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Founded by Emperor Joseph II in 1785 as a medical academy, the Josephinum initially trained military doctors, and later general practictioners. Today the buildings host the Institute for the History of Medicine and an anatomical museum (see p47).

The 484-m (1,580-ft) high Kahlenberg mountain is on the fringe of the Vienna Woods and covered with trees and vineyards. The Höhenstrasse, a scenic route lined with trees that occasionally offers a glimpse of the city, winds its way up the Kahlenberg from Grinzing, and on top of the hill you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the city. During the Turkish siege of 1683, the Polish troops under King Jan III Sobieski descended from the top of this hill and defeated the Turkish army on 12 September that year. The little Baroque church on top of Kahlenberg commemorates this historic event.

As the last Habsburg monarch (1916–18) Karl I was forced to leave the country in exile in 1918.

Karl VI (1711–40) changed the rules of succession, allowing females to ascend the throne.

This Baroque masterpiece is one of Vienna’s most impressive churches, with its beautiful carved columns and vast green dome (see pp26–7).

This church, another Art Nouveau masterpiece by the Viennese architect Otto Wagner (see p118), was created between 1905 and 1907 as a place of worship for the patients at the Steinhof psychiatric hospital. The entire hospital complex at the edge of the Vienna Woods was designed to bring the patients closer to a healthy and natural environment and to help ensure their recovery. The square church, flanked by two bell towers, was also intended to bring aesthetic pleasure to the sick with its colourful windows and mosaics. Its glistening golden dome can be spotted from the Gloriette building in Schönbrunn Park (see p49).

The grave of the leading Secessionist painter Gustav Klimt (see p25) is in the Hietzinger Cemetery, close to Schloss Schönbrunn. The simple gravestone bears his name in the way he signed his works of art. He died in 1918 following a stroke.

Just next to Kahlenberg is its twin mountain, the Leopoldsberg, that dominates the Danube valley. From the top of the 425-m (1,400-ft) high mountain you get an excellent view of the entire region around Vienna. Leopoldsberg is named after the Babenberg ruler Leopold III (1073–1136) and the ruins of the 13th-century Babenberg castle destroyed by the Turkish troops in 1529 are still visible. An older church on top of the mountain was also destroyed by the Turks and was replaced by a Baroque church in the 18th century.