Curious Traveler

From a Roman military camp called Vindobona through its imperial heyday that gave us all this Baroque beauty, Vienna has so much to be curious about. Remember when you were a child and all you asked was why, why, why? Well, I never quite outgrew that whole quest for knowledge phase. In fact, I've made a career out of asking who, what, where, why, and how as an arts and travel journalist for the past 20 years.

So, if I have an insatiable curiosity about the exciting, inspiring, beautiful world of art, architecture, and hidden history all around us, I bet you do too. This isn't your typical what-to-do-on-a-vacation travel show, oh, no. This is your all-access pass to a deeper understanding of the world's great art and architecture, people and places, history and how-did-they-do-thats. So come along on our educational journey, our field trip for grownups who have never quite grown up, and learn on Curious Traveler.

(dynamic orchestral music) Vienna is easily one of Europe's most beautiful cities. In fact, I dare you to try to find an ugly building around here. Its architecture is almost exclusively Baroque. Why?

Well, because of its curious imperial history. (greeting in German) (spirited orchestral music)

Vienna

the architecture, the music, the coffee, and the sachertorte. Rivaling Paris as Europe's most beautiful city, with centuries of royal history, you can't help but feel a little royal yourself as you wonder this beautiful city. Vienna was once the center of a major European empire covering thousands of miles, ruled by one royal family for hundreds of years. And where there are royals, you need entertainment fit for royals.

So it was only natural that Vienna also became a world leader of culture and classical music. So, here is what I'm curious about in Vienna. Why are there so many giant, ornate public buildings all in a ring around Vienna? Who were the Habsburgs, and Maria Theresa, and Sisi?

Where did a six-year-old musical genius perform? When did Austria shrink to a tenth of its original size? Why did Francis II become Francis I? What is this Greek goddess doing in Vienna, and what do these eagles symbolize?

And, most importantly, how do you take in all of Vienna's beauty at once? (elegant orchestral music) Let's begin our journey into Vienna's imperial history at the heart of the city and the heart of the empire at the sprawling palatial complex known as Hofburg. The Hofburg is one of the largest royal palaces in all of Europe, with 18 wings, 19 courtyards, and 2,600 rooms. Hard to believe it all began as a humble Medieval fortress.

And you can still see remnants of its Medieval beginnings here in front of the palace. Like many European cities, Vienna can trace its roots to early Celtic and Roman settlements. I guess if the location is good, just keep building on top of it, right? The original castle dates back to the 13th century, and Hofburg just kept expanding, and expanding, and expanding through the 19th century.

But apparently even this wasn't enough space for the royal family, because there is a summer palace too, a sunny yellow one called Schonbrunn. (elegant orchestral music) Schonbrunn translates to beautiful fountain, and this area here actually has some very humble beginnings. First it was just a farmstead, and later on a simple hunting lodge, but once Maria Theresa got a hold of it, she did quite the makeover. Maria Theresa was the only female ruler of the Habsburg Empire.

When she wasn't redecorating Schonbrunn, she was busy ruling her empire for four decades of the 18th century. During her reign, she had several wars waged against her, some to contest her right to rule the Habsburg territories. How rude! But no problem, she dealt with both, and went on to reform the government, improve the military, and increase Austria's overall wealth.

She also married for love, not power, which was rare at the time, and had 16 children, one of which was the legendary "Let them eat cake" Marie Antoinette. In between all that, Maria Theresa received Schonbrunn Palace as a wedding gift. Beats a set of steak knives, right? And it was here in 1762 that a very important moment for Vienna and the world happened.

Leopold, the very ambitious musician, he presented his young boy, a six-year-old child prodigy, Mozart. He gave a concert here at Schonbrunn Palace in front of Maria Theresa. And they were highly rewarded. Maria Theresa was a singer herself.

And because of her love of music, Mozart returned to perform in Schonbrunn many times. We will explore his curious life in Vienna's music legacy a bit later. (gentle piano music) But back to the Habsburg dynasty. About a century after Maria Theresa, one of her descendants, Austria's legendary emperor, Franz Joseph, was born here at Schonbrunn Palace.

Emperor Franz Joseph ruled longer than any other Austrian emperor, 68 years in total. Now, Schonbrunn Palace has more than 300 rooms, but what's interesting is that Franz Joseph chose to live most of the time in two small rooms. This is one of them, his bedroom, and look how small his bed is. (spirited orchestral music) Of his many accomplishments, Franz Joseph's legacy includes helping to form the Austro-Hungarian empire.

