1.Bezirk / 1st district, Vienna

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When you're in Stephanplatz, in 1st district, city centre, around Kartnerstrasse or the Graben area, you cannot help but hear the sound of music. Yes, the beautiful sound of Classical Music, played by music students and street vendors.

There are ample sitting benches and seats along the main shopping streets. You can rest your tired feet and aching backs, while listening to the street/open-air music. Most of the beautiful music are played by music students trying to earn some pocket money and playing to a less critical audiences.

You can see solo violinists, harpists, pianists, guitarists, cello-players, and even soprano singers! Sometimes, especially in summer time, there would be a small orchestra of young musicians playing together. Whoever is playing will always attract a small crowd.

I would buy a drink or snacks from the nearby Imbiss (food stalls), sit down on one of the benches/seats, and lean back and relax to enjoy the nice music played by these street musicians. After they are finished, I would give them Euro 1-2 into their collection box for their effort.

It’s an old square called Graben (Fortress Moat) and surrounded by buildings in so called Jugendstil with Holy Trinity Column (Dreifaltigkeitssaul) in the center.
The column dates back to the end of the 17th century when the city was suffering from plague.
The monument was erected in the reign of the emperor Leopold I as a sign of gratefulness for the end of the devastating plague epidemics in the city in 1679. You can see three angels, numerous other figures and statues and the statue of the kneeling emperor Leopold I who is thanking Heavens for the end of the plaque nightmare.
People call that column simply Plague Column.

The House of Butterflies is the place there I found lot of colorful butterflies in hot atmosphere with exotic plants. It was interesting to see how butterfly eat bananas, and easily can be touched with hands or photo can be taken on macro mode in even 5 - 10 cm distance.

This place is not so big, just two small flours. As I remember, entrance costs about 3,5 euros.

To be honest, never before I have seen such a church building, to me it looks alike construction composed of several different buildings put together.
The church is strongly connected with the Minoriten - Franciscans monks who appointed in Vienna in 1224. The construction of the church started in 1276, in French Gothic style, and was completely finished in 1350. The masters who built the church are unknown, however, it is commonly attributed to Jacobus Parisiensis. The building follows the pattern of the French Cathedral architecture.
The top of it's bell tower was damaged during Austro - Turkish war, rebuilt and then again destroyed in another war. Finaly the top was then replaced by a flat roof.
Later on the church become Italian National Church and was named Santa Maria Maggiore.

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The City Hall (Rathaus in German) is one of many splendid (architecturally speaking) buildings in Vienna. It was built in a neo-Gothic style, with towers similar to gothic cathedrals, by Friedriech von Schimdt between 1872 and 1883. This 321 feet building is the most important secular work of this style in the city.

Today the City Hall is the head office of Vienna's municipal administration including the office of the mayor of the city of Vienna, that of the governor of the province of Vienna, the assembly and the city council. More than 2000 people work in the building. Visitors are impressed by the wonderful appointments of the state rooms, which often provide an atmospheric backdrop to various events such as press conferences, concerts, meetings, or balls. Inside the Rathaus you can also visit the Rathaus tower (steeple) with it's 331 stairs and sitting atop the tower is the Rathausmann (statue of a medieval knight).

The Rathaus also houses a small park known as the Rathauspark. Rathauspark was intended as a city park for Viennese residents. The square is used year round for various events, such as the traditional Christkindlmarkt, new year's eve festivities, some of the best ice-skating (starting in January), and summer cinema. The park derives much of its character from the highly varied selection of vegetation, some of which is exotic.

Guided tours are available.

The Albertina used to be a Habsburg living quarter and it is built on one of the old bastions of Vienna. You will notice it for its architecture and for the large statue outside. The Archduchess Marie-Christine and the Archduke Karl (who defeated Napoleon at Aspern) used to live here. When coming from the Stephen’s cathedral, the Albertina is the first Hofburg building that you’ll encounter.

In the Albertina you can now visit a very famous graphic collection, which has more than 1 million prints and 60,000 drawings. This collection was founded by the Duke Herzog Albert of Saxe-Teschen, and among others you can see works of Dürer, Klimt, Schiele, Cézanne and Picasso. If you are into photography then this place is for you, as you can also see some fine photos of Helmut Newton.

This complex of buildings used to be the property of Otto and Haymo of Neuburg. It was confiscated in 1309 when the German brothers comspired to overthrow the Habsburgs. Until 1883 the buildings were used as the city hall or Rathaus. The entrance is decorated with beautiful ornamental ironwork. Nowadays the building houses offices and shops. There is also the Austrain Resistance Archive, which is open monday, wednesday and thursday. A minority of the Austrians resisted Hitler's takeover of the country in 1938 and here is an exhibition about them.
Sorry but I have to replace my old photos next visit!

Emperor Leopold I vowed to celebrate the city's deliverance from the plague of 1679. When the plague was over he commissioned Matthias Rauchmiller, Lodovico Burnacini and Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to build this Baroque plague column. It shows a saintly figure and an angel supervising the destruction og a hag (this represents the plague) and above the Emperor is praying.
J.B. Fischer von Erlach lived 1656 -1723 and he designed many of Vienna's best buildings including Schonbrunn Palace. He died before the Karlskirche was completed and this was finished by his son in 1737.