Diplomatic immunity

Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments, which ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws (although they can be expelled). It was agreed as international law in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), though the concept and custom have a much longer history. Many principles of diplomatic immunity are now considered to be customary law. Diplomatic immunity as an institution developed to allow for the maintenance of government relations, including during periods of difficulties and even armed conflict. When receiving diplomats—who formally represent the sovereign—the receiving head of state grants certain privileges and immunities to ensure they may effectively carry out their duties, on the understanding that these are provided on a reciprocal basis.

Main article: Vienna

See also: Diplomat

Originally, these privileges and immunities were granted on a bilateral, ad hoc basis, which led to misunderstandings and conflict, pressure on weaker states, and an inability for other states to judge which party was at fault. Various international agreements known as the Vienna Conventions codified the rules and agreements, providing standards and privileges to all states.

It is possible for the official's home country to waive immunity; this tends to happen only when the individual has committed a serious crime, unconnected with their diplomatic role (as opposed to, say, allegations of spying), or has witnessed such a crime. Alternatively, the home country may prosecute the individual. Many countries refuse to waive immunity as a matter of course; individuals have no authority to waive their own immunity (except perhaps in cases of defection).

 History

 Ancient times

During the evolution of the international justice, many wars were considered rebellions or unlawful by one or more combatant sides. In such cases, the servants of the "criminal" sovereign were often considered accomplices and their persons violated. In other circumstances, harbingers of inconsiderable demands were killed as a declaration of war. Herodotus records that when heralds of the Persian king Darius the Great demanded "earth and water" (i.e., symbols of submission) of various Greek cities, the Athenians threw them into a pit and the Spartans threw them down a well for the purpose of suggesting they would find both earth and water at the bottom, these often being mentioned by the messenger as a threat of siege.

A Roman envoy was urinated on as he was leaving the city of Tarentum. The oath of the envoy: "This stain will be washed away with blood!" was fulfilled during the Second Punic War. The arrest and ill-treatment of the envoy of Raja Raja Chola by the Kulasekhara dynasty (Second Cheras) king led to a naval war called Kandalur War in 994 CE.

Pope Gelasius I was the first ever recorded pope to historically enjoy diplomatic immunity, as it is noted in his letter Duo sunt to emperor Anastasius

In Islamic tradition, a messenger should not be harmed, even if coming from an arch-enemy and bearing a highly provocative or offensive message. A hadith attributes this sunnah to the time when Musaylimah sent to the Prophet Muhammad messengers who proclaimed Musaylimah be a Prophet of Allah and the co-equal of Muhammad himself.

As diplomats by definition enter the country under safe-conduct, violating them is normally viewed as a great breach of honour, although there have been a number of cases where diplomats have been killed. Genghis Khan and the Mongols were well-known for strongly insisting on the rights of diplomats, and they would often take terrifying vengeance against any state that violated these rights. The Mongols would often raze entire cities to the ground in retaliation for the execution of their ambassadors, and invaded and destroyed the Khwarezmid Empire after their ambassadors had been mistreated.

In 1538, King Francis I of France threatened Edmund Bonner— Henry VIII's Ambassador to the French court and later Bishop—with a hundred strokes of the halberd as punishment for Bonner's "insolent behaviour". Though in the event the punishment was not actually inflicted, the incident clearly indicates that European monarchs at the time did not consider foreign ambassadors to be immune from punishment.

The beginnings of modern immunity

The British Parliament first guaranteed diplomatic immunity to foreign ambassadors in 1709, after Count Andrey Matveyev, a Russian resident in London, had been subjected by British bailiffs to verbal and physical abuse.

Modern diplomatic immunity evolved parallel to the development of modern diplomacy. In the seventeenth century, European diplomats realized that protection from prosecution was essential to doing their jobs and a set of rules evolved guaranteeing the rights of diplomats. These were still confined to Western Europe, and were closely tied to the prerogatives of nobility. Thus an emissary to the Ottoman Empire could expect to be arrested and imprisoned upon the outbreak of hostilities between their state and the empire. The French Revolution also disrupted this system as the revolutionary state and Napoleon imprisoned a number of diplomats accused of working against France. More recently, the Iran hostage crisis is universally considered a violation of diplomatic immunity (although the hostage takers did not officially represent the state, host countries have an obligation to protect diplomatic property and personnel). On the other hand, in the Second World War, diplomatic immunity was upheld and the embassies of the belligerents evacuated through neutral countries.

For the upper class of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, diplomatic immunity was an easy concept to understand. The first "embassies" were not permanent establishments, but actual visits by high-ranking representatives of the sovereign (often their close relatives), or even the sovereign in person. As various permanent representations evolved, usually on a treaty basis between two powers, these also were frequently staffed by relatives of the sovereign or high-ranking nobles.

Warfare was not between individuals but between their sovereigns, and the officers and officials of European governments and armies often changed employers. Truces and ceasefires were commonplace, along with fraternization between officers of enemy armies during them. When prisoners, the officers usually gave their parole and were only restricted to a city away from the theatre of war. Almost always, they were given leave to carry their personal sidearms. Even during French revolutionary wars, British scientists visited the French Academy. In such an atmosphere, it was easy to accept that some persons were immune to the laws. After all, they were still bound by strict requirements of honour and customs.

In the nineteenth century, the Congress of Vienna system reasserted the rights of diplomats, and they have been largely respected since then as the European model has spread throughout the world. Currently, diplomatic immunity, as well as diplomatic relations as a whole, are governed internationally by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which has been ratified by almost every country in the world.

In modern times, diplomatic immunity continues to provide a means, albeit imperfect, to safeguard diplomatic personnel from any animosity that might arise between nations. As one article[which?] put it: "So why do we agree to a system in which we're dependent on a foreign country's whim before we can prosecute a criminal inside our own borders? The practical answer is: because we depend on other countries to honor our own diplomats' immunity just as scrupulously as we honor theirs."

