{"id":32741,"date":"2021-10-17T05:22:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-17T04:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=32741"},"modified":"2025-06-16T09:25:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T08:25:30","slug":"albrechtsbrunnen-danubiusbrunnen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/albrechtsbrunnen-danubiusbrunnen\/","title":{"rendered":"The Albrechtsbrunnen wall fountain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/albrechtsbrunnen.jpg\" alt=\"Tritons on a fountain\" class=\"wp-image-32742\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/albrechtsbrunnen.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/albrechtsbrunnen-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ve got it, flaunt it,&#8221; as the saying goes. Austria-Hungary had a lot of lands with some rather fine waterways running through them. So what better way to point out the magnificence of the empire than a river-themed monumental fountain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1869 wall fountain below the Albertina<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Features the Danube and various tributaries<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Original was wider, with two extra river figures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a short <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_WalkingTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also other famous fountains:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/austriabrunnen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29810\">Austriabrunnen<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/neptune-fountain\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"15263\">Neptunbrunnen<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/hochstrahlbrunnen-fountain\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30035\">Hochstrahlbrunnen<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/donnerbrunnen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"61495\">Donnerbrunnen<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Danubiusbrunnen<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/albrechtsbrunnen.jpg\" alt=\"Full view of the Albrechtsbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-49336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/albrechtsbrunnen.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/albrechtsbrunnen-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View across Albertinaplatz square)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the state decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/history-of-the-ringstrassen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"68027\">take down<\/a> the Vienna fortifications in the 19th century and open up the area to development, they sold off some of the land for private construction projects and used the money for public ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the projects so financed was a decorative renaissance-style wall fountain and monument at the base of one of the few parts of the city walls that remained largely intact (presumably since a rather splendid palais &#8211; now the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">Albertina art museum<\/a> &#8211; stood more or less on top of it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fountain bears the name <em>Albrechtsbrunnen<\/em>, named for Archduke Albrecht (owner of that palais and the guy riding the horse in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/archduke-albrecht-monument\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"39990\">the statue<\/a> on the plateau above the fountain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Locals also refer to the location as the <em>Danubiusbrunnen<\/em>, because of the figure of Danubius at the centrepiece of the installation and the overarching Danube theme.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/danubiusbrunnen.jpg\" alt=\"The Danubiusbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-49337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/danubiusbrunnen.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/danubiusbrunnen-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Each figure used marble from Carrara in Italy; the same source provided stone used in such iconic creations as the Pantheon in Rome, Michelangelo&#8217;s David, and London&#8217;s Marble Arch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unveiled in 1869 on Emperor Franz Joseph&#8217;s birthday, this long monument features allegorical figures for Vienna, the Danube river, and major tributaries of the Danube that passed through imperial lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the central water feature, three tritons support the seated Danubius (the Danube) with his arm around the female <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/vindobona\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"32729\">Vindobona<\/a> (representing Vienna itself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of construction, the fountain had ten further figures either side of Danubius:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Inn<\/em> (actually begins in Switzerland, passes through Innsbruck and joins the Danube at Passau)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Save<\/em> (crossed what would have been the southern part of the empire before reaching the Danube at Belgrade)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Drava<\/em> (runs a little north of the Save and joins the Danube at Osijek in what was then Croatia-Slavonia)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Tisza<\/em> (which crossed the Kingdom of Hungary from north to south)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Mur<\/em> (begins in the Austrian alps and flows through Graz before eventually merging with the Drava)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/riverstatuesalbrechtsbrunnen.jpg\" alt=\"River statues on the Albrechtsbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-49338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/riverstatuesalbrechtsbrunnen.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/riverstatuesalbrechtsbrunnen-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Three rivers in human form)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Salzach<\/em> (the river that runs through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/salzburg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12693\">Salzburg<\/a> and flows into the Inn)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Morava<\/em> (which gave its name to Moravia and reaches the Danube just outside Bratislava)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>R\u00e1ba<\/em> (which flows through Austria and Hungary, where it joins the Danube at Gyor)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Enns<\/em> (a small Austrian tributary known for its wild waters)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Traun<\/em> (another small Austrian tributary)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Enns and Traun rivers also feature in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/donnerbrunnen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"61495\">Donnerbrunnen fountain<\/a> on nearby Neuer Markt square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today&#8217;s monument is, however, shorter than the original and has fewer figures, as you can tell by comparing the photos with one from the late 19th century. The two end niches seen below are missing:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"387\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/albertinaold.jpg\" alt=\"The Albertina in the late 1800s\" class=\"wp-image-45798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/albertinaold.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/albertinaold-300x232.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Photo kindly provided by the Rijksmuseum)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the wall fountain suffered damage in WWII and some of the figures subsequently found new homes. Renovation work earlier this century brought back all but three of the original statues into the slightly downsized original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the three missing figures, the Inn and Drava now live in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/burggarten\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2746\">Burggarten<\/a>; the March has seemingly dried up (i.e. it went completely missing) and the figure you see today in its place is a copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Albrechtsbrunnen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just follow the tips for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">Albertina<\/a>. You may find your view of the wall fountain obscured by queues for the well-known Bitzinger W\u00fcrstelstand (sausage seller) just off to one side of the square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, watch the movie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/woman-in-gold-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"67389\">The Woman in Gold<\/a>; the fountain makes a brief appearance in a shot out of a hotel window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Albertinaplatz, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ve got it, flaunt it,&#8221; as the saying goes. Austria-Hungary had a lot of lands with some rather fine waterways running through them. So what better way to point out the magnificence of the empire than a river-themed monumental fountain? The Danubiusbrunnen (View across Albertinaplatz square) When the state decided to take down the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-32741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32741"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84170,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32741\/revisions\/84170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}