Wagner, Waltz and Wien!

It was New Year's Day and the fbb's decided to do a bit of telly watching. One option was the annual concert from Vienna.

The Philharmonic orchestra assembles in the magnificent Musikverein ...

... which is just outstandingly opulent inside!

The orchestra plays tunes from the Strauss family and their associates. This year's conductor was ...

... Riccardo Muti.

But would you expect a link between this emotive and evocative music and public transport? Of course there was, otherwise fbb would not be waxing lyrical about the performance.

The link is made by this man ...

... Otto Koloman Wagner.

Otto Koloman Wagner (13 July 1841 to 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.

The Post Office Building ...

... and the Majolica House are just two of his celebrated designs.

2017 marks the 100th anniversary of Wagner's death, so one of the items on the concert programme was a dance staged at a superb Wagner building.

Sid and Flo gyrate round every part of this wedding-cake pile. Here is the main internal reception area, panelled, mirrored and magnificently decorated.

The roof of this room is amazing!

And here are he dancers cavorting around two significant sets of stairs downwards.

It's a station innit!

Otto Wagner was one of the architects charged with the design of station buildings for the "Stadtbahn".

The Wiener Stadtbahn (German for "Vienna Metropolitan Railway") was a public transportation system operated under this name from 1898 to 1989. Today, the Vienna U-Bahn lines U4 and U6 and the Vienna S-Bahn (rapid transit) run on its former lines.

Wagner sought to make his name by building (without a specific commission) a station for the emperor Franz Joseph to use when travelling to or from his little cottage at Schöhnbrunn.

It has quite  large garden.

The railway line runs across the top of the picture with Schönbrunn Station top right, and Hietzing Station top left.

Both stops are on present U-Bahn line 4.

Originally a private station for his Immenseness the emperor, it joined the public system later. Schönbrunn Station is also spectacular ...

... but not a spectacular as Hietzing.

It's a pretty as a kiss!

The front door (for use by the Emperor, remember?) is truly splendid.

The emperor only used "his" station twice!

Logology!

20. One of the brands recently used by Southern Vectis for the Cowes route.
21. Ditto for main services in Southampton
22. Ditto for services in the Salisbury area
23. Red Rover, Aylesbury
24. The best ever - Midland Red

Time for some more oddments - tomorrow.

 Next bits and bobs blog : Saturday 6th January