12 Best Sights in District 4/Wieden, Vienna

One of the most splendid pieces of Baroque architecture anywhere, the Belvedere Palace—actually two imposing palaces separated by a 17th-century French-style garden parterre—is one of the masterpieces of architect Lucas von Hildebrandt. Built outside the city fortifications between 1714 and 1722, the complex originally served as the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Much later it became the home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 precipitated World War I. Though the lower palace is impressive in its own right, it is the much larger upper palace, used for state receptions, banquets, and balls, that is acknowledged as Hildebrandt's masterpiece. The upper palace displays a wealth of architectural invention in its facade, avoiding the main design problems common to palaces: monotony on the one hand and pomposity on the other.

Hildebrandt's decorative manner here approaches the Rococo, that final style of the Baroque era when traditional classical motifs all but disappeared in a whirlwind of seductive asymmetric fancy. The main interiors of the palace go even further: columns are transformed into muscle-bound giants, pilasters grow torsos, capitals sprout great piles of symbolic imperial paraphernalia, and the ceilings are aswirl with ornately molded stucco. The result is the finest Rococo interior in the city.

Both the upper and lower palaces of the Belvedere are museums devoted to Austrian painting. The Belvedere's main attraction is the collection of 19th- and 20th-century Austrian paintings, centering on the work of Vienna's three preeminent early-20th-century artists: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka. Klimt was the oldest, and by the time he helped found the Secession movement he had forged an idiosyncratic painting style that combined realistic and decorative elements in a way that was revolutionary. The Kiss—his greatest painting—is here on display. Schiele and Kokoschka went even further, rejecting the decorative appeal of Klimt's glittering abstract designs and producing works that ignored conventional ideas of beauty.

An ambitious 2016 European Union initiative brought 3-D technology to the Belvedere. The project, entitled AMBAVis (Access to Museums for Blind and Visually-Impaired Persons), transformed Klimt's The Kiss into a remarkable and unprecedented interactive experience. Finger-tracking technology allows viewers to scan the relief, prompting audio to play.

Dominating the Karlsplatz is one of Vienna's greatest buildings, the Karlskirche, dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo. This giant Baroque church is framed by enormous freestanding columns, mates to Rome's famous Trajan's Column. These columns may be out of keeping with the building as a whole, but were conceived with at least two functions in mind: one was to portray scenes from the life of the patron saint, carved in imitation of Trajan's triumphs, and thus help to emphasize the imperial nature of the building; and the other was to symbolize the Pillars of Hercules, suggesting the right of the Hapsburgs to their Spanish dominions, which the emperor had been forced to renounce. The end result is an architectural tour de force.

The Karlskirche was built in the early 18th century on what was then the bank of the River Wien. The church had its beginnings in a disaster. In 1713 Vienna was hit by a brutal outbreak of plague, and Emperor Charles VI made a vow: if the plague abated, he would build a church dedicated to his namesake, St. Charles Borromeo, the 16th-century Italian bishop who was famous for his ministrations to Milanese plague victims. In 1715 construction began, using an ambitious design by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach that combined architectural elements from ancient Greece (the columned entrance porch), ancient Rome (the Trajanesque columns), contemporary Rome (the Baroque dome), and contemporary Vienna (the Baroque towers at either end). When it was finished, the church received decidedly mixed press. History, too, delivered a negative verdict: the Karlskirche spawned no imitations, and it went on to become one of European architecture's curiosities. Still, when seen lighted at night, the building is magical in its setting.

The main interior of the church utilizes only the area under the dome and is conventional despite the unorthodox facade. The space and architectural detailing are typical High Baroque; the fine vault frescoes, by J. M. Rottmayr, depict St. Charles Borromeo imploring the Holy Trinity to end the plague. If you are not afraid of heights take the panorama elevator up into the sphere of the dome and climb the top steps to enjoy an unrivaled view to the heart of the city.

The Belvedere's museum of contemporary art is housed in the structure originally built for the 1958 World Expo, the design of which won architect Karl Schwanzer the Grand Prix d'Architecture that year. The structure was modified and reopened in 2011 as a space to showcase the best of Austrian modern art of the past 70 years

To see one of Vienna's most architecturally intriguing buildings, travel eastward from Schwedenplatz or Julius-Raab-Platz along Radetzkystrasse. Here you'll find the Hundertwasserhaus, a 52-apartment public-housing complex designed by the late Austrian avant-garde artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, arguably Austria's most significant postmodernist artist. The complex looks like a colorful patchwork of gingerbread houses strung precariously together, and was highly criticized when it opened in 1985. Time heals all wounds, even imaginary assaults to the senses, and now the structure is a beloved thread of the Viennese architectural tapestry. It is across the street from the city's beloved Kunsthaus Wien, which also sprang from Hundertwasser's imagination.

