Prater

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(Redirected from Wiener Prater)

For other uses, see Prater (disambiguation).

The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district Leopoldstadt. The name Prater derives from one or the other or possibly both Latin words pratum meaning meadow and Praetor meaning Magistrate/Lawyer, possibly via Spanish prado. The term Prater is often used to mean the Wurstelprater amusement park which stands in one corner of the Prater and includes the Riesenrad.

[edit] History

In early Rome Praetors were municipal officers who went before or took precedence of the people. In other words he was a mix of both lawyer and judge, routinely settling disputes in the streets by listening to and then arguing both sides of a dispute to the opposite side then trying to mediate a resolution and ultimately making a decision if the parties would not decide the issue between themselves. The Consuls of Rome were first called praetors. Later Praetors became more akin to a Clerk of Law and Court, preparing documents for cases to be presented to Judges.

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. 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. The land changed hands frequently until it was bought by Emperor Maximilian II in 1560 to be a hunting ground. To deal with the problem of poachers, Emperor Rudolf II forbade entry to the Prater. 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. 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, centered on the Rotunda, which burnt down in 1937. This land now houses the Messegelände (exhibition centre).

In 2004, major renovations to the Wurstelprater began, and a new underground railway line was finished and brought into service on May 11, 2008, which includes three stops along the Prater (see Vienna U-Bahn). The railway station Praterstern has been in operation for a long time and is only a few dozen meters away from an entrance to the park.

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 racecourse.

[edit] 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. The Wiener Prater is home to the Liliputbahn, a narrow gauge railway. Another unusual object to be found in the Wiener Prater is the Republik Kugelmugel (Republic of Kugelmugel), a spherical micronation. The Wiener Prater also houses a planetarium and the Prater Museum.