My name is Anna and I have been working at the Austria Classic Hotel Wien as a receptionist for many years. I am also a very good contact person for cultural information. As a person interested in culture, I have been an enthusiastic member of the Vienna Experts Club since it was founded. We are always the first on site for exhibitions, new openings and many other cultural highlights and are able to experience a varied program and thus authentically pass on our experiences to our guests.

When Emperor Joseph II, son and successor of Maria Theresa, opened the former hunting grounds to the public, it was a sensation that immediately became very popular with the population. The large area became a PLACE FOR EVERYONE, for people of all social classes, which was a novelty at the time. It was said to be a place for everyone at all times. The top priority was to be 'considerate'. In the early days, the attractions included spectacular fireworks, carousels, Punch and Judy shows and even experimental balloon flights. In the following years, the entertainment concept gradually changed and the Prater set completely new entertainment standards with theme parks such as "Venice in Vienna". Incidentally, the son of the inventor of Venice in Vienna, Max Steiner, was born in the Austria Classic Hotel Vienna.

Eine Gedenktafel in unserem Frühstücksraum sowie in unserer Max Steiner Bar, die diesem großartigem Komponisten, dem "Vater der Filmmusik" gewidmet ist, erinnern an sein Geburtshaus in der Praterstrasse 72. Ebenfalls wird auf unseren Gedenktafeln seine Familie erwähnt, wie Vater Gabor Steiner, Erfinder des „Venedig in Wien“ sowie Großvater und Onkel. Alle waren Persönlichkeiten in der Musikwelt.
 

A memorial plaque in our breakfast room and in our Max Steiner Bar, dedicated to this great composer, the "father of film music", commemorates his birthplace at Praterstrasse 72. Our memorial plaques also mention his family, such as his father Gabor Steiner, inventor of "Venice in Vienna", as well as his grandfather and uncle. All of them were personalities in the world of music.

In the Prater Museum, the story of the Prater begins in the foyer with a monumental monumental panoramic picture of the amusement park and the extensive landscape of the green Prater. The foyer is freely accessible and can also be used for event. On the huge picture, which fills the entire wall, you can recognize well-known personalities from many eras. It shows a huge number of situations from everyday life. If you look at this enormous picture for longer, it becomes a search picture. As soon as you enter the world of colorful diversity, a sentence reminds you of the original ideology of the Prater area → a PLACE FOR ALL; the highest commandment is 'be considerate'. The diversity of this area can be glimpsed in a thought written down by the Austrian writer Adalbert Stifter, who was alive at the time. "You have to have seen and experienced the Prater to understand it" is written on the wall.

This museum contains fascinating historical objects - including Ringelspiel and Punch and Judy figures, parts of a grotto railroad and early slot machines. Plans, models, photos, admission tickets, program booklets and posters complete the presentation. The world and history of the amusement park can be experienced both in the form of original exhibits from days gone by and in the form of paintings. The museum is rather small and a few selected exhibits are on display, which is all the better, as otherwise it would be sensory overload. Sometimes the mix is a little wild - next to the iconic waddle man is a model of the huge rotunda and an old tennis dress next to a fist smashing through a board.

The selection of pieces is as colorful as the Prater itself. Even the dark chapter of National Socialism and the very questionable treatment of animals in the past are given a place here. There are also some photos from the time when "abnormal" and "exotic" people were exhibited to the public.