Riesenrad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Riesenrad (German for "giant wheel") is a Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It was one of the earliest Ferris wheels, erected in 1897 to celebrate Emperor Franz Josef I's golden Jubilee. The designer was an Englishman, Walter Bassett, which explains why the wheel's diameter is a round number in Imperial units - 200 feet (approximately 61 m). The Riesenrad is now one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people.
The wheel originally had 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in the Second World War, and when it was rebuilt, only 15 gondolas were replaced. The spokes are steel cables, in tension, and the wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base.
The Riesenrad famously appeared in the post-war film noir The Third Man. It is also featured in the 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights, and appears prominently in the 1995 Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise.
Riesenrad is not the only Ferris wheel in Vienna, only the largest. A second permanent Ferris Wheel can be found at Bohemian Prater.
 |
 |
 |
[edit] External links
- Wiener Riesenrad
- Photogallery: Wiener Riesenrad
- Giant Ferris Wheel in the Structurae database
