Friday 8 August 2008

Sunset at Leopoldsberg


St. Leopold's Church
Leopoldsberg
19th District (Döbling)

The Blue Danube
View of Donaustadt
(22nd District)





The Hills of the 19th District
with the city beyond.

Vineyards
Kahlenberg, Grinzing,
Heiligenstadt, Neustift,
to name a few.
All in the 19th District.

The Vienna Woods
Not only the vineyards,
also the woods are within city limits.

Looking West
The Danube, just before it
reached Vienna,
at the height of the town of
Klosterneuburg.

Klosterneuburg
The monastery was founded in 1114,
but the history of the place can be traced to Roman Times.
Click on the picture
to find out more about
its fascinating history
!

About the Leopoldsberg

"The Leopoldsberg (425 m, 1,394 ft) is perhaps Vienna’s most famous overlook, towering over the Danube and the city. Leopoldberg’s most prominent landmark is the church which stands at the top, and which is clearly visible from Vienna below. The construction of Saint Leopold's Church on Leopoldsberg began in 1679; an expansion following a design by Antonio Beduzzi was undertaken from 1718 to 1730.

History
Human settlements are known since the Stone Age and especially from Celtic people during the Iron Age. Originally, Roman Vienna or Vindobona was an oppidum (proto-urban settlement) on the Leopoldsberg. It belonged to the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, but the Emperor Augustus (through his general Tiberius) added the oppidum to Pannonia, which became a formal province during the second half of the reign of Claudius (41-54 B.C.). Through the centuries, the mountain, especially the southern slope, was bare of forest and used for vineyards and grazing. Modern-day Leopoldsberg therefore had the name “Kahlenberg” (it was the “bare” or kahl of the two) until 1693 when the baroque church was built on top, at which time the name was transferred to the neighboring mountain (modern-day Kahlenberg). In 1683, modern-day Leopoldsberg was the meeting point of King Jan III Sobieski’s Polish-Austrian troops, who defeated the Turkish invaders and liberated the city of Vienna during the Second Siege of Vienna (Polish veterans consider Kahlenberg as the setting of the famous battle
)."

Quoted from Wikipedia.org -
Click on the first picture to read more!

12 comments:

  1. so hot
    humid
    and about to rain here in my flat florida
    and then


    i pop over to vienna!


    :-)


    thanks ever~so for the mini~vacation!

    you are the best thing
    Vienna has going for its tourist board.

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  2. Cool to see a pic of the Danube. I've read so much about it.

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  3. The late sunlight gives a beautiful glow to your pictures.

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  4. Stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking, magical. You can bet I will be going up here when I visit someday!!!

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  5. What a beautiful sky with St. Leopold's church! Can NEVER get enough of the Danube photos. Thank you!
    ~Allie

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  6. I hope you realise what an absolutely beautiful country you live in.
    Oh how I wish I were in Vienna.

    *sigh*

    The grass is always so much greener on the other side. ;-)

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  7. Merisi - You have such a talent for capturing beauty.

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  8. I have been catching up on all your wonderful recent posts. The after hours swimming pool ones struck me as having unusual colors. Also I don't think I have seen recent pictures of the Danube.
    And I had to laugh at the Billy Collins poem about Italy.
    They have coined a new - appalling - word here for people who cannot afford to go on holiday this summer.
    They will have a "staycation"! formerly known as 'staying home'!

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  9. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SKYWATCH FRIDAY?
    Please check the previous post, which is my Skywatch contribution this week, with all the links to the list of other participants! :-)

    I wish you all a wonderful Sunday!

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  10. What a lovely blog of a gorgeous city! I've decided I must visit Vienna next June for my birthday - your photos make it look just like a delicious cake :)

    Thank you for a refreshing armchair vacation.

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  11. The Vienna Woods picture is beautiful. What a painting that would make!

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