Leopoldsberg

Leopoldsberg

The Leopoldsberg (425 m, 1,394 ft) is perhaps Vienna’s most famous overlook, towering over the Danube and the city. Leopoldberg’s most prominent landmark is the church which stands at the top, and which is clearly visible from Vienna below. The construction of Saint Leopold's Church on Leopoldsberg began in 1679; an expansion following a design by Antonio Beduzzi was undertaken from 1718 to 1730. Other renovations were to follow. Across the square from the church, on what used to be a tower of the fortification system, a memorial to those Austrians who returned home from captivity after World War II was created in 1948.

Geography

Leopoldberg forms the northeastern corner of the Alps. Alternating layers of marl (rich in carbonate) and sandstone form the parent rock. Unlike most of the mountains of the flysch zone (Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary periods), the Leopoldsberg has steep slopes due to the erosive power of the river Danube on one side and of a small creek on the other. This relief intensifies the differences in local climate and vegetation, which are provided by the borderline between Pannonic and Central European climates. The northern slope is covered with beech forests, the most common forest type of the Wienerwald.

History

Human settlements are known since the Stone Age and especially from Celtic people during the Iron Age. Originally, Roman Vienna or Vindobona was an oppidum (proto-urban settlement) on the Leopoldsberg. It belonged to the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, but the Emperor Augustus (through his general Tiberius) added the oppidum to Pannonia, which became a formal province during the second half of the reign of Claudius (41-54 B.C.).Through the centuries, the mountain, especially the southern slope, was bare of forest and used for vineyards and grazing. Modern-day Leopoldsberg therefore had the name “Kahlenberg” (it was the “bare” or "kahl" of the two) until 1693 when the baroque church was built on top, at which time the name was transferred to the neighboring mountain (modern-day Kahlenberg). In 1683, modern-day Leopoldsberg was the meeting point of King Jan III Sobieski’s Polish-Austrian troops, who defeated the Turkish invaders and liberated the city of Vienna during the Second Siege of Vienna (Polish veterans consider Kahlenberg as the setting of the famous battle).

Transportation

Leopoldsberg and neighboring Kahlenberg can be reached by car or by bus (Bus line 38A) via the Kahlenbergerstraße from Nußdorf (today the end station of the tram-line D), which passes several heuriger as it climbs the mountain. The leisurely hike up Kahlenbergerstraße is a favorite Sunday excursion for many Viennese, young and old, and the path is paved all the way to the top.

ee also

Leopoldsberg and the Klosterneuburg was recently selected as a main motif for a high value collectors' coin: the Klosterneuburg commemorative coin. The obverse shows a view of the abbey from the slopes of the Leopoldsberg in the Alps. The Romanesque-Gothic basilica as well as the copper dome with the imperial crown can be seen.

External links

* [http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.l/l546666.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en Austrian aeiou.at information on Leopoldsberg]
* [http://www.tiscover.at/at/guide/85342sy,en,VIEA/objectId,SPF849328at,curr,EUR,parentId,RGN108866at,season,at1,selectedEntry,sport/intern.html Vienna online's Leopoldsberg walk]
* [http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/vindobona/vindobona.html Article at Livius.org on Roman Vienna, including Leopoldsberg]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leopoldsberg — im Herbst Höhe 425 m ü. A …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leopoldsberg — Le Leopoldsberg Géographie Altitude 425 m Massif Wienerwald Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leopoldsberg — Leopoldsberg, Berg unweit von Wien, 824 Fuß über der Donau, mit Kirche, Schloß u. herrlicher Aussicht …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Leopoldsberg — Leopoldsberg, s. Kahlengebirge …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Kirche am Leopoldsberg — Kirche Sankt Leopold auf dem Leopoldsberg Die St. Leopoldskirche am Leopoldsberg ist eine römisch katholische Rektoratskirche im Bezirksteil Kahlenbergerdorf des 19. Wiener Gemeindebezirks Döbling. Sie ist dem Heiligen Markgraf Leopold geweiht… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Gedenktafeln am Leopoldsberg — Die Liste enthält die Gedenktafeln und steine am und nächst dem Leopoldsberg in Wien, Österreich. Sie beschränkt sich auf die Erfassung der Objekte im öffentlichen Raum. Die meisten Objekte konzentrieren sich am historischen bedeutsamen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Burg am Leopoldsberg — Die neugotische Loggia an der Ostseite der Burg Die Burg am Leopoldsberg, früher „Burg Ka(h)lenberg“ bezeichnet, befindet sich am Gipfel des östlichsten Ausläufers des Wienerwaldes, dem Leopoldsberg im 19. Wiener Gemeindebezirk Döbling. Sie war… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wjenn — Landesflagge Landeswappen Basisdaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Döbling — Traduction à relire Döbling → …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kahlenbergerdorf — is part of the XIX. District of Vienna, Döbling, since 1891, when it was incorporated into the city. Surrounded by the river Danube in the North East, the Leopoldsberg in the North and the Nußberg in the South West, it is one of the oldest… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”