Vienna & the Leopoldstadt
Cultural diversity with authentic Viennese atmosphere: The grown “Grätzl” character with a combination of art, culture and culinary delights has formed and designed our quarter. Life is inspiring here. To be seen and experienced “Chez Schneider”.
Here, Chez Schneider, it is as calm and cozy as it is inspiring. A charming and characterful neighborhood with “Schmäh” and really close to the first district (old town). Accurately, it is only 923 steps from our doorstep to the first district, straight along the Leopoldsgasse. Or, if you take one of our Chez Schneider bikes, just a couple of minutes, a quick coffee on the way already included.
It is nice here, Chez Schneider. And we live on an island, a real island: It is surrounded by water and parks. The Danube with the near Danube isle is to the north, behind the versatile Augarten (“What is the Augarten?“), a historic park from the 17th century, formerly a trendsetting project of the Enlightenment. Today, the Augarten, which is only one block (or 142.8 meters beeline) from Chez Schneider away, is popular for art, culture and recreational activities. Slightly to the east, trees bloom in the Prater and the two metropolitan boulevards Praterstrasse and Taborstrasse lead to the first district. The “mazzes-island” were not an island would the Danube canal (also called the “Vienna water” or “Vienna arm”) with its versatile boardwalk not form a border to the old town in the south.
Our neighborhood, named “Carmelite Quarter” (Karmeliterviertel) after a monastery that was abandoned in 1782, is totally classic Vienna, with Biedermeier and Gründerzeit buildings, as well as some exciting gaps, blunders and off spaces, very dense with history and thus typical for this city.
For centuries, here was also one of the most important centers of Jewish life, thus the name “mazzes-island” which was coined in monarchistic times and which is still used today. Despite its changeful and tragic history, the quarter is very vivid and home to many different cultures, including an active Jewish community.
The multicultural heart of the Carmelite Quarter pounds at the Carmelite Market (Karmelitermarkt) (“What is the Carmelite Market?“). The small, bustling market is not only the center of the Viennese slow food movement, with fruits, vegetables and organic products, but also features a diverse and innovative scene of bistros, restaurants and cafes. All is only a couple of footsteps away from our door in the Leopoldsgasse, within easy walking distance to the first district (old town) and of course embedded in the dense network of public transport (bus, tramway and underground).
Living in Vienna, “Chez Schneider”.