Vienna’s famed Prater is celebrating its 250th anniversary as a public park this week, starting with the revival of an old tradition, a flower parade, revived after a gap of 17 years. The park, formerly a royal hunting ground, was opened to the public in 1766 by reformer Emperor Josef II.
The parade featured waltzing by nearby dance schools, processions of horses and carriages, antique cars and characters in antique costume.
Although most famed for the amusement park at one end, the Prater is actually a 1500-acre area that also has picnic areas, cafes, exhibition areas, woodlands, and more. And, until 1920, it even included areas set aside for hunting. There’s also a museum, a planetarium and a narrow-gauge railroad.
More on the celebrations from TheLocal.at HERE, more on the Prater itself and its history from Wikipedia HERE.
Photo: the famed Riesenrad in the Prater, one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels. It’s been there since 1897 and was a key scene in the movie The Third Man (David Monniaux / Wikimedia)
