organized by the Austrian Communist Party and held annually at the Prater on the first weekend in September |
Places of interest include the Prater (from Latin pratum "meadow"), former imperial hunting grounds to which the public was denied access until 1766. The Hauptallee is the main artery, lined with chestnut trees, closed to motorists and known to sports enthusiasts from the annual Vienna Marathon. The area of the Prater closest to the city centre contains a large amusement park, and at its entrance there is the giant Ferris wheel ("Riesenrad") opened in 1897 which features prominently in the movie The Third Man and which has become one of Vienna's trademarks. There is also a miniature steam railway ("Liliputbahn") which, on its track through the woodland parallel to the Hauptallee, passes Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion. The Schweizerhaus ("Swiss Hut"), an establishment boasting a huge beer garden, sells the original Czech Budweiser draught beer. The owners claim that, back in the 1920s, the potato crisp was invented there.
Another, smaller, park in Leopoldstadt is the topiary-type Augarten, which is the home of the Vienna Boys' Choir and of a porcelain manufactory ("Augarten-Porzellan"). Sadly, its distinguishing marks are two disused Flak towers built towards the end of the Second World War.
In the mid-17th century, part of the built-up area used to be the Jewish ghetto. During the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Jewish immigrants from the Eastern parts of the realm again flocked to Leopoldstadt. Today, the members of Vienna's Jewish community preferably live there, and there are a number of shops selling kosher foods. Several parts of the old residential areas have been gentrified, resulting in a gentle shift from Leopoldstadt's predominantly working-class population towards a somewhat wealthier clientele.
Currently a new metro line is being built which will connect the city centre with the stadium and the outskirts of the city which are situated across the Danube in Donaustadt.
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