Vienna

Vienna (German: Wien; pop. 1,539,800), capital of Austria, on the Danube River, one of the world's great cities. Associated with Josef Haydn, W. A. Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven, and the various Strausses, it is a celebrated musical, theatrical, and cultural center and has many famous buildings and museums, including the Hofburg, Schönbrunn, and Belvedere palaces, the Cathedral of St. Stephen, the State Opera, the Art History Museum, and the City Hall. A Roman town, it became the residence of the Hapsburgs in 1282. It was besieged by the Turks in 1529 and 1683. A great period of prosperity and building began in the 18th century, and Vienna was capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1918, when the modern republic of Austria was formed. In World War II it was occupied by the Nazis and bombed by the Allies. The modern city, population 1,500,000 (1987 est), is also a commercial and industrial center, producing machinery, metals, textiles, chemicals, furniture, handicrafts, and food products.

See also: Austria.