Prater Amusement Park

When Emperor Joseph II decided the aristocracy shouldn’t have all the fun, he opened Vienna’s royal hunting grounds to commoners in 1766, accidentally founding the world’s second-oldest amusement park. Soon, taverns, swings, and ring toss games established the “Wurstelprater” – named after Hanswurst, the comical puppet theater character who held court in simple wooden booths. The park suffered extensive destruction in April 1945 during World War II and was rebuilt in the following years. Today, entry to the Prater grounds is free; visitors pay individually for each attraction, with individual plots leased by the City of Vienna to private operators.