| Riesenrad & Prater tips and photos posted by real travelers and Vienna locals.
The Giant Ferris Wheel and recreation-park
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"cuckoo-clock"! by themajor
One further word, the Prater park is perhaps a touch on the seedy side (quite safe though) - aren't most funfairs?- and hardly in an elegant part of Vienna, so perhaps a daytime trip is best for the faint-heatred! Leave a Comment Directions: Pratenstern underground stop. Opening times differ throughout the year!Website: www.wienerriesenrad.com
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The Riesenrad is the famous giant ferris-wheel, visible from all over the city. It was erected in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, marking fifty years of his reign. In 1944, during WW-II, the Riesenrad was burnt down; rebuilt the following years, it was reopened in 1947, and has been running ever since.
Technical Data:
Total height: 64,75 m
Diameter of the Wheel: 60,96 m (=200 feet)
Height of axis centre: 34.20 m
Total weight of the iron structure: 430,05 t
Turning speed: 0,75 m/sec = 2,7 km/h
Number of cabins: 15 (prior to 1945: 30)
Since 1987 cabin nr. 30 serves as a luxuy cabin
Tickets are 7.50 Euros for adults; included in this price is entrance to a small but interesting museum that depicts the history of the Riesenrad and Vienna.
This is not a fast "adventure" ride, but it goes at a slow and leisurely pace that allows for a spectacular view of Vienna. Unless you are afraid of heights.....then you pretty much just sit in the middle of the cabin and pray that the darn thing starts going faster. Each of the cabins are entirely in wood, and sway and creak while in motion, with large windows and a bench along the entire length in the middle. We had an american family of 4 with us, where the child kept talking about accidents with these old structures, much to the aggravation of the scared mother. All in all quite funny.
:-)
Note:
The exit leads through the Riesenrad-giftshop, where you can find all sorts of knick-knacks and souveniers. Leave a Comment Phone: 0043 1 729 54 30Directions: The Prater is located in the 2nd district; it is situated between Ausstellungsstraße, Prater Hauptallee, and Praterstern. The easiest way to get there is by taking either tram, train, or underground to the "Praterstern" station. Website: http://www.wienerriesenrad.com/
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 Mice lovers should avoid
at all costs! by themajor
No, go during the day or at night in a crowd. On balance it's probably not a good idea to over-indulge and wake up next to that 'Dizzy Mouse' ride...even inebriated cat lovers would probably find it all too much! Leave a Comment Directions: Praterrstern underground stop. Opening times vary throughout the year!
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If you are looking for your fill of goosebumps, you will find several ghost-houses and rides in the Prater. We went on the following 2:
Jack the Ripper House
You walk on foot through this maze of dark passages which hold frightening surprises. Surrounded by the sounds of eerie laughter, you try to find your way around the complete darkness that is only broken by sudden flashes of light and skeletons falling in front of you, jets of air coming up unexpectedly when you step on hidden planks, and guys who act like statues that spontaneously come to live to scare the living daylights out of you. We entered an elevator that crashed, and then ended up in a room that swayed very wildely and seemed to turn around us when we sat down on a bench. The walk through the house was really long with a lot of grizzly sights, such as torture chambers, fake blood, medieval birds, etc. . We both kept pushing the other in front since we were lost in the maze of passages. This was quite scary and is definitely not for the faint hearted.
Geisterschloß
This is a ride on little wooden trains. It's quite frightening - if you are 5 years old.... cute otherwise.
:-) Leave a Comment Phone: +43 1 728-0516Directions: The Prater is located in the 2nd district; it is situated between Ausstellungsstraße, Prater Hauptallee, and Praterstern. The easiest way to get there is by taking either tram, train, or underground to the "Praterstern" station. Website: www.prater.at
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 Prater at night (off the web) by Escadora7
It was first mentioned in a document as natural preserve in 1403; In 1537 Prince Ferdinand had trees planted along the Hauptallee, and the prater was an imperial hunting ground. In the 1700's, Joseph II opened the Prater to the general public, and it became a popular place for the Viennese to stroll and socialize on Sunday afternoons. In the mid 18th Century the "Wurstelprater" (the amusement park part of the Prater) became the main meeting place, featuring cultural events, vaudeville shows, concerts, theatre plays, as well as coffee shops and restaurants. Attractions such as the first artificial fireworks, the first airship productions, and the first hot-air balloon rides took place. The Prater also hosted the only World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. The Riesenrad (giant ferrys wheel) could and still can be spotted from all over the city.
The "Wiener Prater" consists of 3 areas:
1) Grüner Prater - popular leisure area with lots of opportunities to play sports in the park proper, the meadows and sports grounds; picnic area; soccer; dog walking;
2) Wurstelprater - one of the oldest and largest amusement parks in Europe; rides and attractions;
3) Messe Wien - exhibition area of approximately 70,000 square metres (exhibition hall area); Vienna's 3rd most important congress center
- Entry into the Prater is free to the puplic
- Prices vary from 1,-- Euro to 10,-- Euro depending on the attraction
NOTE -
Be careful at nighttime since Praterstern is one of the gathering-points of some of the not-so-pleasant individuals. Not really dangerous, but keep your eyes open and hold your purses. You'd get to see them in shades of different piercings, spiked hair, hanging around in little groups with their leather jackets, pants et all. A different but interesting experience if you may call it that.
