The Rathaus, Vienna's city hall, is one of Vienna's landmarks and the most prominent building in the Austrian capital.

It is the seat of Vienna's mayor, the city council and the regional governor of the state of Vienna.

Architecture and history

After many of the existing suburbs were annexed to Vienna after 1850, the capacity of the old city hall was no longer adequate and the construction of the current city hall began. Construction began in 1872 and was completed in 1883.

The architect Friedrich von Schmidt designed the form of the town hall in a magnificent ornate, elegant Neo-Gothic style with narrow and high lines.

The town hall is dominated by a 98-metre high town hall tower inspired by the tradition of Flemish Gothic town halls. However, the plan with several courtyards is inspired by Baroque palaces.

The town hall has 1,575 rooms and with dimensions of 152 x 127 metres is one of the largest buildings of its time in Vienna.

At the top of the 98-metre high tower, a 6-metre high bronze statue of a town hall man was installed, raising the overall height to 104 metres. Between 1883 and 1888, the Vienna City Hall was even the tallest building in the world.

Admission and opening hours

You can visit the public areas of the town hall at any time, but guided tours with a tour of the non-public areas are also available.

These tours are only available in German, and are always available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at exactly 13:00.

They do not take place on public holidays and on days when the city council is in session. Tickets can be obtained from the information desk on the ground floor of the town hall from 7:30 am onwards and are free of charge.

The observation tower is not accessible.

Information on the official website: wien.gv.at.

Location and transport

The Town Hall is located in the centre of Vienna on Rathausplatz and is within a 20-minute walk of most major sights. It is also very accessible by public transport:

Metro - Rathaus station approx. 50 metres (line U2) or Schottentor approx. 200 metres (line U2)
Tram - stop Rathausplatz, Burgtheater approx. 100 metres (lines D, 1, 71) or Rathaus approx. 10 metres (line 2)