 Exceptions to the Vienna Convention

Some countries have made reservations to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but they are minor. Most important are the reservation by most Arab nations concerning the immunity of diplomatic bags and non-recognition of Israel. A number of countries limit the diplomatic immunity of persons who are citizens of the receiving country. As nations keep faith to their treaties with differing zeal, other rules may also apply, though in most cases this summary is a reasonably accurate approximation. It is important to note that the Convention does not cover the personnel of international organizations, whose privileges are decided upon on a case-by-case basis, usually in the treaties founding such organizations. The United Nations system (including its agencies, which comprise the most recognizable international bodies such as the World Bank and many others) has a relatively standardized form of limited immunities for staff traveling on U.N. laissez-passer; diplomatic immunity is often granted to the highest-ranking officials of these agencies. Consular officials (that do not have concurrent diplomatic accreditation) formally have a more limited form of immunity, generally limited to their official duties. Diplomatic technical and administrative staff also have more limited immunity under the Vienna Convention; for this reason, some countries may accredit technical and administrative staff as attaché.

Other categories of government officials that may travel frequently to other countries may not have diplomatic passports or diplomatic immunity, such as members of the military, high-ranking government officials, ministers, and others. Many countries provide non-diplomatic official passports to such personnel, and there may be different classes of such travel documents such as official passports, service passports, and others. De facto recognition of some form of immunity may be conveyed by states accepting officials traveling on such documents, or there may exist bilateral agreements to govern such cases (as in, for example, the case of military personnel conducting or observing exercises on the territory of the receiving country).

Formally, diplomatic immunity may be limited to officials accredited to a host country, or traveling to or from their host country. In practice, many countries may effectively recognize diplomatic immunity for those traveling on diplomatic passports, with admittance to the country constituting acceptance of the diplomatic status.

Abuse of  Diplomatic immunity

See also: Raymond-davis-blackwater-diplomat

In reality, most diplomats are representatives of nations with a tradition of professional civil service, and are expected to obey regulations governing their behaviour and they suffer strict internal consequences (disciplinary action) if they flout local laws. In many nations a professional diplomat's career may be compromised if they (or even members of their family) disobey the local authorities or cause serious embarrassment, and such cases are, at any rate, a violation of the spirit of the Vienna Conventions.

The Vienna Convention is explicit that "without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State." Nevertheless, in some occasions, diplomatic immunity leads to some unfortunate results; protected diplomats have violated laws (including those that would be violations at home as well) of the host country and that country has been essentially limited to informing the diplomat's nation that the diplomat is no longer welcome (persona non grata). Diplomatic agents are not, however, exempt from the jurisdiction of their home state, and hence prosecution may be undertaken by the sending state; for minor violations of the law, the sending state may impose administrative procedures specific to the foreign service or diplomatic mission.

Violation of the law by diplomats has included espionage, smuggling, child custody law violations, and even murder: in London in 1984, policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was killed on the street by a person shooting from inside the Libyan embassy. The incident caused a breakdown in diplomatic relations until Libya admitted "general responsibility" in 1999.

Espionage

Minor espionage activity, or gathering information of host countries is conducted in almost every embassy. A typical position for an intelligence officer is as second press attaché, visa attaché or other position with no clear responsibilities. In the United States, it is a policy of the Foreign Service not to confirm or deny the existence of intelligence personnel in U.S. embassies.

Vehicular

The car on the right is double parked. Since it has Diplomatic License Plates, the driver would not be obliged to pay any citation issued.

A particular problem is the immunity of diplomatic vehicles to ordinary traffic regulations such as prohibitions on double parking.Occasionally, such problems may take a most serious turn, when disregard for traffic rules leads to bodily harm or death. Illustrating how widespread this problem is that in France, between November 2003 and 2004, there were 2,590 cases of diplomatic cars caught speeding by automatic radars. The Autobahn 555 in Germany was also nicknamed in Cologne the "Diplomatenrennbahn" (Diplomatic Raceway), back when Bonn was the capital of West Germany, because of the numerous diplomats that used to speed through the highway under diplomatic immunity. Certain cities, e.g., The Hague, have taken to impounding such cars rather than fining their owners. A diplomat cannot demand the release of an impounded car based on their status.

This also includes parking violations. In New York City, the home of the United Nations Headquarters (and hence thousands of diplomats), the city regularly protests to the Department of State about non-payment of parking tickets because of diplomatic status. Diplomatic missions have their own regulations but many require their staff to pay any fines due for parking violations. A 2006 study by two economists found that there was a significant correlation between home-country corruption (as measured by Transparency International) and unpaid parking fines; nonetheless, approximately 30 countries (or 20%) had fewer than one unpaid fine per diplomat over a five-year period, and 20 had none at all. Six countries had in excess of 100 violations per diplomat: Kuwait, Egypt, Chad, Sudan, Bulgaria and Mozambique.

Injury and death

* The Romanian chargé d'affaires in Singapore, Silviu Ionescu, was allegedly behind a drunk-driving hit-and-run accident in December 2009 that resulted in the death of a 30 year old man and seriously injured two others. He left Singapore for Romania three days after the accident. The Romanian foreign ministry suspended Ionescu from his post. A coroner's inquiry in Singapore, which included testimony by the Romanian embassy driver, concluded with the coroner holding Ionescu solely responsible for the accident. An Interpol Red Notice was subsequently issued for his arrest and possible extradition  notwithstanding the fact that Romania had not waived his diplomatic immunity and had commenced criminal proceedings against him in Romania. The Singapore government argued that by reason of Article 39(2) of the Vienna Convention, Ionescu was no longer protected by diplomatic immunity.

* The deputy ambassador of the Republic of Georgia to the United States, Gueorgui Makharadze, caused an accident in January 1997 that injured four people and killed a sixteen-year-old girl. He was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.15%, but was released from custody because he was a diplomat. The U.S. government asked the Georgian government to waive his immunity, which they did and Makharadze was tried and convicted of manslaughter by the U.S. and sentenced to seven to twenty-one years in prison. However after serving three years of his sentence, he was returned to his home country where he spent two more years in jail before being paroled.

