Kahlenberg
Day-trips to Vienna would not be complete without visiting one of the most popular mountains in the area. Standing on top of the Kahlenberg will give you the chance to have a perfect and complete view of the entire city. This wonderful mountain located in Dobling, Vienna, Austria lies in the low, wooded section of the Alps in eastern Lower Austria and Vienna known as the Vienna Woods or Wienerwald in the German word.
Kahlenberg used to be unoccupied during the 1700s. Its original habitats were wild pigs occupying the immaculate and untouched oak forests. This is probably the reason why the mountain was formerly named as Sauberg or Schweinsberg, which means Sow Mountain and Pig Mountain respectively. It was only during 1628 after the acquisition of the mountain by Ferdinand II when the mountain was renamed as Josephsberg, which means Joseph’s Mountain. The name was later changed to Kahlenberg after Emperor Leopold I renamed the neighboring mountain, formerly known as Kahlenberg to Leopoldsberg; thus, the former Josephsberg is now the modern-day Kahlenberg.
Neighboring mountains of Kahlenberg include the Leopoldsberg in the West; with Reisenberg, Latisberg, and Hermannskogel situated in the Eastern side. Quarts, marl, limestone and other sedimentary rocks form the mountain composition of this 484 meter- high mountain.
Familiar sights in Kahlenberg include the tower, the picturesque and scenic overlook in addition to the church. The scenic overlook is known as Stefaniewarte. Standing on the peak of this scenic overlook, you can have a sight of the lower Austria. The tower standing tall next to the overlook measures 165 meters. It serves as the transmitter for the Austrian Broadcast Corporation. An old restaurant and hotel previously exists in Kahlenberg but was later on demolished and replaced by a new restaurant. This restaurant was the concept of an architect named Erich Boltenstern during the 1930s. Local historical society and some architects contradicted with the demolition of some parts of the restaurant in their faith that the establishment is valuable enough to protect.
You can get through to Kahlenberg by means of car or bus. When traveling by bus, you have to take the Bus line 38A, which will pass through the pictographic and scenic Höhenstraße. A railway with a toothed track rail referred as cog railway, which was designed by Carl Maader was opened to the public in 1874. 180,000 passengers benefited from riding the train each year. It was in September 21, 1920 when the railway was finally discontinued to run operations.
