Ringstrasse

   In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph ordered that the fortifications that had long enclosed the three sides of Vienna’s Inner City, or First District, be razed. His chief purpose was to remove what had become a major obstacle to the growth of the city, although populations in the immediately adjacent outer districts had been growing for well over a century. In the place of the walls was to be an internal boulevard, for which designs were solicited in an international competition held in 1858.

   As an urban thoroughfare, the Ring, as it is colloquially known in Vienna, opened in 1865. The various building projects lining either side of it took until 1888 to complete and were designed by some of Europe’s leading architects, among them August Sicard von Siccardsberg (1813–1891), Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), and Heinrich Ferstel (1828–1883). All three were strongly influenced by the historicizing styles of their day, particularly neo-Renaissance designs. These features can still be seen on the new university building by Ferstel, the new Burgtheater by Semper, and the Vienna State Opera by Siccardsberg and Eduard van der Nüll (1815–1868). Though most of these structures remain and are still in use, the character of the Ring has changed considerably over the past century. Its residential buildings, both aristocratic and upper middle class, were converted in the late 20th century into commercial quarters or luxury hotels. The coffeehouses that were once a feature of the Ring landscape have also largely disappeared.