* An American Marine serving his embassy in Bucharest, Romania, collided with a taxi and killed the popular Romanian musician Teo Peter on December 3, 2004.Christopher Van Goethem, allegedly drunk, did not obey a traffic signal to stop, which resulted in the collision of his Ford Expedition with the taxi the rock star was travelling in. Van Goethem's blood alcohol content was estimated at 0.09% from a breathalyser test, but he refused to give a blood sample for further testing and left for Germany before charges could be filed in Romania.The Romanian government requested the American government lift his immunity, which it has refused to do. In a court-martial, he was acquitted of manslaughter and adultery but was convicted of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

* A Russian diplomat accredited to Ottawa, Canada, drove his car into two pedestrians on a quiet residential street in January 2001, killing one and seriously injuring the other. Andrei Knyazev had previously been stopped by Ottawa police on two separate occasions on suspicion of impaired driving. The Canadian government requested that Russia waive the diplomat's immunity, although this request was refused. Knyazev was subsequently prosecuted in Russia for involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to four years in prison. His appeal of the sentence was denied and he served time in a penal colony.

* An American diplomat, Consul General Douglas Kent, stationed in Vladivostok, Russia, was involved in a car accident on October 27, 1998, that left a young man, Alexander Kashin, crippled. Kent was not prosecuted in a U.S. court. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, diplomatic immunity does not apply to civil actions relating to vehicular accidents. However, on 10 August 2006, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that since he was using his own vehicle for consular purposes, Kent may not be sued civilly.

* The Burmese ambassador in Sri Lanka in 1979 shot his wife as she got out of the car after seeing a player in a night-club band of whom she was enamoured. As recalled by Gerald Hensley, then Vice-Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Sri Lanka; Hensley was based in Singapore and accredited from New Zealand as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka as well. The next morning the neighbours in Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo) were surprised to see the ambassador stacking wood on the back lawn and, connoisseurs of cremation, quickly grasped that he was building a pyre. When the police were called the ambassador opened the metal front gates just enough to say that there was no trouble and to remind them that his house was Burmese territory. Then he went back to work. The houses around his long back garden were now alive with fascinated spectators as he emerged with the body of his wife, placed it on the pyre and set it alight. He was well connected at home but after an awkward interval he was recalled.

* On January 27th 2011, Raymond Davis, a member of the American diplomatic staff shot and killed 2 Pakistani motorcyclists at a traffic stop in Lahore, Pakistan claiming they were armed and about to rob him. A third Pakistani was killed when a U.S. consular car dispatched to help Davis crushed to death another motorcyclist while speeding along the wrong side of the road. Davis was detained by the Lahore Police and may be charged with murder, his diplomatic status is being verified [23]. Meanwhile the US Embassy in Islamabad has called for the immediate release of Davis on grounds of his diplomatic status, which is being disputed by Pakistani authorities .

Financial

Bad debts

Historically the problem of large debts run up by diplomats has also caused many problems. Some financial institutions do not extend credit to diplomats because they have no legal means of ensuring the money is repaid.

Taxation & Fees

Diplomats are not necessarily exempt from paying government-imposed fees when there are "charges levied for specific services rendered." In certain cases, such as London's congestion charge (a daily charge on all cars entering central London), the nature of the fee may lead to disputes, but there is an obligation for the receiving state not to "discriminate as between states"; in other words, any such fees should be payable by all accredited diplomats equally. This may allow the diplomatic corps to negotiate as a group with the authorities of the receiving country. In August 2009, it was reported that the Government of the UK believed the United States owed £3,500,000 in unpaid congestion charge fees. It was also reported in 2006 that at least one embassy has agreed to pay the disputed charges.

Employer abuse

Diplomatic immunity from local employment and labor law when employing staff from the host country has precipitated abuse. When the employer is a diplomat, the employees are in a legal limbo where the laws of neither the host country nor the diplomat's country are enforceable. There is an inherent conflict of interest, as the diplomat is the chief representative of their country and its laws, and is not forced to obey local law, so that an abusive diplomat employer can act with virtual impunity. Diplomats have ignored local laws concerning minimum wages, maximum working hours, vacation and holidays. The worst abusers have imprisoned the employees in their homes, deprived them of their earned wages, passports and from communication and access to the outside world, abused them physically and emotionally, deprived them of food and invaded their privacy.In the case of corrupt countries and abusive diplomats, it has been virtually impossible to enforce payment of wages or any standards whatsoever. South Africa, for example, was criticised for claiming immunity from labor laws relating to a Ukrainian domestic worker at their ambassador’s residence in Ireland.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in Swarna v Al-Awadi to argue that human trafficking is a commercial activity engaged in for personal profit, which falls outside the scope of a diplomat’s official functions, and therefore diplomatic immunity does not apply.

Material

On April 24, 2008, Mexican press attaché Rafael Quintero Curiel was taped stealing BlackBerry PDA units from a White House press meeting room in New Orleans, LA. Curiel made it all the way to the airport before members of the United States Secret Service caught up with him. After denying any wrongdoing, he was shown the DVD of the surveillance video. Curiel claimed the incident was accidental, stated his diplomatic immunity, and left the country, but was eventually fired for the incident.

Diplomats are exempt from import duty and tariffs for items for their personal use. In some countries, this has led to charges that diplomatic agents are profiting personally from resale of "tax free" goods. The receiving state may choose to impose restrictions on what may reasonably constitute personal use (for example, only a certain quantity of cigarettes per day). When enacted, such restrictions are generally quite generous so as to avoid tit-for-tat responses.

Other

In 2009, a Canadian junior envoy was arrested after it was reported that he spat at a traffic police officer on duty in the middle of a traffic jam in the Banana district on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Canada's High Commissioner, Robert Orr, was summoned by the Tanzanian foreign ministry over the incident, and the junior envoy was later recalled by Canada from Tanzania.

Diplomatic immunity in the United States

The following chart outlines the immunities afforded to foreign diplomatic personnel residing in the United States.In general, these rules follow the Vienna Convention and apply in other countries as well.

