The giant ferris wheel – Wiener Riesenrad – Prater, Vienna
by LoriI’ve presented you Prater – a big amusement park in Vienna, and I’ve promised to say more about the main attraction of this park: the giant ferris wheel.
Wiener Riesenrad – the original name – is indeed a special attraction. I like big wheels – since I went to a much smaller but wonderful one in Bucharest, Romania when I was just a kid. I’m afraid of heights – I have to admit that – but I was in Prater so I couldn’t miss a trip with the giant wheel, right?
So… we bought the tickets. Before getting to the wheel, we went to the special area that has a dedicated exhibition with scale models of the wheel and different other object specific to old times – as you can see in the picture below – although, believe me, there are many more moments in time recreated in special dioramas.
Regarding the history of this wheel I have to tell you that it was built in 1897 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. I have already mentioned that it is a special and giant wheel. Why? Well, imagine that the wheel itself spans 200 feet (about 60 m). Wiener Riesenrad has 15 cabins – as we noticed people travel every other cabin, the cabins between have special arrangements, like a restaurant with tables and chairs and so on. Other important data: the upholding structure weighs a total of 430,5 t and rotates the wheel at the speed of 0,65 m/sec. But enough data – lets see some images of Vienna that you get to take on this tour. But I have to tell you that we visited the park in July so we were able to ride the wheel and open the windows in order to take the pictures directly, not through another layer (glass / plexi).
If you get to Vienna I recommend a visit in Prater and a ride with this wheel. It’s a slow ride – but you’ll love each moment. Prater offers other wheels too – so you can try them as well, only this is the emblematic one.
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