Ringstraße

The Ringstraße (also known as Ring) is a street in Austria's capital Vienna. It goes around the first district in almost the shape of a circle. The street is 5.2 km long and is divided into nine sections. It is one of the main sights in Vienna.

History

The walls were replaced by the Ringstraße

Stubenring

On December 20th, 1857, emperor Franz Joseph I. ordered to destroy the old city walls and to build a street which should show the glory of the Habsburg Empire. The old walls were a traffic block because in 1850, the suburbs became part of the city as districts II. till IX. The order of the emperor outlined the exact size of the boulevard, as well as the geographical positions and functions of the new buildings. The only building which was erected by the city was the Town Hall.

During the following years, a large number of important public and private buildings were erected. Nobility and bourgeoisie began to build mansions along the street. Most of them were built in the Ringstraßenstyle, which mainly quotes older styles.

Sections of the Ringstraße

The Ringstraße has several sections. It surrounds the central area of Vienna on all sides, except for the northeast, where its place is taken by the Franz-Josephs-Kai, the street going along the Donaukanal (a branch of the Danube). Starting from the Ringturm at the northern end of the Franz-Josephs-Kai, the sections are:

Schottenring (named after the Schottenstift)
Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Ring (Karl Lueger)
Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring (Karl Renner)
Burgring (Hofburg)
Opernring (Vienna State Opera)
Kärntner Ring (Carinthia)
Schubertring (Franz Schubert)
Parkring (Wiener Stadtpark)
Stubenring (named after the Stubenbastei, part of the viennese citywall since 1156)