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 Vienna

(source:wikipeda)

Vienna

Vienna Wien
Flag Seal Coat of arms
Vienna Location of Vienna in Austria
Coordinates: 48°12′32″N 16°22′21″E
Country	Austria
State	Wien, Capital City
Government
- Mayor andgovernor	Michael Häupl (SPÖ)
Area
- City	414.90 km2 (160.2 sq mi)
- Land	395.51 km2 (152.7 sq mi)
- Water	19.39 km2 (7.5 sq mi)
Elevation	190 m (623 ft)
Population (2010)
- City	1,698,822
- Density	4,094.5/km2 (10,604.8/sq mi)
- Urban	1,996,885
- Metro	2,268,656
	Statistik Austria
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	www.wien.at

Vienna (pronounced /viːˈɛnə/; German: Wien [ˈviːn]; Austro-Bavarian: Wean) is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area, more than 25% of Austria's population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC

.

Vienna lies in the east of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region of 3 million inhabitants, referred to as Twin City. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver) for quality of life. This assessment was mirrored by the Mercer Survey in 2009 and 2010. Analytically, the city was ranked 1st globally for a culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and 2nd globally after Boston in 2009 from 256 cities on an analysis of 162 indicators in the Innovation Cities Index on a 3 factor score covering culture, infrastructure and markets. As a city, Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.

The city rates highly in popular opinion-based journalistic rankings from magazines such as Monocle, where it's rated 5th in 2010.

Name

The English name of Vienna, the official German name Wien, and the names of the city in most languages, are thought to be derived from the Celtic name of a settlement, but opinions vary on the precise origin. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning "forest stream," which subsequently became Venia, Wienne and Wien. Others claim that the name comes from the name of the Roman settlement Vindobona, probably meaning "white base/bottom," which became Vindovina, Vídeň (Czech) and Wien.

The name of the city in Hungarian (Bécs), Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (Beč) and Ottoman Turkish (Beç) appears to have a different, Slavonic, origin. In Slovene, the city is called Dunaj which in other Slavic languages means the Danube river.

History

 History of Vienna

Roman ruins at Michaelerplatz

Vienna in 1493 (from the Nuremberg Chronicle).

Early history

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

The Mongols at the Gates of Vienna

In the 13th century, Vienna came under threat from the Mongolian Empire, which stretched over much of present-day Russia and China. However, due to the death of its leader, Ogedei Khan, the Mongolian armies receded from the European frontier and did not return.

The Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire

During the Middle Ages, Vienna was home to the Babenberg Dynasty, and in 1440, it became the resident city of the Habsburg Dynasties. It eventually grew to become the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and a cultural centre for arts and science, music and fine cuisine. It was occupied by Hungary between 1485-1490. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman armies were stopped twice outside Vienna (see Siege of Vienna, 1529 and Battle of Vienna, 1683). In 1679 the bubonic plague struck the city, killing nearly a third of its population.

Vienna map, 1773-81

View of Vienna in 1758, by Bernardo Bellotto

Collapse of the Holy Roman Empire

In 1804, during the Napoleonic wars, Vienna became the capital of the Austrian Empire and continued to play a major role in European and world politics, including hosting the 1814 Congress of Vienna. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Vienna remained the capital of what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city was a centre of classical music, for which the title of the First Viennese School is sometimes applied. During the latter half of the 19th century, the city developed what had previously been the bastions and glacis into the Ringstraße, a new boulevard surrounding the historical town and a major prestige project. Former suburbs were incorporated, and the city of Vienna grew dramatically. In 1918, after World War I, Vienna became capital of the First Austrian Republic.

From the late 19th century to 1938, the city remained a centre of high culture and later modernism. A world capital of music, the city played host to composers such as Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler and Richard Strauss. The city's cultural contributions in the first half of the 20th century included, amongst many, the Vienna Secession movement, psychoanalysis, the Second Viennese School, the architecture of Adolf Loos and the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Within Austria, it was seen as a centre of socialist politics, for which it was sometimes referred to as "Red Vienna". The city was a stage to the Austrian Civil War of 1934, when Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss sent the Austrian Army to shell civilian housing occupied by the socialist militia.

Vienna in 1900

The Anschluss and World War II

In 1938, after a triumphant entry into Austria, Adolf Hitler famously spoke to the Austrian people from the balcony of the Neue Burg, a part of the Hofburg at the Heldenplatz. Between 1938 (see Anschluss) and the end of the Second World War, Vienna lost its status as a capital to Berlin. On 2 April 1945, the Soviets launched the Vienna Offensive against the Germans holding the city and besieging it. British and American air raids, and artillery duels between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army, crippled infrastructure such as tram services and water and power distribution, and destroyed or damaged thousands of public and private buildings. Vienna fell two weeks later. Austria was then separated from Germany, and Vienna was restored as the republic's capital city.

Four Power Vienna

After the war, Vienna lay deep inside the Soviet occupied zone of Austria, and just like in the case of Berlin, Vienna itself was divided into sectors by the four prevailing nations and supervised by an Allied Commission.

Occupation zones in Vienna, 1945-1955

The four power occupation of Vienna differed in one key respect from that of Berlin in that the central area of the city, known as the first district, constituted an international zone in which the four powers alternated control on a monthly basis. The Berlin Blockade of 1948 raised concerns that the Russians might repeat the blockade in Vienna. The matter was raised in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom,

"What plans have the Government for dealing with a similar situation in Vienna? Vienna is in exactly a similar position to Berlin. It is surrounded by a Soviet Zone of occupation and we have our sector of responsibility in Vienna the same as the Americans and the French. What plans have the Government to deal with a similar situation arising in Vienna in the near future? I hope we shall have an answer, because this is of vital importance." Sir Anthony Nutting, Honourable Member for Melton, 30 June 1948, House of Commons, London.

The situation in Vienna would have been even more precarious than in Berlin due to a lack of airfields in the Western sectors, and as such, contingency plans were drafted by the authorities. These contingency plans included the laying down of metal landing mats at Schönbrunn. However, despite fears and some disruptions, the Soviets did not embark on a wholesale blockade of the city as they did with Berlin. Some have argued that this was because the Potsdam Agreement gave written rights of land access to the western sectors, whereas no such written guarantees had been given regarding the western sectors of Berlin. During the 10 years of the four power occupation, Vienna became a hot-bed for international espionage between the Western and Eastern blocs. However, unlike in the case of four power Berlin, the cold war in Vienna took on a different dynamic in the wake of the Berlin Blockade. The Russians, while accepting that Germany and Berlin would be divided, had decided that it was not in their interests that the same state of affairs should arise in Austria and Vienna. When the first barbed wire fences went up around the perimeter of West Berlin in 1953, no such actions were reciprocated in Vienna, and by 1955, the Russians had agreed to relinquish their occupation zones in Eastern Austria, and East Vienna, as well as their sector in the fourth and tenth districts in South Vienna, in exchange for a permanent neutrality clause to be enshrined into the new Austrian State Treaty. Hence in 1955, the Russians pulled out of Austria, and Vienna was spared the drama of the wall which would beset Berlin six years later. The atmosphere of four power Vienna is captured in the Graham Greene novel The Third Man, and by the movie which followed in 1949.

