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The Gallitzinberg (449 m) is a forested hill in the West of Austria's capital,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. 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 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 (; ; , tr. ; 21 October 1725 – 24 November 1801) was an Austrian military leader of Baltic German and Irish origins. He was the son of Count Peter von Lacy, and was a famous Austrian field marshal. Lacy serve ...
, 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 Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...
, 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 () 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 Vienna Woods, Wienerwald western ...
, an imperial palace from the early 20th century, dominates the cityward shoulder of the hill. It faces the
Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (Austrian ; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoology, zoologist, ethology, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von ...
Institute for
Ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...
, now managed by the
Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...
. The founder of ethology, Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt 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. Further to the South and downhill are the
Kuffner observatory The Kuffner observatory is one of two telescope-equipped public astronomy, astronomical public observatory, observatories situated in Austria's capital, Vienna. It is situated in the West of the city's Ottakring district, on the slope of the Galli ...
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 tower 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, and woo ...
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 ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
'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'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...
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, a Wehrmacht command and control bunker which during the later years of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and ...
, Manz Verlag, 1999-2001.


References

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