Gallitzinberg
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The Gallitzinberg (449 m) is a forested hill in the West of Austria's capital,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. While it is relatively inconspicuous in the broader context of the Northeastern end of the Wienerwald mountain range, it is nevertheless remarkable because of its multifaceted history, and because it functions as an important recreational area in the Western uphill part of the densely populated
Ottakring Ottakring () is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 16. Bezirk, Ottakring). It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many resid ...
district. The Eastern slopes of the Gallitzinberg are dominated by mansions that date from the 19th or early 20th century, and are among the best residential areas of Vienna.


Origin of the name

The name Gallitzinberg traces to Prince Dmitri Mikhailovich Galitzin, a Russian ambassador to Vienna who in 1780 acquired forested real estate from Field Marshal Count
Franz Moritz von Lacy Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy ( en, Francis Maurice de Lacy; russian: Борис Петрович Ласси, tr. ; 21 October 1725 – 24 November 1801) was a Baltic German-born Austrian military leader, he was the son of Count Peter von Lac ...
, situated uphill and West of what was then the small village of Ottakring. Originally the area had been named ''Predigtstuhl'' which, literally translated, means “preachers' seat”. This refers to a religious procession which during the 18th century was held annually on May 1, and concluded with a mass held at an ancient oak tree. A 19th century owner, Prince Moritz de Montléart, stepbrother of
Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...
, gave the estate to his wife Wilhelmine Montléart-Sachsen-Curland. This authorities refused his wish to have the mountain officially renamed Wilhelminenberg, but his subsequent efforts to establish the name in colloquial use were successful. The local population now uses the terms Wilhelminenberg and Gallitzinberg synonymously, occasionally along with the old name, Predigtstuhl.


Significant buildings

Schloss Wilhelminenberg Wilhelminenberg Castle (german: Schloß Wilhelminenberg) is a former palace dating from the early 20th century, which is now a four-star hotel, restaurant and conference facility. It is situated on the eastern slopes of the Gallitzinberg, in the ...
, an imperial palace from the early 20th century, dominates the cityward shoulder of the hill. It faces the
Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch. He is often regarded ...
Institute for
Ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
, now managed by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The founder of ethology,
Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (; 15 June 1928 – 2 June 2018) was an Austrian ethologist in the field of human ethology. In authoring the book which bears that title, he applied ethology to humans by studying them in a perspective more common to vol ...
worked here as a research associate from 1946 to 1948 when it was still the private ''Biological Station Wilhelminenberg''. Immediately next to it is the Research Institute for Wildlife Ecology which belongs to the
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna The University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (German: ''Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien'' - in short: VUW) was founded in 1767 as the world's third school for veterinary medicine (after Lyon and Alfort) by Milan's Ludovico Scotti, origin ...
. Further to the South and downhill are the
Kuffner observatory The Kuffner observatory is one of two telescope-equipped public astronomical observatories situated in Austria's capital, Vienna. It is situated in the West of the city's Ottakring district, on the slope of the Gallitzinberg at 302 m altitude. ...
which offers the public opportunities for stargazing; and where the hill rolls eastward into the basin of Vienna one finds the ''Wilhelminenspital'', one of Vienna's major hospitals. Also of note is the ''Liebhartstaler Bockkeller'', originally a restaurant in the vicinity of Ottakring's cemetery (which in itself is a remarkable feature of the Gallitzinberg slope) and today a home to a congregation dedicated to Viennese
traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
. At the summit of the Gallitzinberg is an
observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...
which in 1956 replaced an older steel construction that had been erected in 1899 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of emperor
Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
's ascendancy to the Austrian throne. Therefore, the present tower is still colloquially known as the ''Jubiläumswarte'' (“jubilee tower”). Its topmost platform, 31 meters above ground, offers an impressive panorama of Vienna. On very clear days one can see for more than 60 kilometers, to the Slovak
Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...
beyond the city in the East, and to the Schneeberg, Lower Austria's highest mountain, in the South. Next to the tower it is a small facility dedicated to the education of Vienna's schoolchildren in the fundamentals of forest biology. Also in the immediate vicinity, but with few remains visible above ground, is the legacy of the
Gaugefechtsstand Wien The Gaugefechtsstand Wien (regional combat command center Vienna) was a World War II subterranean command bunker situated in the densely forested Wienerwald western parts of Ottakring, the 16th district of Vienna. Commonly known as the ''Schirac ...
, a Wehrmacht command and control bunker which during the later years of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
coordinated air alarms and aerial defense for Vienna and its surroundings.Schiemer A: ''Auf Ottakrings Spuren. Historische Streifzüge zwischen Gürtel und Gallitzinberg'', Edition
Volkshochschule Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...
, Manz Verlag, 1999-2001.


References

{{Coord, 48, 13, 17, N, 16, 15, 56, E, type:mountain, display=title Ottakring Vienna Woods Hills of Vienna