The State Treaty

The four power control of Vienna lasted until the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, and it was not until then, following years of reconstruction and restoration, that the State Opera and the Burgtheater, both on the Ringstraße, reopened to the public. The State Treaty ensured that modern Austria would align with neither NATO nor the Soviet block, and it is seen as one of the reasons for Austria's late entry into the European Union. In the 1970s, Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky inaugurated the Vienna International Centre, a new area of the city created to host international institutions. Vienna has regained a part of its former international relevance by hosting international organizations, such as the United Nations (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Office at Vienna, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Historical population

Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005

Due to the industrialization and immigration from other parts of the Empire, the population of Vienna increased sharply during its time as the capital of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). In 1910, Vienna had more than two million inhabitants, and was one of the six largest cities in the world.[citation needed] At the turn of the century, Vienna (Czech Vídeň, Hungarian Bécs) was the city with the second largest Czech population in the world (after Prague). At the height of the migration, about one-third of the Viennese population was of Slavic or Hungarian origin. However, after World War I, many Czechs and Hungarians returned to their ancestral countries, resulting in a decline in the Viennese population. In 1923 there were 201,513 Jews living in Vienna, which had become the third largest Jewish community in Europe.

By 2001, 16% of people under the census living in Austria had nationalities other than Austrian, nearly half of whom were from former Yugoslavia, primarily Serbs; the next most numerous nationalities in Vienna were Turkish (39,000 or 2.5%), Polish (13,600 or 0.9%) and German (12,700 or 0.8%).

Year	1754	1800	1850	1900	1910	1923	1939
Total population	175,460	271,800	551,300	1,769,137	2,083,630	1,918,720	1,770,938
Year	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2008
Total population	1,616,125	1,627,566	1,619,885	1,531,346	1,539,848	1,550,123	1,678,435

Geography and climate

Vienna is located in northeastern Austria, at the easternmost extension of the Alps in the Vienna Basin. The earliest settlement, at the location of today's inner city, was south of the meandering Danube while the city now spans both sides of the river. Elevation ranges from 151 to 524 m (495 to 1,719 ft).

Vienna has an oceanic climate according to the Köppen classification. The city has warm summers with average high temperatures of 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), with maxima exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) and lows of around 15 °C (59 °F). Winters are relatively cold with average temperatures at about freezing point, and snowfall occurring mainly from December through March. Spring and autumn are cool to mild. Precipitation is generally moderate throughout the year, averaging 620 mm (24.4 inches) annually.

Climate data for Vienna, Austria (1971-2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	2.9 (37.2)	5.1 (41.2)	10.3 (50.5)	15.2 (59.4)	20.5 (68.9)	23.4 (74.1)	25.6 (78.1)	25.4 (77.7)	20.3 (68.5)	14.2 (57.6)	7.5 (45.5)	4.0 (39.2)	14.53 (58.16)
Average low °C (°F)	-2.0 (28.4)	-0.9 (30.4)	2.4 (36.3)	5.8 (42.4)	10.5 (50.9)	13.5 (56.3)	15.4 (59.7)	15.3 (59.5)	11.7 (53.1)	7.0 (44.6)	2.4 (36.3)	-0.5 (31.1)	6.72 (44.09)
Precipitation mm (inches)	37.2 (1.465)	39.4 (1.551)	46.1 (1.815)	51.7 (2.035)	61.8 (2.433)	70.2 (2.764)	68.2 (2.685)	57.8 (2.276)	53.5 (2.106)	40.0 (1.575)	50.0 (1.969)	44.4 (1.748)	620.3 (24.421)
Source: World Weather Information Service

Districts and enlargement

 Districts of Vienna

Map of the districts of Vienna with numbers

Satellite view of Vienna

Vienna is composed of 23 districts (Bezirke). Administrative district offices in Vienna (called Magistratisches Bezirksamt) serve similar to those in the other states (called Bezirkshauptmannschaft), the officers being subject to the Landeshauptmann (which in Vienna is the mayor); with the exception of the police, which in Vienna is governed by the President of the Police (at the same time one of the nine Directors of Security of Austria), a federal office, directly responsible to the Minister of the Interior.

As had been planned in 1919 for all of Austria but not introduced, the district residents in Vienna (Austrians as well as EU citizens with permanent residence here) are electing a District Assembly (Bezirksvertretung) which chooses the District Head (Bezirksvorsteher) as political representative of the district on city level. The district assemblies have been given some political power by city hall in fields such as planning, building and traffic. City hall has delegated maintenance budgets, e.g., for schools, parks and secondary streets, to the district assemblies, so that they are able to set priorities autonomously. Any decision of a district can be overridden by the city assembly (Gemeinderat) or the responsible city councillor (amtsführender Stadrat).

The heart and historical city of Vienna, a large part of today's Innere Stadt, was once surrounded by walls and open fields in order to defend itself from potential attackers. In 1850, Vienna with the consent of the emperor included 34 surrounding villages, called Vorstädte, into the city limits (districts no. 2 to 8, since 1861 with the separation of Margareten from Wieden no. 2 to 9). Consequently the walls were razed after 1857, making it possible for the city centre to expand.

In their place, a broad boulevard called the Ringstraße was built, along which imposing public and private buildings, monuments, and parks were created until the turn of the century. These buildings include the Rathaus (town hall), the Burgtheater, the University, the Parliament, the twin museums of natural history and fine art, and the Staatsoper. It is also the location of New Wing of the Hofburg, the former imperial palace, and the Imperial and Royal War Ministry finished in 1913. The mainly Gothic Stephansdom is located at the centre of the city, on Stephansplatz. The Imperial-Royal Government set up the Vienna City Renovation Fund (Wiener Stadterneuerungsfonds) and sold many building lots to private investors, thereby partly financing public construction works.