We spent a day at the Wurstelprater, and the following few tips recount some of the rides and our experiences... Leave a Comment Phone: +43 1 728-0516Directions: The Prater is located in the 2nd district; it is situated between Ausstellungsstraße, Prater Hauptallee, and Praterstern. The easiest way to get there is by taking either tram, train, or underground to the "Praterstern" station. Website: www.prater.at
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The "Spiegel-Irrgarten" (mirror-maze) was great fun. First you walk through a house with crooked walls, floors, and ceilings, illusions, weird mirrors, and any sort of trick that can be played on one's mind.
One of the rooms contains an arm-wrestling machine, on which you can measure your strength. While Eve showed "herculean" strength, Ash made it up to the "barely out of diapers" level. hehehehehe
Once you make it through this crazy house of mind-games, you will end up in a maze of glass walls. In order to exit the place you have find your way out of this "Irrgarten" of glass. Ash called me "plain rude" because I was cracking up when my mom ran smack-bang into one of these glass-walls. In the meantime he himself had to turn and secretly giggle.......
This is a fun thing to do for the entire family.
ASH's COMMENT: I DID NOT GIGGLE! Maybe a bit of a smile ... but DEFINATELY not AS LOUD AS HER GUFFAW!! ARGH!!!!! Impolite I tell you! :)
Leave a Comment Phone: +43 1 728-0516Directions: The Prater is located in the 2nd district; it is situated between Ausstellungsstraße, Prater Hauptallee, and Praterstern. The easiest way to get there is by taking either tram, train, or underground to the "Praterstern" station. Website: www.prater.at
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Fun fairs aren’t usually “my thing” at all, but I was prepared to make an exception for the “Riesenrad” ferris wheel at the permanent Viennese “Prater” fun fair. Why? Well, because it is such a historic device, having commenced operations in 1897, when it was by far the world’s largest (65M) – now it’s the world’s oldest; because over the years it become so much a symbol of Vienna; and because….well, the ‘kid’ in me came out and I just wanted to try it!
Yes, I know that many people feel it is an enormous tourist trap – and if you purchase the photos taken as you enter, you’re succumbing to that, but the easiest thing is to not bother even checking them as you leave: nobody says you must buy, after all! As you enter, you will pass through a small ‘museum’ with items such as dioramas of Vienna, housed in old cars from the wheel: many years ago, half the original cars were removed. It isn’t a world-shaking museum, but worth a few minutes of your time.
And did the Riesenrad meet my expectations? It did indeed, it was not only a buzz, but being slow-moving it also provided a good vantage point for some great photos. I’d give it the thumbs up as a “to do”. Directions: Take the metro on line U1 to Praterstern. Leave the station with your back to the city and go up the street, then turn right – you’ll see it ahead of you.
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We thought the craziest thing we did on this trip was this attraction in the Prater: the Ejection Seat (until Ash bungee-jumped off the Donauturm, but more about that in the Sports-tips).
This is how it works ...
2 people are seated in a ball that is pulled back by springs and then shot up into the sky. You'll fly up for about 90 meters, and then bounce back and forth for a while. It's crazy - it's fun, its free fall upwards, and then heart stopping back down.
The price for this is 15 Euros; they also strap a camera to the machine, so that you can get the video of yourself screaming and shouting out expressions you normally wouldn't use. :D
The best part of it all was when we got to seeing the video at Eva's dads place over beer, everyone was tickled pink at us yelling like asses while on the slingshot, and how she was all white in the face from being shuttled up at such high speeds. This was our first crazy stunt together. Don't think I'd forget it ever!
Leave a Comment Phone: +43 1 728-0516Directions: The Prater is located in the 2nd district; it is situated between Ausstellungsstraße, Prater Hauptallee, and Praterstern. The easiest way to get there is by taking either tram, train, or underground to the "Praterstern" station. Website: www.prater.at
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 The big wheel in Prater. by chiara76
You can also take a tour on the big wheel and then you see the beautiful panorama of the whole Vienna and also Kahlenberg. It is really worth to see it!
It is the good place for spending nice time both for children and adults in my opinion. Everybody finds something nice for him there. Leave a Comment
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The Giant Ferris Wheel (Wiener Riesenrad) was erected between 1896 and 1897 by the English engineer Walter Basset. From one of the 15 cabins you can enjoy scenic views of the Prater and Vienna. The Giant Ferris Wheel has a total height of 64.75 m. The Admission of 7.50 Euro (2004) includes a visit to the exhibition "The Wheel of History". Leave a Comment Directions: The Giant Ferris Wheel is located in Vienna's Prater district which is situated just north of the city centre. The nearest metro stop is Praterstern (U1).Website: http://www.wienerriesenrad.at/
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