Vienna - the home of Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Vienna, the capital city of Austria, is one of the biggest cities in the European Union. Obviously it is a great place to buy presents in the famous Christmas market, or to visit majestic buildings such as the castle of Schoenbrun. It is also not very difficult to find a nice hotel in Vienna. But what is the main difference between Vienna and all the other towns that are German speaking, such as Munich, Berlin or Stuttgart?

One reason might be the variety of famous people that lived there, such as Mozart, Beethoven or Sissi, the empress of Austria, who had a humongous impact on the history of the city. Also in the last few centuries, Vienna was still able to call a few heavy hitters as it's citizens. One of them died exactly ten years ago. His name is Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He grew up during the dark days of National Socialism. Already early in his childhood, one of his teachers discovered his extraordinary sense of forms and colours. After Hundertwasser had discontinued his studies, he started travelling through Europe. A few years later he came back from his journey and it was in Vienna where his first exhibition took place. In all his trips he always kept a brush, colour and paper with him to be able to paint wherever he wanted to.

Later in his life he also started refurbishing Vienna hotels, flats and industry buildings. One of his main targets was always to integrate the constructions in the landscape. This is the reason why all the roofs are full of grass and flowers. Furthermore, trees and coppice are planted on the balconies. Through the usage of all the bright colours and the unusual shapes he wanted to cheer up the dull, grey world full of straight lines and bleak, repeatable patterns. He used to say that the house is the humans second skin which needs to be as individual as the being itself. Besides he was convinced that the well being of a person is influenced by the architecture of his home.

If you decide to spend some time in Austria you should not miss the opportunity to book a Vienna hotel, since some of the most popular of Hundertwasser's creations are located in this breath taking city. One of these is called Hundertwasser-Krawina-House, which used to be a normal flat. Though since the refurbishment through Hundertwasser and Krawina it is more a sight than a usual apartment building.