The Augarten

One of the best parts about where I'm living in Vienna, is that the Augarten is right across the street.  The Augarten is a large park that features Vienna's oldest Baroque gardens.


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I've been enjoying the Augarten as a running track and apparently I'm not the only one.  Every day, the park is frequented by runners, mothers going for a stroll with their infants in strollers, and happy pet owners giving their dogs a chance to run around the fields.

Long paths lined with chestnut trees.

The park features a modern art sculpture garden.

And a public pool for children (closed during the winter).

But the Augarten's most prominent feature is the two looming anti-aircraft towers.  These towers were constructed by the Germans during WWII to protect the city from Allied bombers.  After the British air raid on Berlin, Hitler ordered their construction in Vienna, Hamburg, and Berlin.  These concrete behemoths were left after the war, but are closed to the public.  One of these towers in another park in Vienna has been converted into an aquarium.