From 1850 to 1890, city limits in the West and the South have mainly followed another wall called Linienwall. Outside this wall from 1873 onwards a ring road called Gürtel was built. In 1890 it was decided to integrate 33 suburbs (called Vororte) beyond that wall into Vienna by 1 January 1892 and transform them into districts no. 11 to 19 (district no. 10 had been constituted in 1874); hence the Linienwall was torn down from 1894 onwards. In 1900, district no. 20, Brigittenau, was created by separating the area from the 2nd district.

From 1850 to 1904, Vienna had expanded only on the right bank of the Danube, following the main branch before the regulation of 1868−1875, i.e., the Old Danube of today. In 1904, the 21st district was created by integrating Floridsdorf, Kagran, Stadlau, Hirschstetten, Aspern and other villages on the left bank of the Danube into Vienna, in 1910 Strebersdorf followed. On 15 October 1938 the Nazis created Great Vienna with 26 districts by merging 97 cities and villages into Vienna, 80 of which have returned to surrounding Lower Austria in 1954. Since then Vienna has 23 districts.

Industries are located mostly in the southern and eastern districts. The Innere Stadt is situated away from the main flow of the Danube, but is bounded by the Donaukanal ("Danube canal"). Vienna's second and twentieth districts are located between the Donaukanal and the Danube River. Across the Danube, where the Vienna International Centre is located, and in the southernmost area are the newest parts of the city (districts 21−23).

Politics

The Rathaus serves as the seat of the mayor and city council of the city of Vienna. In the picture Rathaus square in Christmas period

Until 1918, Viennese politics were shaped by the Christian Social Party, in particular long-term mayor Karl Lueger. Vienna is today considered the centre of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. During the period of the First Republic (1918–1934), the Vienna Social Democrats undertook many overdue social reforms. At that time, Vienna's municipal policy was admired by Socialists throughout Europe, who therefore referred to the city as "Red Vienna" (Rotes Wien). In February 1934 troops of the Conservative Austrian federal government and paramilitary socialist organisations were engaged in the Austrian civil war, which led to the ban of the Social Democrat party.

For most of the time since the First World War, the city has been governed by the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) with absolute majorities in the city parliament. Only between 1934 and 1945, when the Social Democratic Party was illegal, mayors were appointed by the austro-fascist and later by the Nazi authorities. The current mayor of Vienna is Michael Häupl. The Social Democrats currently hold 55% of the seats with a 49% share of the vote. Many Austrian political experts[who?] believe that if not for the Social Democrats' nearly unbreakable hold on Vienna, the rival Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) would dominate Austrian politics.

An example of the city’s many social democratic policies is its low-cost residential estates called Gemeindebauten.

Ever since Vienna obtained federal state (Bundesland) status of its own in 1921, the mayor has also had the role of the state governor (Landeshauptmann). The Rathaus accommodates the offices of the mayor and the state government (Landesregierung). The city is administered by a multitude of departments (Magistratsabteilungen).

In the 1996 City Council election, the SPÖ lost its overall majority in the 100-seat chamber, winning 43 seats and 39.15% of the vote. In 1996 the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which won 29 seats (up from 21 in 1991), beat the ÖVP into third place for the second time running. From 1996-2001, the SPÖ governed Vienna in a coalition with the ÖVP. In 2001 the SPÖ regained the overall majority with 52 seats and 46.91% of the vote; in October 2005 this majority was increased further to 55 seats (49.09%). In course of the 2010 city council elections the SPÖ lost their overall majority again and consequently forged a coalition with the Green Party - the first SPÖ/Green coalition in Austria. 

Religions

St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) in 1895

Vienna is the seat of the Viennese Roman Catholic archdiocese, and its current Archbishop is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. The religions of the Viennese resident population is divided according to the 2001 census as follows :

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%

Many Roman Catholic churches in central Vienna also feature performances of religious or other music, including masses sung with classical music and organ. Some of Vienna's most significant historical buildings are Roman Catholic churches, including the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), the Karlskirche (St. Charles' Church) and the Votivkirche.

Culture

Music, theatre and opera

 Music of Austria and Vienna State Opera Ballet

State Opera (Staatsoper)

Hofburg Palace

Kunsthistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresa-Square

Austrian Museum of Applied Arts

Art and culture have a longtradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theaters 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 theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.

Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Theater an der Wien, the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Classical concerts are performed at well known venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss).

In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has become widely known for hosting premieres of musicals, although it has recently devoted itself to the opera again. The most successful musical by far was "Elisabeth", which was later translated into several other languages and performed all over the world. The Haus der Musik ("house of music") opened in 2000.

Museums

The Hofburg is the location of the Schatzkammer (treasury), holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum (a museum devoted to Empress Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of Austria) allows visitors to view the imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg are the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses many paintings by old masters, ancient and classical artifacts, and the Naturhistorisches Museum.

A number of museums are located in the Museumsquartier (museum quarter), the former Imperial Stalls which were converted into a museum complex in the 1990s. It houses the Museum of Modern Art, commonly known as the MUMOK (Ludwig Foundation), the Leopold Museum (featuring the largest collection of paintings in the world by Egon Schiele, as well as works by the Vienna Secession, Viennese Modernism and Austrian Expressionism), the AzW (museum of architecture), additional halls with feature exhibitions, and the Tanzquartier. The Liechtenstein Palace contains one of the world's largest private art collections of the baroque. Castle Belvedere, built under Prinz Eugen, has a gallery containing paintings by Gustav Klimt (The Kiss), Egon Schiele, and other painters of the early 20th century, also sculptures by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and changing exhibitions too.

There are a multitude of other museums in Vienna, including the Albertina, the Military History Museum, the Technical Museum, the Vienna Clock Museum, the Burial Museum, the Museum of Art Fakes, the KunstHausWien, the Sigmund Freud Museum, and the Mozarthaus Vienna. The museums dedicated to Vienna's districts provide a retrospective of the respective districts.

