Leopoldstadt

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This article is about a district of Vienna. Leopoldstadt is also the German name for the town Leopoldov in Slovakia.

2nd District of Vienna
Coat of Arms	Map

Name:	Leopoldstadt
Area:	19.27 km²
Population:	90,914 (as of 2001)
Density:	9807.3 people per km²
Postal code:	A-1020
Address of District Office:	Karmelitergasse 9 A-1020 Wien
Official Website:	http://www.wien.gv.at/bezirke/leopoldstadt/ (German)
E-Mail:	post@b02.magwien.gv.at
Politics
District Director	Gerhard Kubik (SPÖ)
First Deputy	Rudolf Kauba (SPÖ)
Second Deputy	Adolf Hasch (Green)
Representation (60 Members)	SPÖ 30, Green 12, ÖVP 9, FPÖ 8, KPÖ 1

Haidgasse in Leopoldstadt

The Volksprater amusement park in the Wiener Prater

The Hauptallee in the Prater

Leopoldstadt ("Leopold-Town") is Vienna's second district. There are 90,914 inhabitants (census 2001) over 19.27 km². 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 Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640–1705). 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 ("Matzoh Island"). This context was a significant aspect for the district twinning with the New York City borough Brooklyn in 2007.^[1]

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 Ferris wheel ("Riesenrad") opened in 1897 which features prominently in the movie The Third Man and which has become one of Vienna's trademarks. There is also a miniature steam railway ("Liliputbahn") which, on its track through the woodland parallel to the Hauptallee, passes Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium. 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.

Another, smaller, park in Leopoldstadt is the topiary-type Augarten, which is the home of the Vienna Boys' Choir and of a porcelain manufactory ("Augarten-Porzellan"). Sadly, its distinguishing marks are two disused Flak towers built towards the end of the Second World War. For features of this versatile district not listed here, see the bottom-linked Leopoldstadt Category page.

In the mid-17th century, part of the built-up area used to be the Jewish ghetto. During the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Jewish immigrants from eastern parts of the realm again flocked to Leopoldstadt. Today, the members of Vienna's Jewish community prefer to live there, and there are a number of shops selling kosher food. Several parts of the old residential areas have been gentrified, resulting in a gentle shift from Leopoldstadt's predominantly working class population towards a somewhat wealthier clientele.

Currently a new extension of the U2 metro line is being built which will connect the city centre with the stadium and the outskirts of the city which are situated across the Danube in Donaustadt.