36yearsago.com

Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing & friends.

Day 31 — Anjali; the National Library; Hofburg Complex
02-September-1971 (Tue.)

TRANSCRIPT

[From yesterday: Spent a lot of time with Anjali. Went to parks, museums (National Library)...]

Anjali—a lot of fun to be with.


REFLECTIONS

Sightseeing. In the journal, yesterday and today were ganged together, with both days spent sightseeing with Anjali. Until I get the slides back, I won’t know exactly where we visited. I mention the Austrian National Library. You can’t talk about the library without also discussing the Hofburg Complex.

Anjali. It's nice to read my simple comments all of these years later that remind me of the pleasure of doing things with a wonderful friend (or more than a friend.) That's what being young is all about. If you're young, enjoy your relationships and treat everyone with the respect that they deserve and the respect you would want for yourself. And, if you want to remember those times, keep a journal and take some pictures.

Austrian National Library. The Austrian National Library is situated in the Hofburg Complex in the center of Vienna. The library, off to the side of the Burggarten, was built in the years 1722–35. The wood-panelled Prunksaal (Hall of Honour) is the main showcase of the library. The Neue Burg, the main central building, with its curved façade, houses the Reading Room of the National Library. This picture of the Reading Room (left) is mine that I took in 1971. I just discovered, is an out-of-this-world 360-degree view of the Reading Room from Panoramas.dk. Beautiful, absolutely stunning in 360 degrees. This panorama photograph is © Peter Winkler and is found on Panoramas.dk which is run by Hans Nyberg. Nyberg is a commercial photographer with wonderful work. You can visit his site at hans-nyberg.dk. (The Austrian National Library Reading Room panorama photo link is on Day 060.)

Hofburg Complex. Just off the Ringstrasse sits the Hofburg Complex, a huge complex of buildings that was the seat of Austrian power for many centuries. The entire complex includes the imperial residences (where the imperial rulers such as Franz Josef lived), the winter riding school and stables of the Lipizzaner stallions, the National Library, the offices of the president of Austria, as well as museums and other buildings. Heldenplatz, the gardens and open grounds, lead you to the distinctive curved arch of the Neue Burg façade. The Burggarten includes a statue in tribute to Mozart at the Ringstrasse entrance.

When you visit Vienna, take a tour of the Hofburg complex that includes seeing some of the interior. The immensity of the buildings, incredible ornate interior rooms, and grounds is amazing.

DK guides. There is a great diagram of the Hofburg Complex found in DK Eyewitness Travel Guides: Vienna, pp. 96–97. (Note, when I reference a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide page, I will enter a "tag" as DK Vienna, or DK Austria to indicate the reference to the book.)

When visiting Vienna, you can’t help but imagine the expansive power and influence of the Austro-Hungarian empire as you enter the incredible Hofburg Complex through the Heldenplatz and look upon the massive Neue Burg.

Vienna—what history, what a city.

John

- - - -

Tags: Anjali, sightseeing, Austrian National Library, Hofburg Complex, DK Vienna, panoramas dk, Peter Winkler, Hans Nyberg