Kronprinzessin Stefanie-Warte, Observation tower on Kahlenberg, Vienna, Austria
The Kronprinzessin Stefanie-Warte is a 22-meter-tall observation structure on Kahlenberg with a viewing platform. From there, visitors can see the Danube River, Vienna's urban landscape, and Leopoldsberg.
The tower was built in 1887 by the Kahlenbergbahn-Gesellschaft next to the terminus of its rack railway and named after Crown Princess Stephanie, wife of Crown Prince Rudolf. The design came from the office of Fellner & Helmer. Bricks from the engine house of the Leopoldsberg cable railway, shut down in 1876, were partly reused in its construction.
The structure is named after Crown Princess Stephanie of Belgium, who married into the Austrian royal house. Today, it stands as a landmark that draws people seeking views across the city.
The tower is managed by the Döblinger Naturfreunde and can be climbed from May to October on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from midday onwards. Only one of the two staircases, each with 125 steps, is open to the public. The viewing platform is enclosed by a wooden balustrade.
From 1953 to 1956 the tower itself carried the ORF transmitting antennas and housed Austria's first FM radio station; on 1 August 1955 provisional television broadcasting began from here. The 129-metre guyed lattice mast built beside it started operation on 10 October 1956, replaced in 1974 by today's 165-metre tubular mast.
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