And, on a much lighter and prettier note, he is also known for marrying the most beloved empress in Austrian history, with a cute little nickname. Empress Elizabeth was known as Sisi, and also known for her beauty, her charm, and her long, long hair. There's even a popular movie series about her. Sisi was widely loved and adored, kind of the Princess Diana of the 1800s.

She traveled the world, charmed heads of state, wrote poetry, and defied convention, including battling her meddling mother-in-law. Sisi remains an Austrian icon today. (dynamic orchestral music) But before Empress Sisi, before Franz Joseph, even before the Austrian Empire, Austria can trace its roots back to the Middle Ages and one of the most powerful royal families in European history, the Habsburgs. They came from a territory which is today part of Switzerland.

In the year of 1278 they got control about the territory which is the core of today's Austria. And they very slowly started to build up an empire. The Holy Roman Empire, it's not a nation as you would think of it today. Actually, the French philosopher Voltaire put it quite into a nutshell when he said, "The Holy Roman Empire is neither holy, nor Roman, "and not an empire at all." (laughter) So, the Habsburgs ruled over that non-holy, non-Roman, non-empire for centuries.

Although the titles of those rulers changed in the early 1800s when France's Napoleon I started causing trouble in Europe. So a Habsburg descendant named Francis

did something drastic to save the empire

he ended it. And what's even more curious, this particular Francis was born Francis II but died Francis I. What the heck? How did Francis II become Francis I?

'Cause that doesn't normally happen. (chuckling) Well, yeah, that's a typical Austrian solution. So he's Francis II as the Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I as the first Austrian Emperor. Excellent, he just didn't want to be number two.

He wanted to be number one, that's all it was. And it's important to note that this Austrian Empire covered a whole lot more than just modern-day Austria. At its peak, it covered 10 times the size of today's country. Starting from the west to today's Austria, then portions, huge portions of north Italy, then in the north there was all of today's Czech Republic, the south side parts of southern Poland, all of Slovakia, all of Hungary, the western portion of the Ukraine, then two-thirds of today's Romania, and all of Slovenia, then Croatia, and also northern parts of Serbia, also Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-

Christine

did something drastic to save the empire

Oh, is that all? So, how and why did this huge empire split apart? Well, a growing resentment towards imperial rule and a little thing called World War I happened. In October, 1918, the various nations and various ethnic or language groups of the empire started to declare themselves independent.

-

Christine

did something drastic to save the empire

And here's where it gets really interesting. After those little states were created, there almost wasn't a little Austria left at all. Austria actually was then nicknamed the country that nobody wanted, because at the time, actually, even the Austrians, people were not so convinced about the viability of this so much smaller country. -

Christine

did something drastic to save the empire

In part because the smaller country was incredibly vulnerable after World War I as the world crept towards World War II. And so there was a very strong tendency of being fused or merged with Germany. -

Christine

did something drastic to save the empire

So, after two World Wars and some serious downsizing, Austria had a bit of an identity crisis. So it is no surprise that today's Austrians and Viennese like to identify with happier times and the proud legacy of their Habsburg and imperial roots. Especially the Viennese person, you always have this Habsburg background, the history background, you always feel like, especially when you wonder along the Ringstrasse, you think that Austria's still a power that matters, which we don't, but you live on the backdrops of an empire. (spirited piano music) What is this Ringstrasse our Viennese friend speaketh of?

It is the oh-so-grand boulevard of Vienna, a circular one; hence the name Ringstrasse, or ring street. A grand project of grand buildings, parks, and gardens all began around 1858 under the reign of Franz Joseph. Much like Paris's Haussmann project, Vienna's Ringstrasse tore down the old city to erect the new. While the ring follows the Medieval city walls, those actual walls were tore down.

Only a few fragments of the original wall still remain. Like I said, throughout history, if the location is good, just keep building on top of that same spot. As you play ring around the strasse, you'll see each public building is a temple dedicated to its function, from a temple to music, the Vienna Opera House, to a temple to the empire, the Hofburg Palace. And instead of one style for all the buildings, the Ringstrasse is a gorgeous gallery of all different European architectural styles, beginning with Greek and Roman.

