Vienna’s Giant Ferris Wheel – a moving tradition
The Giant Ferris Wheel – the way to see Vienna
Everyone coming to Vienna can enjoy a vast and diverse range of cultural attractions.
No visitor should leave Vienna without having seen its most popular tourist attractions the Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Spanish Riding School and of course the Giant Ferris Wheel – the unmistakable landmark in the skyline of Vienna, clearly visible even from great distances.
Take a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel and enjoy the breathtaking view over the city. It is the only way to fully experience Vienna and its flair.
The Giant Ferris Wheel has a long and eventful history.
Numerous anecdotes and stories are told about the Giant Ferris Wheel which was built in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I – an impressive accomplishment for the time.
It is hardly surprising that the Giant Ferris Wheel quickly became a favourite meeting place for the Viennese and, starting in the nineteen twenties, also a popular venue for numerous movie productions. The most well-known production featuring the Giant Ferris Wheel probably is the famous movie “The Third Man”.
During World War Two and its destruction by fire in 1944, the Giant Ferris Wheel lost some of its popularity. However, only temporarily – already in 1945 intensive reconstruction work was begun.
Rebirth of a landmark
In 1947, the Giant Ferris Wheel was re-opened and soon after, it regained its former popularity. Today, the Giant Ferris Wheel is a favourite attraction for people from all over the world.
At its highest point, the Giant Ferris Wheel is 65 meters and it turns at a comfortable speed of 2.7 kilometres per hour.
It is visited by thousands of guests from near and far who come to enjoy the breathtaking view over Vienna. All these people have something in common – they exactly know why taking a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel has to be a top priority for everyone visiting Vienna.
So take a ride in one of the 15 carefully restored cabins and enjoy the magnificent view over Vienna and its surroundings. We promise you a breathtaking experience you will never forget. Even James Bond took a ride in one of its elegant cabins.
The Giant Ferris Wheel has even more to offer: it is also the perfect venue for proposing to your loved one or for holding a professionally organized press conference.
For these and other occasions we provide two luxury cabins and four special cabins which our visitors can rent exclusively. Of course, we also provide catering to perfectly satisfy your culinary desires as well.
Catering to all your senses
At our new Giant Ferris Wheel Restaurant your culinary desires will perfectly be met.
After all, all over the world Vienna is known for its hospitality and its culinary specialities. Our cozy restaurant garden is the ideal place for taking a short break from the hustle and bustle of the Prater amusement park.
Of course, you do not have to take a ride to enjoy the specialities of our restaurant – everyone is welcome. Please note that the Giant Ferris Wheel Restaurant can also be rented exclusively for events of all kinds.
Take home a souvenir
Before leaving the Giant Ferris Wheel, you get a chance to browse through a variety of souvenirs at our gift shop. Make your visit even more memorable by finding your own personal souvenir among innumerable charming small gifts ranging from tradition-rich craft items and typically Viennese sweets to the very popular Giant Ferris Wheel snowglobe. You can even take home a souvenir photograph.
The Giant Ferris Wheel – well prepared for the 21st century
Like no other of Vienna’s tourist attractions, the Giant Ferris Wheel combines the traditions of the past with the advantages of the present.
Since 2002, eight rediscovered cabins form the “History-Panorama” – a “wheel of time” so to speak, which was created by an extremely complex and very detailed work process. Today, it offers an exceptional overview of Vienna’s history from Roman times up until present day. Especially schools take advantage of this extraordinary exhibition since it provides a useful addition to the history education children receive in schools.
This diverse range of possibilities ensures that all visitors spend a unique and unforgettable time at the Giant Ferris Wheel – an experience they enjoy to remember even long after their visit.
Vienna’s Giant Ferris Wheel – a moving tradition
The Giant Ferris Wheel’s past was very eventful and so will be its future.
Like any other tourist attraction, though being one of the very few privately owned sights of Vienna, the Giant Ferris Wheel has to face the challenges of the market.
Since Vienna has such a huge number of diverse cultural attractions, it is necessary to constantly come up with new ideas and projects, which can successfully contribute to the attraction of the Giant Ferris Wheel.
During the last years the Giant Ferris Wheel was continuously ranked among the four most visited sights of Vienna. To ensure that this achievement will be accomplished also in the future, new ideas and projects are constantly being developed and put into practice.
The annual Snowboard Events (1997-2001) which took place right in front of the Giant Ferris Wheel ushered in a new era of worldwide media coverage. In 2002, the restaurant was remodelled, the gift shop expanded, a photo shop added and the new History-Panorama was introduced. These are five, to name but a few, of many successfully implemented projects.
Furthermore, the possibilities for renting luxury- and special cabins as well as the catering-options for these exclusive arrangements were expanded.
In the future, the Giant Ferris Wheel will keep improving its attractions and offers and will also seek new and innovative solutions in the field of marketing.
“TYPICALLY VIENNA” – the new billboard campaign
NEW YORK – STATUE OF LIBERTY, PARIS – EIFFEL TOWER, VIENNA – GIANT FERRIS WHEEL
The new billboard campaign perfectly falls in line with the overall marketing concept: “VIENNA’S GIANT FERRIS WHEEL Vision 2010”, which was developed by the Viennabased marketing agency WIP MARKETING. This comprehensive marketing concept, designed to perfectly appeal to people from all over the world, aims at securing and even improving the Giant Ferris Wheel’s position on the tourist market, making it a must-see attraction for everyone coming to Vienna.
Tourist groups as well as individual tourists make up the target groups in the primary markets Germany, Italy, Spain, USA, Japan and Austria as well as in the emerging markets of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Prospects for reaching and firmly establishing the goals set out in the marketing strategy are looking good. Contributing to this positive outlook are, among other things, the European Soccer Championship 2008 and Vienna’s Tourism Industry’s goal to reach 10 million overnight stays by the year 2010.
Furthermore, in an effort to complement the usually employed marketing tools, the concept lays special emphasis on strengthening cooperative marketing between the Giant Ferris Wheel and other Austrian companies working in the tourist industry. In order to attract people living in Vienna and its surrounding regions, special crossmarketing activities are pursued as well.
The Vienna-based advertising agency UNIQUE developed a new communication strategy which builds on the fact that all around the world the Giant Ferris Wheel is instantly recognized and associated with Vienna.
All over the world, no matter where, if an image of the Giant Ferris Wheel is featured people immediately think: “typically Vienna”.
In line with this philosophy the new billboard campaign integrates the Giant Ferris Wheel into the skylines of various cities of the world, headlining the posters with the catchphrase “typically Vienna”. The clear aim and overall goal of this billboard campaign is to call the attention of tourists to Vienna’s most important landmark – a sight not to be missed.
Remember: A ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel is the only way to fully experience Vienna and its flair.
If you need any further information about the Giant Ferris Wheel, please feel free to contact us at any time:
Wiener Riesenrad Prater 90 A-1020 Vienna
Tel.: 0043 1 729 54 30
Fax: 0043 1 729 54 30 20
E-mail: info@wienerriesenrad.com
Downloads: Press Release
