Wurstelprater

Wurstelprater

Wiener Riesenrad in the Wurstelprater amusement park
Location	Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria
Status	Operating
Opened	1766; 258 years ago (1766)
Operating season	Year-round
Attendance	±6,6 million (2019)
Area	64 acres (26 ha)
Attractions
Total	More than 200
Roller coasters	14
Water rides	3
Website	https://www.praterwien.com/en/home

Wurstelprater viewed from the Wiener Riesenrad

The Wurstelprater (Wurstel or Wurschtel being the Viennese name for Hanswurst) is an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park) in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria.

This institution dates back to the time of the Austrian Empire, when Emperor Joseph II made the Prater (which had been serving as Imperial hunting ground until then) open to the public in 1766,^[1] which makes it the second-oldest amusement park in the world after Dyrehavsbakken in Copenhagen, Denmark. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened up on the grounds and the Wurstelprater was born.

The best-known attraction is the Wiener Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The park also features various rides, bumper cars, carousels, roller coasters, shooting galleries, ghost trains, a Madame Tussauds wax works cabinet and much more. Apart from the rides, the park features various famous traditional Viennese restaurants (such as the Schweizerhaus and the Walfisch) and souvenir shops.

The mascot for the park is Calafati, a 9 m-tall sculpture of a Chinese man, which stands near the Wiener Riesenrad.

The park is open from 10:00 am to 1:00 am daily in its season, which runs from 15 March to 31 October.^[2] Some attractions, as well as the food stands and restaurants, are open throughout the year. There is no entrance fee to get into the park; instead, each attraction charges its own fee, the attractions being individual businesses mostly owned by local families.

During the advent season, a small Christmas Market^[3] can be found on Riesenradplatz, right beside the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel at the Wurstelprater entrance. This Wintermarkt is open from mid-November till beginning of January and features traditional Christmas gifts as well as seasonal food and beverages.

The Wurstelprater is located in the Wiener Prater and can be conveniently reached by public transport (U1/U2 Praterstern) as well as by car (parking facilities available).

Attractions

Notable Attractions

• Wiener Riesenrad; A 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall ferris wheel that was first constructed in 1897 and is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions.
• Wiener Looping; A new Mack Rides looping roller coaster currently under construction and set to open in September 2024. Upon its debut, it will become the largest fixed-location coaster in Austria and the park's first to straddle multiple parcels of land.
• Olympia Looping; The world's largest portable roller coaster, designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and Werner Stengel and operated by Rudolf Barth. It resided at Prater seasonally for five summers before attending Oktoberfest in Munich and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland in London.
• Praterturm; A 117-metre (384 ft) Star Flyer designed and operated by Austria-based Funtime.
• Geisterbahn; A ghost train attraction first opened in 1933.

Gallery

• Wurstelprater
• 
  Wurstelprater view
• 
  A wolfman-esque figure that greets Prater visitors
• 
  A sculptured clown inviting visitors to one of the attractions

References

1. "History - Wiener Prater". Praterservice.at. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
2. "General Information about the Viennese Prater". Wiener-prater.at. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
3. "Comprehensive Guide to Vienna Christmas Markets". Vienna4u.at. Retrieved 11 November 2019.

External links

• prater.at | Your Wurstelprater Guide – park information, rides, restaurants and events
• City of Vienna page on the Prater
• www.wiener-prater.at

48°12′58″N 16°23′44″E