Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/369

VIENNA 349 at Rome, and in 1781 of the academy in Paris. Under Napoleon I. he was a senator. He was regarded as the first historical painter of his time, and the regenerator of painting in France. His veneration for the antique had a decided influence upon the works of his pupils David, Vincent, and others. Among his best paint- ings are " St. Denis preaching to the Gauls," " The Sleeping Hermit," " St. Louis intrusting the Regency to Blanche of Castile," " Hector inciting Paris to arm for the Defence of Troy," " The Parting of Hector and Andromache," " Briseis in the Tent of Achilles," " Cupid and Psyche," " The Resurrection of Lazarus," and " The Virgin attended by Angels." VIENNA (Ger. Wien), a city of Europe, capi- tal of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and of the province of Lower Austria, on the Danube, 330 m. S. S. E. of Berlin ; lat. 48 13' N., Ion. 16 23' E. ; pop. in 1870, 834,284; in 1875, 1,020,770, of whom 673,865 were in Vienna proper and 346,905 in the Vororte or com- munes included in the police districts, but not in the municipal jurisdiction. There are about 25,000 Pro- testants, 45,000 Jews, and some members of the Greek and other churches ; upward of nine tenths of the in- habitants are Roman Catholics. The city is situated in a fer- tile plain bordered by the Wienerwald, con- sisting of spurs of the Styrian Alps. About 5 m. N. W. of Vienna the Danube divides into two unequal branches, the south- ern and smaller of which, called the Donaukanal, after traversing the city, rejoins the main stream a few miles below. The Donaukanal receives the small river Wien and the Alser and Ottakringer creeks. The circuitous subdivisions of the northern arm have been led into a new chan- nel, nearer to the city, about 4 m. long and 300 yards wide, which was opened to navi- gation on May 30, 1875. This partially ob- viates the dangers of inundation, from which the lower parts of the city have often suffered, and facilitates its extension in a northeasterly direction. Th'e Donaustadt is here being laid out. Five bridges, two of them for railways, have been constructed across the new bed of the Danube. The finest of the 14 bridges over .the Wien is the Elisabethbrucke. Vienna is one of the most attractive capitals of Europe, and has been greatly embellished since 1858. Until then high walls and deep trenches sur- rounded the old "city" and divided it from the 86 so-called suburbs (Vorstddte). With the levelling of the fortifications the distinc- tion between city and suburbs ceased, and Vienna was divided into nine districts, viz. : Innere Stadt, Leopojdstadt, Landstrasse, Wie- den, Margarethen, Mariahilf, Neubau, Joseph- stadt, and Alsergrund. All but the second are on the right bank of the Danube. The Innere Stadt, still called " the city," comprises the oldest part of Vienna, the largest squares and most notable edifices, and the new and beautiful quarter which has risen on the site of the fortifications and the broad glacis which encircled them. The Ringstrasse, a series of boulevards lined with palatial buildings and planted with trees, forms a belt around this part of Vienna, 2f m. long and 186 ft. wide. Parallel with it runs the Lastenstrasse, for the accommodation of the heavy traific ; and a third belt, the Gilrtelstrasse, runs along the low ramparts thrown up in the beginning of the Opera House. 18th century, marking the limits of the muni- cipal territory. The area thus included has a circumference of 16 m., and contains about 11,000 houses. The Vororte gradually assume a rural character toward the surrounding hills and' along the shores of the Danube. The streets of Vienna are well paved and kept in good condition, though in the old parts they are mostly narrow and irregular. The Ringstrasse and the almost equally fine streets crossing it constitute the favorite quarter of the wealthy. The new opera house, in this locality, is mag- nificent in its internal arrangements, and is one' of the most beautiful theatres in Europe. The palaces of the archdukes Wilhelm and Lud- wig Victor are imposing specimens of the re- naissance style, and the gymnasium is a con- spicuous Gothic building. Other prominent edifices on or near the Ringstrasse are the new academy of fine arts, the conservatory of mu- sic, the museum of arts and industry, the cen-