harmonious ensemble – and a beloved hangout spot. The MQ is also home to the Architekturzentrum Wien, with engrossing exhibitions on modern and contemporary Austrian architecture.

Other groundbreaking contemporary projects include Donau City, with Dominique Perrault’s slender DC Towers (U1 Kaisermühlen VIC), and the new WU, the University of Business and Economics (U2 Messe-Prater). The vast campus, designed with sustainability at its heart, features an ensemble of innovative buildings centred on Zaha Hadid’s breathtaking library and learning centre, with a soaring cantilevered upper section which appears to float over the main courtyard.

To conclude your architectural exploration, we recommend settling in with a much-deserved signature cocktail beneath the vibrant Pipilotti Rist-designed ceiling artwork at Das Loft on the 18th floor of Jean Nouvel’s striking, angular SO/ Vienna. It’s the perfect bird’s-eye vantage point to soak up Vienna’s splendour.