{"id":343,"date":"2015-08-21T12:08:05","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T10:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=343"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:35:29","slug":"wien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/wien\/","title":{"rendered":"Wien or Vienna?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/wien-1.jpg\" alt=\"Wien sign\" class=\"wp-image-13913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/wien-1.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/wien-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re troubled by various roadside signs announcing Wien where you&#8217;re expecting Vienna, relax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wien is the German word for the city<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8230;and German is the national language in Austria<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/concerts-opera-vienna-tickets-l206741\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Wien\" rel=\"sponsored\">classical concert experience<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/languages-do-they-speak-english-in-vienna\/\">Language in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/introduction-to-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30431\">Introduction to Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does Wien mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wien is simply the word for Vienna in German (the local language in Austria). You pronounce it &#8220;Veen&#8221; with a V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So Wien and Vienna are the same place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The German word Wiener means a male who comes from Vienna (the sausage you might be thinking of is called a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/frankfurter\/\">Frankfurter<\/a> here). A female from Vienna is a Wienerin.<\/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\/03\/wienfluss.jpg\" alt=\"The River Wien or Wienfluss\" class=\"wp-image-43972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wienfluss.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wienfluss-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\">(The &#8220;Wien river&#8221;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also have the Wienfluss or River Wien, which runs through part of the city and along one edge of the town centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visitors often mistake that river for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/the-danube\/\">Danube<\/a>, leading to much disappointment given it looks more like a village stream than one of Europe&#8217;s mightiest waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wienfluss actually flows underground for long stretches, which you can experience for yourself on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-tour\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"62196\">Third Man sewer tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we also have Wienerisch, which is the Viennese dialect. Wienerisch has its own, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/sausage-terms\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"7391\">often colourful<\/a>, vocabulary. It&#8217;s hard to describe, but takes a lot of getting used to. Think Glaswegian English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, any Wiener or Wienerin you&#8217;re likely to meet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/languages-do-they-speak-english-in-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"332\">speaks English<\/a> or can, at least, use the more refined form of German taught in schools and language classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And Vindobona?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many brands and business names make use of the Latin word for Vienna, which is Vindobona. This was the name of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/vindobona\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"32729\">Roman camp<\/a> that predates today&#8217;s city and has two notable claims to fame:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Battle of Vindobona features in the Oscar-winning film, Gladiator<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, stayed here<\/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\/06\/apothekevindobona.jpg\" alt=\"The Vindobona pharmacy sign\" class=\"wp-image-47977\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/apothekevindobona.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/apothekevindobona-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\">(A local pharmacy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in the day, Austria provided a home for Roman legions defending the empire&#8217;s borders from the German tribes. If you have a chance and enjoy that period of history, consider a day trip out to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/carnuntum\/\">Carnuntum Roman Park<\/a>. Or drop into Vienna&#8217;s own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/roman-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"35392\">Roman Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, for reference, these are the words for Vienna in selected other languages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spanish &#8211; Viena<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>French &#8211; Vienne<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Italian &#8211; Vienna (yay!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Czech &#8211; V\u00edden<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Croatian &#8211; Be\u010d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ukrainian &#8211; \u0412\u0456\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Estonian &#8211; Viin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hungarian &#8211; B\u00e9cs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Russian &#8211; \u0412\u0435\u043d\u0430<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dutch &#8211; Wenen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Polish &#8211; Wieden<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turkish &#8211; Viyana<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Icelandic &#8211; V\u00ednarborg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re troubled by various roadside signs announcing Wien where you&#8217;re expecting Vienna, relax. What does Wien mean? Wien is simply the word for Vienna in German (the local language in Austria). You pronounce it &#8220;Veen&#8221; with a V. So Wien and Vienna are the same place. The German word Wiener means a male who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13913,"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":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-visitorinfo","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343","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=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88803,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions\/88803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}