Donaupark, Urban park in Donaustadt district, Vienna, Austria.
Donaupark covers about 632,966 square metres in Donaustadt, bounded by Wagramer Straße, the Bruckhaufen settlement, Arbeiterstrandbadstraße and the Hubertusdamm, with the UNO-City and Austria Center Vienna directly adjoining. It was laid out by city garden director Alfred Auer and opened on 16 April 1964 with the Donauturm for the Vienna International Garden Show. The 252-metre concrete tower rises from the lawns, its shaft widening into a white, banded top beneath a red-and-white mast; a low white lattice structure stands to its left.
The land that became Donaupark was previously used as a garbage dump and a military shooting range before being transformed for the 1964 Vienna International Garden Show. That large-scale effort turned a neglected area into one of the city's main green spaces north of the center.
The Donauturm tower rising at the center of the park is a familiar landmark for people across the city, visible from far away. Locals come here on weekends to walk, sit on the grass, or let children play on the open lawns.
The park is easy to reach by metro, with an entrance close to the Kaisermühlen-VIC station. A small train runs through parts of the grounds for those who prefer not to walk the full length of the park.
The Papstwiese, a roughly 20-hectare meadow near the Donauturm, takes its name from the mass John Paul II celebrated there in 1983 during the Katholikentag, attended by about 300,000 believers. The Papstkreuz erected for that occasion was meant to be temporary; it stayed and was restored in 2011.
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