Leopoldsberg

At 425 meters (about 1,390 feet), the Leopoldsberg is the northeasternmost foothill of the Vienna Woods and therefore of the Alps, rising steeply above the Danube in Vienna's 19th district, Döbling. Together with the neighboring hills of Burgstall and Nussberg, it marks the end of the mountain range, while with the Bisamberg it forms the so-called Vienna Gate, through which the river enters the Vienna Basin. Geologically, the hill belongs to the Flysch Zone, and because of its extreme steepness, which reaches up to 100 percent at the so-called Nase ("Nose"), it has the only natural rock outcrop in Vienna. The buildings on the hill are protected as historic monuments and designated as a protected architectural zone.

The history of the site goes back to the Hallstatt period, when a settlement stood here, though it had no major fortifications. In the 12th century, Duke Leopold III had a castle built to protect against Magyar raids, and the duke died there in 1136. After a turbulent history and its destruction by the Turks in 1529, Emperor Leopold I founded a chapel in 1679 to ward off the plague. It was rebuilt after the victory over the Turks in 1683 and consecrated to St. Leopold in 1693, which gave the hill its present name. The neighboring castle burned down in 1891, while the church was temporarily deconsecrated under Joseph II before being reconsecrated in 1798.

Today the Leopoldsberg is a popular excursion destination, reached from Wien Heiligenstadt station by bus line 38A. On the summit grounds you'll find a memorial to returning prisoners of war, with a large fire bowl, commemorating the soldiers who returned home after World War II. A memorial stone also commemorates a plane crash in 1955. After a comprehensive restoration that took eleven years, the castle grounds have been open to the public again since 2018. The former castle courtyard, once a driveway for cars, has been turned into a park, so visitors can now experience the historic site in a quieter atmosphere, without restaurants shaping the character of the place.