Architecture

Category:Buildings and structures in Austria

Center of Vienna architecture

A variety of architectural styles can be found in Vienna, such as the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche and the Baroque Karlskirche. Styles range from classicist buildings to modern architecture. Art Nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna. The Secession, Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world.

Palais Ferstl

The Hundertwasserhaus by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, designed to counter the clinical look of modern architecture, is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions. Another example of unique architecture is the Wotrubakirche by sculptor Fritz Wotruba. In the 1990s, a number of quarters were adapted and extensive building projects were implemented in the areas around Donaustadt (north of the Danube) and Wienerberg (in southern Vienna). The 202 m-high Millennium Tower located at Handelskai is the highest building in Vienna. In recent years, Vienna has seen numerous architecture projects completed which combine modern architectural elements with old buildings, such as the remodelling and revitalisation of the old Gasometer in 2001. Most buildings in Vienna are relatively low; in early 2006 there were around 100 buildings higher than 40 m. The number of high-rise buildings is kept low by building legislation aimed at preserving green areas and districts designated as world cultural heritage. Strong rules apply to the planning, authorisation and construction of high-rise buildings. Consequently, much of the inner city is a high-rise free zone.

Vienna balls

Vienna is the last great capital of the nineteenth century ball. There are over 200 significant balls per year, some featuring as many as nine live orchestras. Balls are held in the many beautiful palaces in Vienna, with the principal venue being the Hofburg Palace at Heldenplatz. While the Opera Ball is the best known internationally of all the Austrian balls, other balls such as the Kaffeesiederball (Cafe Owners Ball), the Jägerball (Hunter's Ball) and the Rudolfina Redoute are almost as well known within Austria and even better appreciated for their cordial atmosphere. Viennese of at least middle class may visit a number of balls in their lifetime. For many, the ball season lasts three months and can include up to ten or fifteen separate appearances.

Dancers and opera singers from the Vienna Staatsoper often perform at the openings of the larger balls.

A Vienna ball is an all-night cultural attraction. Major Viennese balls generally begin at 9pm and last until 5am, although many guests carry on the celebrations into the next day.

Education

Vienna is also Austria's main centre of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums.

Vienna University of Technology

Academy of Fine Arts

Universities

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna

Medical University of Vienna

PEF Private University of Management Vienna

University of Applied Arts Vienna

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

University of Vienna

Vienna University of Economics and Business

University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna

Vienna University of Technology

Webster University Vienna

International schools

American International School Vienna

Danube International School

International University Vienna

Lycée Français de Vienne

Vienna Christian School

Vienna International School

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Vienna

See also:Economy of Austria

Stephansplatz (Vienna U-Bahn) metro station

Vienna has an extensive transportation network. Public transport is provided by buses, trams, and 5 subway lines (U-Bahn). Trains are operated by the ÖBB. Vienna has multiple road connections, including motorways.

Vienna is served by Vienna International Airport, located 18 km (11.18 mi) southeast of the city centre next to the town of Schwechat.

Leisure activities

Viennese parks and gardens

Vienna city park

Vienna possesses many park facilities, including the Stadtpark, the Burggarten, the Volksgarten (part of the Hofburg), the Schloßpark at Schloss Belvedere (home to the Vienna Botanic Gardens), the Donaupark, the Schönbrunner Schlosspark, the Prater, the Augarten, the Rathauspark, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Dehnepark, the Resselpark, the Votivpark, the Kurpark Oberlaa, the Auer-Welsbach-Park and the Türkenschanzpark. Green areas include Laaer-Berg (including the Bohemian Prater) and the foothills of the Wienerwald, which reaches into the outer areas of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as Beserlparks, are everywhere in the inner city areas. Many of Vienna's famous parks include monuments, such as the Stadtpark with its statue of Johann Strauss II, and the gardens of the baroque palace, where the State Treaty was signed. Vienna's principal park is the Prater which is home to the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The imperial Schönbrunn's grounds contain an 18th century park which includes the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752. The Donauinsel, part of Vienna's flood defences, is a 21.1 km long artificial island between the Danube and Neue Donau dedicated to leisure activities.

Sport

Ernst-Happel-Stadion in the Prater

Vienna hosts many different sporting events including the Vienna City Marathon, which attracts more than 10,000 participants every year and normally takes place in May. In 2005 the Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Austria and the final was played in Vienna. Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium was the venue of four Champions League and European Champion Clubs' Cup finals (1964, 1987, 1990 and 1995) and on June 29 it hosted the final of Euro 2008 which saw a Spanish 1-0 victory over Germany.

Austria's capital is home to numerous teams. The best known are the local football clubs SK Rapid Wien (32 Austrian Bundesliga titles), FK Austria Wien (23 Austrian Bundesliga titles and 26-time cup winners) and the oldest team, First Vienna FC. Other important sport clubs include the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna (American Football), who won the Eurobowl title between 2004 and 2007 4 times in a row, the Aon hotVolleys Vienna, one of Europe's premier Volleyball organisations, the Superfund Wanderers (baseball) who won the 2009 Championship of the Austrian Baseball League, and the Vienna Capitals (Ice Hockey). Vienna was also where the European Handball Federation (EHF) was founded.

Culinary specialities

Food

 Austrian food

Wiener Schnitzel

Vienna is well known for Wiener Schnitzel, a cutlet of veal that is pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in clarified butter. It is available in almost every restaurant that serves Viennese cuisine. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include Tafelspitz (very lean boiled beef), which is traditionally served with Geröstete Erdäpfel (boiled potatoes mashed with a fork and subsequently fried) and horseradish sauce, Apfelkren (a mixture of horseradish, cream and apple) and Schnittlauchsauce (a chives sauce made with mayonnaise and old bread).

Sachertorte

Vienna has a long tradition of producing the finest cakes and desserts. These include Apfelstrudel (hot apple strudel), Palatschinken (sweet pancakes), and Knödel (dumplings) often filled with fruit such as apricots (Marillenknödel). Sachertorte, a dry chocolate cake with apricot jam created by the Sacher Hotel, is world famous.

