Austria: Wurstelprater

On Friday I got two postcards: one from Austria and one from Italy.

The card from Austria shows some attractions of the Wurstelprater. The Wurstelprater is an amusement park. Although it is actually just a section of the actual Wiener Prater, a large public park, it is often also just called Prater. It already dates back to 1766, when the Prater was turned from an imperial hunting lodge to a public park and the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened. The Wiener Riesenrad, one of Vienna's most famous attractions, is located in the Wurstelprater. From 1920 to 1985 it was the World's tallest extant Ferris wheel. It was shown in The Third Man and James Bond's The Living Daylights and was thus awarded as one of the Treasures of European Film Culture.

The Schweizerhaus is a traditional Viennese restaurant in the Prater. Already in 1716 a hut for Swiss hunters was mentioned in the Prater. Later a restaurant in a Swiss style was built, which was taken over and made into a family business by Karl Kolarik in 1920. To commemorate the centenary of the take over this stamp was issued on 11th July. Beside the building it also shows a delicious Stelze.

Thank You very much Anita!