The Parliament buildings are perhaps the most stunning of the Ringstrasse buildings, and you can't help but notice it kind of looks like a Greek temple, right? Well, that's no accident. Not only was neo-classicism the architectural style of the time, but the architects wanted to make the statement that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was just as powerful as Greece or Rome. And standing proudly at the entrance we have the goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

And at her feet, surrounding her, we have four allegories of the four rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (spirited piano music) Next around the Ringstrasse, we start to see double. This is the beautiful Kunsthistorisches Museum, or fine arts museum, built between 1871 and 1891 to house the massive art collection of the Habsburg family. Now, the building itself is just one of the many beautiful Baroque buildings as part of the Ringstrasse project.

In fact, the architecture was so popular that... they built a duplicate, that's right, it's twin, right across the plaza, and this building is the natural history museum. (lively piano music) And right in the middle is our friend Maria Theresa, still holding court high above Vienna. Next, for something completely different.

Vienna's beautiful city hall is a little bit different than the other buildings along the Ringstrasse. Whereas many of them are the Baroque style, this one is neo-Gothic and was modeled after many other beautiful Gothic churches and secular buildings found across Europe. Now, in German, city hall translates to rathaus, so if you hear someone referring to the rathaus, no, that is not a commentary on politicians being rats. Last but not least, all the way at the top, we have a beautiful statue called the rathaus man, which came to be the beloved symbol of Vienna.

(elegant orchestral music) And just across from city hall is Vienna's temple to theater. The Burgtheater was the last of the beautiful buildings to be built here along the Ringstrasse. We have all around the building gorgeous decorations of playwrights and literary figures from throughout the centuries. At the top we have the god Apollo with the Muse of Tragedy on his right and Comedy on his left.

And inside we have gorgeous paintings by Gustav Klimt, Vienna's favorite artist. (elegant orchestral music) Now, for our last building, remember how the Medieval wall was torn down for the Ringstrasse? Well, there are a few Medieval buildings still standing within the Ringstrasse, and there is one that stands taller above the rest. St.

Stephen's Cathedral is a beloved icon of Vienna, and it is believed the version that we see today is the third church to stand on this very spot. The most interesting feature, of course, are those twin spires. You can see the south one here that extends all the way into the heavens with the gold on top, and then of course the matching north one on this side at the exact same height. Oh wait, that one was never finished.

Why wasn't it ever finished? Well, there are many legends about that, including financial troubles, the threat of Turkish siege, and plain old this Gothic style has gone out of style problems. So today it's fun to ponder all these possibilities. But more importantly, St.

Stephen's cathedral is the symbol of Vienna. The original church was built in the 12th century and has a quite curious history. It was severely damaged by fire during World War II but miraculously rose again in just a few short years. Lovely St.

Stephen's Cathedral has stood tall in the center of Vienna's inner city for more than 700 years. Joseph Haydn was a choir boy here, and Mozart got married here. And that unfinished north tower was capped with a Renaissance spire and houses the largest bell in all of Austria. That soaring south tower is still the highest point in Vienna's inner city.

But most curious of all is St. Stephen's Cathedral's rooftop with 230,000 multicolored glazed tiles. (impressive orchestral music) On one side there's a double-headed eagle, and the other, two single-headed eagles. Why?

Well, the double-headed one represents the Habsburg Empire, symbolizing many things, including its rule over East and West, rule granted by God and the elected people, and later the dual monarchies of Austria and Hungary. And what about those single-headed eagles? This one on the left is the coat of arms for the Republic of Austria, with the one-headed eagle representing Austria's sovereignty. It is often depicted with broken chains at the eagle's feet, symbolizing Austria's liberation from Germany in 1945.

And this one on the right is the city of Vienna's coat of arms. The shield on the eagle's chest, with a white cross over a red background, is believed to have been part of the seal of Vienna since the 13th century. (emotional choral music) All that heavy history is surrounded by light and mirth here at Stephansplatz at Christmas time. So let's continue with some light and mirth and beautiful classical music, which Vienna is known around the world for.

(moving string music) From the 16th to the 20th centuries, music wasn't just a light pastime here; it was a status symbol for the imperial family of Austria, and Vienna became a leading European center for music, with names like Strauss, Beethoven, and Haydn. And that fine music legacy continues today. Going to see a classical music concert in Vienna in a setting like this is as common as going to the movies. And this luxurious setting is the lovely Palais Auersperg.