As with the Naschmarkt, Karlsplatz was formed when the River Wien was covered over at the turn of the 20th century. At the time, architect Otto Wagner expressed his frustration with the result—too large a space for a formal square and too small a space for an informal park—and the awkwardness is felt to this day. The buildings surrounding the Karlsplatz, however, are quite sure of themselves; the area is dominated by the classic Karlskirche, made less dramatic by the unfortunate reflecting pool with its Henry Moore sculpture, wholly out of place, in front. On the south side of the Resselpark, that part of Karlsplatz named for the inventor of the screw propeller for ships, stands the Technical University (1816–1818). In a house that occupied the space closest to the church, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi died in 1741; a plaque marks the spot. On the north side, across the heavily traveled roadway, are the Künstlerhaus (built in 1881 and still in use as an exhibition hall) and the Musikverein. The latter, finished in 1869, is now home to the Vienna Philharmonic. The downstairs lobby and the two halls upstairs have been restored and glow with fresh gilding. The main hall has what may be the world's finest acoustics.

Some of Wagner's finest Secessionist work can be seen two blocks east on the northern edge of Karlsplatz. In 1893 Wagner was appointed architectural supervisor of the new Vienna City Railway, and the matched pair of small pavilions he designed, the Otto Wagner Stadtbahn Pavilions, at No. 1 Karlsplatz, in 1898 are among the city's most ingratiating buildings. Their structural framework is frankly exposed (in keeping with Wagner's belief in architectural honesty), but they are also lovingly decorated (in keeping with the Viennese fondness for architectural finery). The result is Jugendstil at its very best, melding plain and fancy with grace and insouciance.

This art museum mounts outstanding international exhibits in addition to showings of the vibrant works by avant-garde artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He designed this building, along with the nearby apartment building called Hundertwasserhaus. The building itself is pure Hundertwasser, a crayon box of colors, irregular floors, windows with trees growing out of them, and sudden architectural surprises, all of which make a wholly appropriate setting for modern art.

This fascinating museum contains a large collection of Austrian furniture, porcelain, art objects, and priceless Oriental carpets. The Jugendstil display devoted to Josef Hoffmann and his Secessionist followers at the Wiener Werkstätte is particularly well done. The newest permanent collection is based on Asian design, showcasing Japanese woodcuts, lacquer work, color stencil plates, and Chinese porcelain. The MAK also showcases changing exhibitions of contemporary works, and the museum shop sells furniture and other objects (including great bar accessories) designed by young local artists.

The center of this square is marked by an oversize equestrian sculpture of Prince Schwarzenberg—he was a 19th-century field marshal for the imperial forces. See if you can guess which building is the newest—it's the one on the northeast corner (No. 3) at Lothringerstrasse, an exacting reproduction of a building destroyed by war damage in 1945 and dating only from the 1980s. The military monument occupying the south end of the square behind the fountain is the Russian War Memorial, set up at the end of World War II by the Soviets; the Viennese, remembering the Soviet occupation, call its unknown soldier the "unknown plunderer." South of the memorial is the stately Schwarzenberg Palace, designed as a summer residence by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1697 and completed by Fischer von Erlach, father and son.

Housed in an incongruously modern building at the east end of the Karlsplatz, this museum, which possesses Viennese historical artifacts and treasures (everything from 16th-century armor to paintings by Schiele and Klimt to the preserved facade of Otto Wagner's Die Zeit offices) is closed for renovation until roughly 2024. During renovations, the museum exterior will host rotating (and free!) open air exhibits surrounding the building.

Austrians take seriously the pomp of a funeral, brass bands and all, and nowhere is that more evident than the Central Cemetery. A streetcar from Schwarzenbergplatz takes you to the front gates of the cemetery that contains the graves of most of Vienna's great composers: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, the Johann Strausses (father and son), and Arnold Schönberg, among others. Find your way around with the help of an audio guide, which can be rented for a small fee. For a hefty fee, Fiakers are on standby for a carriage ride around the beautiful grounds. The monument to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a memorial only; the approximate location of his unmarked grave can be seen at the now deconsecrated St. Marx-Friedhof at Leberstrasse 6–8.