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Leopoldstadt

Leopoldstadt
2nd District of Vienna
Coat of arms of Leopoldstadt
Coat of arms
Location of the district within Vienna
Location of the district within Vienna
Country Austria
City Vienna
Government
 • District Director Karlheinz Hora (SPÖ)
 • First Deputy Astrid Rompolt, MA (SPÖ)
 • Second Deputy Ursula Lichtenegger (Green)
 • Representation
   (60 Members)
SPÖ 24, FPÖ 14, Green 14,
ÖVP 4, NEOS 3, ANDAS 1
Area
 • Total 19.27 km2 (7.44 sq mi)
Population (2016-01-01)
 • Total 103,233
 • Density 5,400/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
Postal code A-1020
Address of
District Office
Karmelitergasse 9
A-1020 Wien
Website www.wien.gv.at
  /bezirke/leopoldstadt/

Leopoldstadt (German pronunciation: [ˈleːopɔltˌʃtat]; Bavarian: Leopoidstod, "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna (German: 2. Bezirk). There are 103,233 inhabitants (as of 2016-01-01) over 19.27 km2 (7 sq mi). It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th district), forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Due to its relatively high percentage of Jewish inhabitants (38.5 per cent in 1923, i.e. before the Holocaust), Leopoldstadt gained the nickname Mazzesinsel ("Matzo Island"). This context was a significant aspect for the district twinning with the New York City borough Brooklyn in 2007.

Places of interest include the Wiener Prater (from Latin pratum "meadow"), former imperial hunting grounds to which the public was denied access until 1766. The area of the Prater closest to the city centre contains a large amusement park, known as the Volksprater ("People's Prater") or Wurstelprater (after the Harlequin-type figure of Hanswurst), and at its entrance there is the giant Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel opened in 1897 which features prominently in the movie The Third Man and which has become one of Vienna's trademarks. The Schweizerhaus ("Swiss Hut"), an establishment boasting a huge beer garden, sells the original Czech Budweiser draught beer. The owners claim that, back in the 1920s, the potato crisp was invented there. Nearby you can find the "Republic of Kugelmugel", a micronation proclaimed in 1984 that became a landmark of the area. There is also a miniature steam railway ("Liliputbahn") which, on its track through the woodland parallel to the Hauptallee, passes Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion.


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Wikipedia

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