Which story is behind the conference location?
The conference is located in the 'Augustinertrakt' of the Austrian National Library, which formaly was part of the Imperial Palace. The former court library is an architectural masterpiece of the Viennese baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Emanuel. This, the largest baroque library in Europe, was erected in the first half of the eighteenth century as an independent wing of the Imperial Palace.
The impressive State Hall of the library is almost 80 meters long, 20 meters high and crowned by a cupola decorated with frescoes by Daniel Gran. More than 200,000 volumes are exhibited here, among them the comprehensive library of Prince Eugene of Savoy as well as one of the largest collections of Martin Luther's writings from the Reformation Era.
Up to 1918, the Imperial Palace was the center of the vast empire of the Habsburg dynasty. They developed the area - once envisioned as a great 'Imperial Forum' - from the 'Old Palace', dating from the thirteenth century, to the most recent part, dating from the time around 1900. Today, one finds more than two dozen top museum collections.
Where is the conference gala evening?
The Wittgenstein House was built in the years 1926 to 1929 by architect Paul Engelmann and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Ludwig Wittgenstein personally designed the building for his sister Margarethe Stonborough. The house soon became the centre of cultural life in Vienna. It was the meeting place for the adherents to the philosophical school known as “Vienna Circle”, whose founder was Wittgenstein himself.
The House was built in the style of cubism. The straight lines are the architectural expression of Wittgenstein’s philosophy.
The house was sold by the heirs to a building contractor in 1971, and shortly after that it came under the dispositions of the Law under the Protection of Monuments of Culture. The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria bought the building in 1975. The repairs undertaken involved the preservation of all details such as door locks, window handles, heaters etc., as designed by Wittgenstein himself. Restoration work was done under the guidance of architect Elena Nikolova from Bulgaria and of the Austrian Professor Carl Auböck.
Wittgenstein House has a concert hall seating 250 and 110 square meters of exhibition area in the three halss of the ground floor. They are the site of numerous Bulgarian and International exhibitions, of meetings by eminent representatives of culture, of concerts and of theatrical performances.
Today, the Wittgenstein House continues its service to the cause of bringing together the people engaged in the fields of art, and of popularizing the works and activities of Bulgarian authors in all fine arts.
What is Vienna in the touristic point of view?
The name Vienna derives from the Roman “Castra vindobonensis”, a military border camp, established about 100 A.D. In 1155 Vienna became residence of dukes, archdukes and emperors. In 1278 the Habsburgs took power and kept it for 640 years until 1918. A baroque building boom created “Vienna gloriosa”. Prince Eugene of Savoy`s Belvedere Palace is the best example. Between 1740-1790 the “Mother of the country” Empress Maria Theresia and her son Joseph II ruled and reformed Vienna.
Vienna, the old imperial residence city and now a modern art center, remains a city for connoisseurs to enjoy music, waltzes, coffee houses and Heurigen, trendy bars and sausage vendors and relaxed shopping.
Wine cultivated within Vienna’s city limits is served in old wine villages in the outskirts. Experience the pleasant atmosphere here, enjoying the new white wine, the Heuriger, along with Austrian dishes, occasional music and a healthy portion of cosiness.
There is no other city where so many famous composers have lived. The variety of music is manifold in Vienna. Visit the House of Music and the memorial houses of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Johann Strauss and Arnold Schönberg. In 2006 Vienna will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Vienna was an imperial residence for several centuries and has a great historical tradition. Follow the tracks of the former Habsburg monarchy, visit the magnificent baroque castles Schönbrunn and Belvedere or visit the Hofburg, the Habsburg palace. Experience the spirit of visiting the Stephansdom, the Spanish Court Riding School or the Giant Wheel at the Prater. The old town of Vienna belongs to the UNESCO world cultural heritage.
Vienna has about two million inhabitants. Owing to its geographic and geopolitical location, Vienna has become a centre of international events and a popular conference venue. Vienna hosts one of the United Nations headquarters and is home to a number of international organisations. Vienna’s ever-changing history has left an indelible mark which is manifested in a rich cultural heritage. The city’s ultimate fascination stems from combining imperial grandeur with cosmopolitan spirit, a composition which emerged after the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Viennese writers, musicians, artists, and scientists have influenced many aspects of our modern world. Vienna has taken part in all major political developments of the 20th century and spreads nostalgia over the centuries when it served as capital of a huge empire. Today, Vienna offers old historical palaces and modern shopping centres, traditional hotels, Austrian food and haute cuisine, typical Viennese coffee houses and restaurants, outstanding opera performances, classical concerts and open-air festivals.
From 1858 the Ringstrasse was laid out as the show boulevard. Until 1900 Vienna counted more than a million inhabitants. The most famous were the imperial couple Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, Johann Strauss, Sigmund Freud, Otto Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Schnitzler, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele.
As a capital of music, the city has offered Viennese operetta, opera and concerts of all kinds.
As the city of arts, Vienna houses famous collections of Breughel and many others, outstanding works by Klimt and Schiele at the Belvedere Palace, up to Hundertwasser’s “Kunsthaus” as a piece of contemporary art. The Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) shows elaborate furniture from all centuries to household decoration in the Art Nouveau style. The Art Nouveau is represented by buildings designed by such great architects as Otto Wagner (Steinhof church) and Alfred Loos.
Next to the buildings and monuments in baroque and classicistic style you may admire Romanesque and Gothic churches when walking through medieval lanes (Ruprechtskirche, St. Stephen’s Cathedral).
As to the history of medicine, Vienna certainly was the leading city during the past last century. Rokitansky, Wagner-Jauregg, Billroth, Semmelweis and Freud lived in Vienna and did their research work there.
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