DID YOU KNOW?

It seems we can all reel off a hundred and one anecdotes about Paris or Rome. But when it comes to Vienna, what usually leaps to mind...? Yes - more often than not it's Ultravox who win the prize, replete with Midge Ure's tremendous tache and trench coat. And although we stand by that band as a sterling contribution to eighties pop, what about the actual Vienna of today? Well, we could start by saying that there's more to Vienna than coffee, cake and classical music, but actually, we like coffee, cake and classical music, almost as much as we love dodgy New Romantic pop. But we're digressing, the point is that Vienna is a vastly underrated city, and finding goodies here is not like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Rather, it's like looking for roses in a rose garden - they're everywhere.Now, some of Vienna's roses have their thorns - it's not all a charming waltz, and it never has been. But what strikes the visitor who saw the city during the 1980's is that the old Habsburg capital is regaining her cosmopolitan colours - Vienna is vibrant again. With this PDF in your hand, you won't become an overnight expert on Viennese history, but you encounter some of the places that make this city one of the most distinctive in Europe. Enjoy!

When news hit Vienna in July 1683 that Austrian regiments were dropping like dominoes before the Ottoman advance, panic engulfed the city. Every able-bodied man was ordered to leave the city and dig for all his might. The embankments were beefed up and the suburbs torched, but amidst the hysteria, the fire spread and a monastery caught fire within the Old Town walls. It was a near fatal blow. The Ottomans arrived a few days later and the siege began. Three months of grueling battle followed, and defeat seemed inevitable. But the day was saved by portly Polish King Jan Sobieski, whose winged hussars - replete with leopard-skin capes and eagle feathers to boot - swept down from the Kahlenburg hill and scattered the Ottoman forces.