Kahlenberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kahlenberg is a mountain (484 m, 1588 ft) located in Döbling, Vienna, Austria.
Kahlenberg lies in the Wienerwald (Vienna forest) and is one of the most favorite Sunday day-trips for the Viennese and has a beautiful view over the entire city. From Stefaniewarte at the peak, there is also a view over parts of Lower Austria. Next to Stefaniewarte is a 165-meter high steel tower that serves as the transmitter for the ORF, the Austrian Broadcast Corporation. The tower was not built in the "normal" way for such towers, and has over the last few decades become the unofficial symbol of Kahlenberg. There are two scenic overlooks on the mountain: one at a small church called St. Josef and one at a restaurant built in the 1930's by architect Erich Boltenstern. Recently, a nearby hotel has been torn down, which had long been empty and in shambles and was an eyesore on the landscape. A new modern restaurant has been built to replace it. The demolition was opposed by the local historical society and by some architects who believed the building was worth protecting. There is also a spiritual recovery center and a center for a Catholic reform movement, the Schönstattbewegung Österreich.
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[edit] Geography
Kahlenberg is 484 meters high and lies in the northeastern foothills of the Eastern Alps. The mountain is mostly flysch, which is composed of quartz, limestone, marl, and other conglomerates. West of Kahlenberg is Leopoldsberg; and to the east is Reisenberg, Latisberg, and Hermannskogel.
[edit] Origins of the name
Kahlenberg was uninhabited until the 1700s. Originally, the mountain was called Sauberg (sow mountain) or Schweinsberg (pig mountain), after the numerous wild pigs that lived in the pristine oak forests. In 1628, Ferdinand II acquired the mountain from the Klosterneuburg monastery and called it Josephsberg (Joseph's Mountain). The name Kahlenberg was given to the original Sauberg or "Josephsberg" by Emperor Leopold I when he gave the name "Leopoldsberg" to the original "Kahlenberg" after the Battle of Vienna in September 12, 1683. He and Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland had then won a battle starting from the original Kahlenberg, routing the Ottomans and lifting their siege of the town.
[edit] History
After the acquisition, Ferdinand II allowed a hermitage for the Kamaldulenser, an order of Catholic hermits, to be built. A few houses were built around the Chapel of Saint Joseph, which earned the name Josefsdorf.
Important battles were fought here against the invading Turks in 1683 during the second siege of Vienna.
[edit] Transportation
Kahlenberg can be reached by car or by bus (Bus line 38A) via the picturesque Höhenstraße, part of which is cobblestone. The first Austrian cog railway was built to Kahlenberg in 1872 and 1873 and opened in 1874. It was designed by Carl Maader. The track climbed 316 meters over 5.5 km and started from the train station in Nußdorf (today the end station of the tram-line D) and connected through Grinzing and Krapfenwaldl to the Kahlenberg Hotel, which opened in 1872. An average of 180,000 passengers used the train line each year. After World War I, the Vienna municipality converted the trams to use electricity. The surrounding citizens had already dismantled large parts of the track during their hardships in the war. On September 21, 1920, the line was finally shut down.
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