Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. With a population of about 1.6 million (2.2 million within the metro area), Vienna is the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural economic and political center.
Vienna is seat to a number of United Nations offices and various international institutions and companies, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, in the areas of theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts. Apart from the Burgtheater which, together with its branch, the Akademietheater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world, the Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also offer high-quality theatre entertainment. Also, there is a multitude of smaller theatres, often equal in quality to their larger counterparts and in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.
Vienna also offers a great many opportunities for opera lovers: The Staatsoper and the Volksoper offer something for everyone, the latter being especially devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Concerts of classical music are performed, among others, in the well known Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the Wiener Konzerthaus. In addition, various concert venues offer concerts aimed at visitors, featuring the best known highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss).
There are buildings of all architectural styles in Vienna, from the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche to the Baroque Karlskirche, and classicist buildings all the way through to modern architecture. Likewise, Art Nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna. The Secession, Karlsplatz Metropolitan Railway Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world.
Other famous Viennese features include the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sangerknaben), Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte, and various pastries, including the bagel. Viennese cafes claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from the captured baggage after the second Turkish siege in 1683.
Viennese cafes have an extremely long and distinguished history that dates back centuries, and the caffeine addictions of some famous historical patrons of the oldest are something of a local legend. The traditional coffee preparations are mostly based on espresso of a lesser intensity than may be found in Italy, served with (Brauner or Wolf) or without (Schwarzer or Bar) milk, Kaffeeobers (thickened cream) or Schlagobers (or simply Schlag) (whipped cream). In traditional coffee houses, there is a whole range of varieties in size and preparation. Addition of various alcohols is less common, creating sweeter drinks, some of which may be given obviously recognisable Austrian names, e.g. Mozart Kaffee (mocha with Cherry Brandy and Schlagobers) or Maria Theresa (mocha with a shot of orange liquor). Traditionally, the coffee comes with a glass of water. Coffee is generally served along with lighter fare (although some desserts are not to be reckoned with lightly).
Vienna possesses many park facilities and is one of the greenest cities in the world. The most famous parks and green areas are the Stadtpark, the Burggarten and Volksgarten, which belong to the Hofburg, the Schlo©¬park of Castle Belvedere with the Vienna Botanic Gardens, the Donaupark, the Schonbrunner Schlosspark, the Prater, the Augarten, the Rathauspark, the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Dehnepark, the Resselpark, the Votivpark, the Kurpark Oberlaa, the Auer-Welsbach-Park and the Turkenschanzpark, Laaer-Berg with the Bohemian Prater and the foothills of the Wienerwald (Viennese Forest), which reaches into the outer areas of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as Beserlparks, are everywhere in the inner-city areas.
In winter small stands on bustling street corners sell hot chestnuts and potato fritters. Sausages are also well loved and available almost everywhere. The sausage known in the USA and Germany as Wiener (German for "Viennese") is called a Frankfurter here. However other varieties are more popular at Vienna's sausage stands, such as Burenwurst, a coarse, usually boiled, beef and pork sausage or Kasekrainer, spicy pork with small chunks of cheese within it. Hot dogs are also very common, whereas due to regional food legislation the Bosner or Bosna as the Austrian equivalent of a hot dog (filled with a fried Bratwurst sausage, onions and spices) can seldomly be found at the typical viennese Wurstelstand.
Vienna is the world's only capital city with its own vineyards. The wine is served in small viennese pubs known as Heuriger, that are especially numerous in the wine growing areas of Dobling (Grinzing, Neustift am Walde, Nu©¬dorf, Salmannsdorf, Sievering) and Floridsdorf (Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf). The wine is often drunk as a spritzer "Gespritzter" with sparkling water. Beer is next in importance to wine. Vienna has a single large brewery, Ottakringer, and more than ten microbreweries. A "Beisl" is a typical small Austrian pub, of which Vienna has large numbers.