Prater

For other uses, see Prater (disambiguation).

The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district Leopoldstadt. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. This article is about a district of Vienna Leopoldstadt is also the German name for the town Leopoldov in Slovakia The name Prater derives ultimately from the Latin word pratum meaning meadow, possibly via Spanish prado. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by Grass and other non- Woody plants. The term Prater is often used to mean the Wurstelprater amusement park which stands in one corner of the Prater and includes the Riesenrad. The Wurstelprater is an Amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group

1 History
2 Other attractions in the Wiener Prater
3 See also
4 Gallery
5 External links

History

The Hauptallee (main avenue) of the Wiener Prater

The area that makes up the modern Prater was first mentioned in 1162, when Emperor Friedrich I gave the land to a noble family called de Prato. Frederick I of Austria (c 1175 &ndash April 16, 1198) was a Duke of Austria from the Babenberg family The word "Prater" was first used in 1403, originally referring to a small island in the Danube north of Freudenau, but was gradually extended to mean the neighbouring areas as well. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The land changed hands frequently until it was bought by Emperor Maximilian II in 1560 to be a hunting ground. Maximilian II ( July 31, 1527 &ndash October 12, 1576) was king of Bohemia from 1562 king of Hungary and Croatia Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. To deal with the problem of poachers, Emperor Rudolf II forbade entry to the Prater. Poaching is the illegal Hunting, Fishing or Harvesting of wild plants or animals Rudolf II ( July 18, 1552, Vienna, Austria - January 20, 1612, Prague, Bohemia, now part of On April 7 1766, Emperor Joseph II declared the Prater to be free for public enjoyment, and allowed the establishment of coffee-houses and cafés, which led to the beginnings of the Wurstelprater. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Heir and co-regent Joseph was born in the midst of the early upheavals of the War of the Austrian Succession. The Wurstelprater is an Amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt. Throughout this time, hunting continued to take place in the Prater, ending only in 1920.

In 1873, a World Exhibition was held in the Prater, for which a large area of land was set aside, centred around the Rotunda, which burnt down in 1937. Expo (short for "exposition" and also known as World Fair and World's Fair) is the name given to various large public exhibitions held since the This land now houses the Messegelände (exhibition centre).

In 2004, major renovations to the Wurstelprater began, and a new underground railway line is currently under construction, which will include three stops along the Prater (see Vienna U-Bahn). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway The Vienna U-Bahn is a Rapid transit (metro system consisting of five lines mostly running underground except for the central section of line U6 The railway station Praterstern exists since a long time and is only a few dozen meters from the prater away. Wien Praterstern ( German for Vienna Praterstern) is one of Vienna's main Railway stations being used by 35000 people daily

The overall area of the park has also been reduced by the building of the Ernst Happel Stadion (Austria's national stadium), the Südosttangente (Austria's busiest piece of motorway) and a racecourse. A race track (or 'racetrack' or 'racing track' is a purpose-built facility for Racing of animals (eg

Other attractions in the Wiener Prater

The Hauptallee (main avenue) is the main artery, lined with horse chestnut trees, closed to motorists and known to sports enthusiasts from the annual Vienna Marathon. For the South African Thoroughbred racehorse see Horse Chestnut (horse. The Wiener Prater is home to the Liliputbahn, a narrow gauge railway. A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a Railway that has a Track gauge narrower than the of Standard gauge railways "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. Another unusual object to be found in the Wiener Prater is the Republik Kugelmugel (Republic of Kugelmugel), a spherical micronation. Kugelmugel is a Micronation located in Vienna, Austria. Located in Vienna Prater, the Republic of Kugelmugel Micronations &mdash sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects &mdash are entities that resemble independent Nations or The Wiener Prater also houses a planetarium and the Prater Museum. A planetarium is a Theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about Astronomy and the night sky or for training in Celestial navigation