Vienna
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Vienna Wien |
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[[Image:|250px|Vienna is located in ]]
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| Coordinates: 48°12′32″N 16°22′21″E / 48.20889°N 16.3725°E | |||||
| Country | Austria | ||||
| State | Wien, Capital City | ||||
| Government | |||||
| - Mayor and governor | Michael Häupl (SPÖ) | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - City | dunams (414.90 km2 /
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*0.000386102 round 1
^ sq mi) |
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| Population (2010) | |||||
| - City | 1698822 | ||||
| - Density | |||||
| - Urban | 1996885 | ||||
| - Urban density | |||||
| - Rural density | |||||
| - Metro | 2268656 | ||||
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| Statistik Austria | |||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Website | www.wien.at | ||||
| Historic Centre of Vienna* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| State Party | Austria |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv, vi |
| Reference | [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1033
1033] |
| Region** | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2001 (25th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
Vienna (; German: Wien ; Austro-Bavarian: Wean IPA: [veɐ̯n]) 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[1] (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.[2]
In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, British Columbia) for quality of life.[3] This assessment was mirrored by the Mercer Survey in 2009 and 2010.[4][5] 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.[6] As a city, Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.[7]
The city rates highly in popular opinion-based journalistic rankings from magazines such as Monocle, where it is rated 8th among the "Top 25 Livable Cities" in 2010.[8]
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 word "findu", meaning bright or fair – as in the Irish "fionn" – 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 Roman settlement Vindobona, probably meaning "white base/bottom," which became Vindovina, Vídeň (Czech) and Wien.[9]
The name of the city in Hungarian (Bécs), Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (Beč) and Ottoman Turkish (Beç) appears to have a different, Slavonic origin.[10] In Slovene, the city is called Dunaj, which in other Slavic languages means the Danube River, on which it is located.
History
Early history
Evidence of continuous habitation has been found since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the frontier city they called Vindobona, to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north.
Close ties with other Celtic peoples continued down through the ages with such figures as the eighth-century Irish monks like Saint Colman (or Koloman), who is buried in Melk Abbey and Saint Fergil (Virgil the Geometer) who was Bishop of Salzburg for forty years, to the twelfth century monastic settlements founded by Irish Benedictines. Echoes of that time are still evident in Vienna's great Schottenstift monastery, once home to many Irish monks.