Vienna Ring Road, Grand boulevard in Inner City, Austria.
Vienna Ring Road is a boulevard that wraps around the historic center for about 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) with multiple lanes, tram tracks, and wide sidewalks. The architecture along the route displays monumental nineteenth-century buildings, including palaces, ministries, and public institutions.
Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered the demolition of the medieval fortification in 1857 and had this ring road built in its place. The new buildings were erected in the following decades and transformed the appearance of the city fundamentally.
The name comes from the nineteenth century, when the old city wall was torn down and the new boulevard encircled the historic core like a ring. Today trams, cars, and bicycles share the space while pedestrians use the wide sidewalks to stroll between the grand buildings.
Tram line 1 runs along much of the ring road and connects all the main points together. Those on foot can walk the entire route in about two hours while viewing the facades of the large buildings.
The ring road actually consists of eight separate sections with different names, including Stubenring, Parkring, Schubertring, Kärntner Ring, Opernring, Burgring, Universitätsring, and Schottenring. Each section carries its own character, though all form one continuous line together.
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