Frankfurt

Frankfurt at the night


Frankfurt am Main is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth-largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, with an end-2006 population of 661,877. The urban area had an estimated population of 1,468,140 in 2000. The city is at the center of the larger Frankfurt Rhine Main Area which has a population of 5 million and is Germany's second largest metropolitan area.

Situated on the river Main , Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany. Frankfurt is the place of residence of the Europen Central Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is one of the two largest financial centres in continental Europe (the other one being Paris). Frankfurt was named Europe's richest city in 2001 as measured by GPD per capit. It is also listed as one of nine Alpha world cities.

Among English speakers the city is commonly known simply as "Frankfurt", though Germans occasionally call it by its full name when it is necessary to distinguish it from the other (significantly smaller) Frankfurt in the German state of Brandenburg, known as Frankfurt. It was once called Frankfort-on-the-Main in English, a translation of Frankfurt am Main.

Best places in Vienna...

The statue of Athena in front of the Austrian Parliament


The Secession building


The Rathaus


The Gloriette at Schönbrunn


Stephansdom


Albertina


Naturhistorisches Museum

Basic about Vienna

Map of Vienna

Vienna (German: Wien [viːn], Austro-Bavarian is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city; with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area), and is by far the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural, economic and political centre. Vienna lies in the very east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it third for quality of life.


Religions:
Roman Catholic 49.2%
No religion 25.7%
Muslim 7.8%
Orthodox 6.0%
Protestant (mostly Lutheran) 4.7%
Jewish 0.5%
Other or none indicated 6.3%

Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theatres, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.

Vienna (Wien)

Coat of arms


Flag of Vienna

Vienna is Founded around 500 BC, Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement. In 15BC, Vienna became a Roman frontier city guarding the Roman Empire against Germanic tribes to the north.

During the Middle Ages, Vienna was home of the Babenberg Dynasty and in 1440 became residence city of the Habsburg dynasties from where Vienna eventually grew to become the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and a cultural centre for arts and science, music and fine cuisine. The Ottoman invasions of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries were stopped twice just outside Vienna.

In1805, Vienna became capital of the Austrian Empire and continued to play a major role in European and World politics, including hosting the 1815 Congress of Vienna.

In 1918, after World War I, Vienna became capital of the First Austrian Republic. During the 1920s and 1930s it was a bastion of Socialism in Austria, and became known as "Red Vienna".

In 1945, the Vienna Offensive was successfully launched by the Soviets against the Germans holding Vienna. The city was besieged for about two weeks before it fell to the Soviets. After 1945, Vienna again became the capital of Austria. It was initially divided into four zones by the 4 Powers and was governed by the Allied Commission for Austria.

In the 1970s Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky inaugurated the creation of the Vienna International Center, a new area of the city created to host international institutions. Vienna has regained a part of its former international relevance by hosting such international organizations as the United Nations (UNIDO, UNOV and UNODC), the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.