You can walk over 1,716 bridges … at least you can in Vienna. Vienna actually has four times as many bridges as Venice. Just as interesting in terms of their architecture are the many historic fountains that dot Vienna’s streets and make it one of the most livable cities in the world. Ultimately, Vienna’s spring water flows from the drinking fountains!
The Vermählungsbrunnen fountain (1729) in the Hoher Markt is one of the most important Viennese fountain monuments of the Baroque period. The present-day stone and bronze version stands in place of a wooden monument that Emperor Leopold I. had built when his son Joseph returned from the war unharmed. The Donnerbrunnen fountain (1739) in the Neuer Markt also has an interesting history: the naked figures (allegories of the Danube's tributaries) were removed soon after Empress Maria Theresia established the Chastity Commission. Today, they are to be found in the Baroque Museum in the Lower Belvedere. The Donnerbrunnen fountain cannot be viewed until 2022 due to alterations. The Pallas-Athene Fountain (1902) in front of the Parliament building on the Ring shows river gods that embody the Danube, Inn, Elbe and Moldau. The Andromeda Fountain in the Old City Hall, the Austria Fountain on the Freyung and the Memorial Fountain to Empress Sisi in the Volksgarten are also worth a visit.
The nearly1.000 drinking fountains and 55 monumental and memorial fountains are all situated on central squares and are ideal quiet points to take a pause.
As a city on the Danube, Vienna also has many bridges to offer: ten over the Danube, 32 over the Danube Canal, 40 over the Wien River, 271 U-Bahn bridges and many more. The U-Bahn developed from the metropolitan railway designed by Otto Wagner, which required the construction of several bridges. These constructions may have been built for purely technical reasons, but were designed down to the smallest detail and are therefore definitely worth seeing. They mark the cityscape of Vienna to this day. Small but mighty is the Konstantinsteg in the Vienna Prater, which was opened in 1873 and is therefore - concerning the original construction - the oldest bridge in Vienna.
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