The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel and the Prater – the world’s oldest Ferris wheel in Vienna’s largest park. Where does the name of the Vienna Prater come from? What was it used for centuries? What are the two meanings of the Prater? When does a Viennese go to the Prater and take a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel?
The Prater, Vienna’s largest park at 6 km², is a huge recreational area for the Viennese. The 5km long Prater Hauptallee is popular for cycling, running and walking, and the Vienna Marathon also uses the beautiful route of this chestnut avenue.
The oldest mention of the Prater can be found in a document from the year 1162.
- Barbarossa gave the land, which was called Pratum (Latin for “meadow“), to a nobleman named Conrad de Prato. The de Prato family later called the Prater.
The relatively untouched alluvial forest on islands in the Danube has served the Habsburg rulers as a private hunting ground since the 16th century. Maximilian II bought the land from religious orders and parishes around 1560. The floodplain was thus the Habsburgs’ hunting ground for centuries and was made accessible to the public at the end of the 18th century, much to the chagrin of many a nobleman.
The Hauptallee quickly became a playground for high society. Coffee houses were built there in 1786, later a panorama was erected and the world-famous Bach Circus opened in 1808. While a glittering parade for court society developed on the Hauptallee, the people found ever new amusements in the Wurstelprater .
The Ferris wheel in the Wurstelprater
The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel is the main attraction of the amusement park and another landmark of Vienna. When the Viennese go to the Prater, it can be the recreation area or the Wurstelprater. Ideally, they combine the two. On special occasions (first communion, confirmation, engagement, marriage, birthday), the Viennese like to go to the Prater and take a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel.
The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel was inaugurated in 1897 to mark the 50th anniversary of the throne of Emperor Franz Joseph (Empress Elisabeth’s husband). It is the oldest Ferris wheel still in existence and, at 2.7 km/h, also the slowest in the world. It is approx.65m high and weighs a sensational 430 tons! The striking red gondolas take around 15-20 minutes to complete one rotation and the view from the top is magnificent. They say: if you haven’t taken a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel, you haven’t really seen Vienna!
Films are often shot on and in the Ferris wheel, e.g. the post-war classic “The Third Man” with Orson Welles or the James Bond film “The Touch of Death” with Timothy Dalton. The carriages are also often hired for birthdays, weddings and exclusive receptions.
For around 10 years, the Kaiserwiese in front of the Prater has always been a very hearty place in the fall. The “Wiener Wiesn”, a copy of the Munich Oktoberfest, has successfully established itself. It is well attended for three weeks in September/October. A good opportunity to get the “Dirndl” (traditional dress for women) and lederhosen out of the closet and dance to typical folk music with beer and Stelze.
Time Travel Tip: Take streetcar no. 1 from Schwedenplatz and get off at the Prater terminus. From there, walk along the main avenue to the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel. Children love a ride on the Liliputbahn, an old steam locomotive that has been puffing through the Prater for almost 100 years.
More info: www.praterwien.at
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wien_Riesenrad.jpg
