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In the 18th century many graveyards were closed down as plague epidemics spread quickly in the densely populated cities. Cemeteries were relocated beneath city churches, and bones were disinterred and reburied in the crypts. The catacombs underneath Stephansdom were constructed after Emperor Karl VI issued a decree to close the cathedral’s graveyard in 1732. Today it is hard to image that the Stephansplatz was once crammed with gravestones (see p9).

A special adventure area here geared towards children aged three to six years old (although older children enjoy it too) allows young visitors to experience the natural sciences with hands-on displays. Children are particularly invited to take part in and carry out various technological experiments. Special workshops in the museum’s kindergarten take place between 1 and 6pm on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays as well as from 10am to 6pm on Sundays; these are free of charge. This is a great museum for inquisitive little minds (see p42).

Emanuel Schikander, a friend of Mozart, had this theatre built between 1798 and 1801 but only one year after its grand opening he went bankrupt and sold the building. The theatre has had a colourful history, changing owners many times, but saw great historic moments with the premiere of Beethoven’s Fidelio in 1805 and Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus in 1874. The theatre closed down in 1938 but after World War II it staged state opera performances while the damaged Staatsoper was being repaired. Today it is owned by the City of Vienna and mainly used as a stage for musicals and occasional operas.

The Scots’ Abbey on Freyung has widespread vaults that were continually expanded after its foundation in 1155. The storage rooms and wine cellars bear remains from the Romanesque, Baroque and Biedermeier periods. Today the area is used as an exhibition space of the Art Cult Centre (see p45).

The large Gothic Saint Virgil’s Chapel was only discovered in the 1970s when the Vienna metro line U1 was constructed – it had been hidden underground for some 200 years. The foundations of the crypt are visible on the square. Built in 1250, it was originally used for public burials, until a Vienna merchant turned it into his private crypt in the 14th century.

Next to the Majolika House is another of Otto Wagner’s Art Nouveau-style buildings. The six-storey house has a white plastered façade with beautiful golden stucco elements. Between the top row of windows are golden medallions with female heads, designed by Wagner’s fellow artist Koloman Moser (1868–1918). Golden palm leaves are spread above the medallions and peacock feathers underneath reach down to the windows below. Above the rounded corner with an iron-and-glass porch are statues of female “callers” by Othmar Schimkowitz (1864–1947). Some of the designs are from Wagner’s students who also became well-known architects, such as Josef Maria Olbrich, the Secession building’s architect.

In the Middle Ages most of Vienna’s houses had as many storeys below ground as they had above. The cellars stored vats of wine, vegetables and other goods, and in some cases stables. In times of war the Viennese even lived in these cellars. This extensive underground labyrinth was often connected by tunnels. Many of the cellars were destroyed during the construction of the metro system and numerous underground car parks, but some remain as “Keller ” (cellar) restaurants, such as Rathauskeller at Wipplingerstrasse 8 and Esterhazykeller at Haarhof 1.

More than three million people have been buried in this 6-acre cemetery since it opened in 1874, among them 500 Austrian politicians (there is a presidential crypt), composers and actors who were given honorary graves. Max Hegele, a student of Otto Wagner, designed the entrance portal (gate 2), the mortuary and the Dr-Karl-Lueger-Gedächtnis Kirche, named after a Vienna mayor (1897–1910). The church is among Vienna’s most important Art Nouveau buildings. Within the cemetery there are separate areas for followers of the Jewish, Islamic, Orthodox and Protestant faiths.

This museum is designed exclusively for children and is a place of playful enquiry, learning and discovery. Hands-on exhibitions for toddlers, kitchens in which children can experiment with cooking, and the chance to “zoom” in on new situations to grasp the world around them are just some of the highlights.