City Hall, One of the Most Important Places in Vienna Come see the beautiful City Hall and all the wonderful surrounding areas
City Hall (Rathaus) is the most important secular building in Vienna, Austria. The fantastic structure was designed and built from 1872 to 1883, and includes the famous 98-meter high tower, a renowned Vienna symbol, and over 1,500 rooms and 2,000 windows.
Vienna’s City Hall is the official seat of the mayor and the meeting place of the city government. The building houses the Vienna City and Regional Library and the Vienna City and Regional Archive. Vienna’s City Hall is host to many important events throughout the year. Several balls, including the exciting and important Life Ball, take place there.
Rathausplatz (City Hall Square) is the area in front of City Hall. City Hall Square hosts events nearly all year long, including film festivals and circuses. In November, the square is home to the Advent Market, an extremely lively shopping experience gearing up for Christmas, where you can find stands to buy Christmas products, hot punch and ginger bread.
Each winter, the square is transformed into the world’s largest and most beautiful skating rink. In the summer months, you can find different stands and regional restaurants.
At nearby Rathauspark, you can enjoy sitting and relaxing on one of the park’s benches, or you can wait until nightfall to experience a large-screen recording of an opera or concert, entirely free of charge. The park is also decorated extravagantly during the Christmas season. Your children will love it!
You will also not want to miss visiting Arkadenhof, one of the biggest inner courtyards in Europe, at 2,804 square meters. The Arkadenhof’s craftsmanship is second to none and awes all visitors. The area serves as the perfect setting for a great variety of different events.
There are outstanding tours of City Hall every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They are free of charge and no registration is required.