Built between 1706 and 1710, it is considered Vienna's oldest Baroque palace, and it is a pretty darn perfect place to listen to the world's best classical music, because not only did Emperor Franz Joseph attend balls here, but some of the world's best composers performed here, including a very special one named Wolfgang. (lively orchestral music) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest composers in the history of classical music. The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, the Marriage of Figaro, and the haunting Requiem. Mozart is universally considered a musical genius.

Mozart famously began playing music at the age of three. And as an adult, his genius flourished, as he was able to create music in all the different genres of his time. And his impact on Vienna is as grand as his music. Even today, you can't pass a corner in Vienna without seeing something Mozart, especially tasty Mozartkugel chocolates.

(sighs) But I digress. But Mozart was born in Salzburg, so why is he so linked to Vienna? Well, the perfect person to ask that question to is our guide at the Mozart house, who just happens to have the same name

as Mozart's wife

Constanze. What brought him here to Vienna? He came here because his then boss, the Salzburg Archbishop, Hieronymus von Colloredo, told him to come to Vienna and to work from Vienna for him. But then again, Mozart was a freedom-loving person, and he was really fed up this barely paid position.

So he had a little bit of luck, maybe, because he had a huge fight with the Archbishop, and then he just said, "Okay, here in Vienna "I can become a freelance composer," and he became one. -

Christine

as Mozart's wife

Oh yes. From the beginning, the only thing that rivaled Mozart's talent was his rebellious spirit. While it was a struggle at first, eventually Mozart thrived in Vienna, calling it "the land of the piano." And some of his most famous works were performed for the first time here in Vienna, and written here in Vienna too, some of them in this beautiful little 17th century apartment. This is the apartment of Mozart.

Mozart spent his last 10 years of his life in Vienna, and during that time he moved 13 times, so he had 14 apartments. This is the only apartment which still exists today. All other apartments are gone. And he moved in here on the 29th of September in 1784, and he moved out again on the 23rd of April in 1787, so he lived here for over two and a half years, which was the longest time he spent in an apartment.

-

Christine

as Mozart's wife

But why did Mozart move so much? Did he just have fickle tastes, needed new inspiration for each composition? Nope. The reason was much more practical.

He never saved money. If he had money, he just spent it all, and so sometimes he had to move to smaller apartments. He was known for that, for the money he would get he would spend it out on parties and all sort of unsavory things. (chuckling) He had a good time, whereas maybe we think of him as this very serious genius.

He was not a serious person at all. No, he was very, very funny. He loved to make jokes, and he loved to make up names for people. But he also worked very hard.

I think that's very fascinating about him. -

Christine

as Mozart's wife

And you can see some of his most famous works here at the Mozart House Museum. During the time he lived here, he composed so many pieces, like the opera Le Nozze di Figaro, eight piano concertos, sonatas, and quartets. So many things were composed here. It's unbelievable how he did it.

-

Christine

as Mozart's wife

And today, you can stand in the very same room where Mozart would try out his new works for his friends. But in this room also, house music evenings would take place. So people for string quartets would come in and play the newest music of Mozart. He would invite his friends, guests, and they would listen to the music.

So this all happened in this room. That's exciting. So it's possible that he was sitting in this room, looking out down this same very street. Sure, he did.

Because the view you have here is an authentic view, because the houses to your left and right were still standing 250 years ago as well. So yeah, you have the same view that Mozart had. (spirited string music) You can almost hear Mozart's music spilling out into the streets of Vienna. (spirited string music) From a Holy Roman Empire that was neither holy, nor Roman, nor really an empire, to a once humble Celtic settlement and Roman fort that became the royal palace that just kept expanding, and expanding, and expanding, to a hunting lodge built on a spring that became the sunny summer palace where a young Mozart gave a concert for a Habsburg queen whose descendant changed his name from the Second to the First and created a new empire which paved the way for Austria's longest reigning emperor, who put a ring on Austria's most beloved empress and another type of ring around beloved Vienna that followed those Medieval walls and then decorated it with temples to music, art, science, culture, government, and of course the people, in all manner of shapes, styles, and symbols.

And inside that ring is a proud vestige of those Medieval days, a church with a wonky tower and important symbols of Austria's turbulent history. And just steps away, on a lovely little street, if you close your eyes, you just might hear the music of an Austrian-born musical genius trying out his latest composition inside this precious apartment above. Vienna has so much to be curious about. (spirited orchestral music) Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and how of Vienna.

As they say here in Austria, auf wiedersehen. (spirited orchestral music)