In winter, small street stands sell traditional Maroni (hot chestnuts) and potato fritters.

Sausages are popular and available from street vendors (Würstelstand) throughout the day and into the night. The sausage known as Wiener (German for Viennese) in the USA and Germany is, however, called Frankfurter. Other popular sausages are Burenwurst (a coarse beef and pork sausage, generally boiled), Käsekrainer (spicy pork with small chunks of cheese), and Bratwurst (a white pork sausage). Most can be ordered "mit Brot" (with bread) or as a "hot dog" (stuffed inside a long roll). Mustard is the traditional condiment and usually offered in two varieties: "süß" (sweet) or "scharf" (spicy).

Kebab and pizza are, increasingly, the snack food most widely available from small stands.

The Naschmarkt is a permanent market for fruit, vegetables, spices, fish, meat, etc. from around the world. The city centre has many delicatessen stores, such as the Julius Meinl am Graben.

Drink

Vienna, along with Paris, Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, Barcelona and London is one of the few remaining world capital cities with its own vineyards. The wine is served in small Viennese pubs known as Heuriger, which are especially numerous in the wine growing areas of Döbling (Grinzing, Neustift am Walde, Nußdorf, Salmannsdorf, Sievering), Floridsdorf (Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf) and Liesing (Mauer, Oberlaa). The wine is often drunk as a Spritzer ("G'spritzter") with sparkling water. The Grüner Veltliner, a dry white wine, is the most widely cultivated wine in Austria.

Beer is next in importance to wine. Vienna has a single large brewery, Ottakringer, and more than ten microbreweries. A "Beisl" is a typical small Austrian pub, of which Vienna has many.

Viennese cafés

Demel Café

Viennese cafés have an extremely long and distinguished history that dates back centuries, and the caffeine addictions of some famous historical patrons of the oldest are something of a local legend. Traditionally, the coffee comes with a glass of water. Viennese cafés claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from bounty captured after the second Turkish siege in 1683. Viennese cafés claim that when the invading Turks left Vienna, they abandoned hundreds of sacks of coffee beans. The Emperor gave Franz George Kolschitzky (Polish - Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki) some of this coffee as a reward for providing information that allowed the Austrians to defeat the Turks. Kolschitzky then opened Vienna's first coffee shop. Julius Meinl set up a modern roasting plant in the same premises where the coffee sacks were found, in 1891.

Tourist attractions

Tourist attractions in Vienna

Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights include the Burgtheater, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lipizzaner horses at the spanische Hofreitschule and the Vienna Boys' Choir, as well as excursions to Vienna's Heurigen district Döbling.

Panoramic view of world famous Schönbrunn Palace.

There are also more than 100 art museums, which together attract over eight million visitors per year. The most popular ones are Albertina, Belvedere, Leopold Museum in the Museumsquartier, KunstHausWien, BA-CA Kunstforum, the twin Kunsthistorisches Museum and Naturhistorisches Museum, and the Technisches Museum Wien, each of which receives over a quarter of a million visitors per year.

There are many popular sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including Beethoven's various residences and grave at Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) which is the largest cemetery in Vienna and the burial site of many famous people. Mozart has a memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens and at St. Marx cemetery (where his grave was lost). Vienna's many churches also draw large crowds, the most famous of which are St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche, the Karlskirche, the Peterskirche, Maria am Gestade, the Minoritenkirche, the Ruprechtskirche, the Schottenkirche and the Votivkirche.

Modern attractions include the Hundertwasserhaus, the United Nations headquarters and the view from the Donauturm.

Schönbrunn Palace

Belvedere Palace

Albertina

Stephansplatz, Vienna

The statue of Athena in front of the Austrian Parliament

The Secession building

The Riesenrad in the Wiener Prater

Modern Vienna

International organizations in Vienna

UN complex in Vienna, with the Austria Center Vienna in front, taken from the Danube Tower in the nearby Donaupark before the extensive building work

Many international organisations and offices are located in Donaustadt

Vienna is the seat of a number of United Nations offices and various international institutions and companies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). Currently Vienna is the world's 4th "UN city" (after New York, Geneva and The Hague). Additionally, Vienna is the seat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's secretariat (UNCITRAL). In conjunction, the University of Vienna annually hosts the prestigious Willem C. Vis Moot, an international commercial arbitration competition for students of law from around the world.

Various special diplomatic meetings have been held in Vienna in the latter half of the 20th century, resulting in various documents bearing the name Vienna Convention or Vienna Document. Among the more important documents negotiated in Vienna are the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as well as the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).

See also: Vienna Convention (disambiguation)

Charitable organizations in Vienna

Alongside the international and intergovernmental organisations, there are dozens of charitable organisations based in Vienna; these organisations provide relief goods and assistance to tens of thousands of disadvantaged children and needy people in developing countries.

One such organisation is the network of SOS Children's Villages, founded by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949. Today, SOS Children's Villages are active in 132 countries and territories worldwide. Others include HASCO and the Childrens Bridge of Hope.

International relations

The Hermesvilla in Hietzing

Twin towns - Sister cities

Vienna is twinned with the following cities:

Belgrade in Serbia

Bratislava in Slovakia

Brno in Czech Republic

Budapest in Hungary

Istanbul in Turkey (since 2007)

Kiev in Ukraine

Ljubljana in Slovenia

Moscow in Russia

Tabriz in Iran (since 2009)

Tel Aviv in Israel

Tunis in Tunisia

Warsaw in Poland (since 2001)

Zagreb in Croatia (since 1994)

Other forms of cooperation and city friendship similar to the twin city programmes:

Niš in Serbia

In addition, individual Viennese districts are twinned with Japanese cities/districts:

Alsergrund with Takarazuka, Hyōgo. (since 1994)

Döbling with Setagaya, Tokyo. (since 1985)

Donaustadt with Arakawa, Tokyo. (since 1996)

Floridsdorf with Katsushika, Tokyo. (since 1987)

Hernals with Fuchu, Tokyo. (since 1992)

Hietzing with Habikino, Osaka. (since 1995)

Innere Stadt with Taito, Tokyo. (since 1989)

Meidling with Gifu, Gifu. (since 1992)

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(source:wikipedia)