The Prater was once imperial hunting ground and only accessible for the aristocracy, until the Austrian Emperor Josef II donated the area to the Viennese in 1766 as a public leisure center. And since Emperor also allowed the establishment of restaurants and snack bars – small wonder that it didn’t take long until the precursors of today’s Wurstelprater appeared on the edge of the former aristocratic hunting grounds. Innkeepers, coffee brewers, and gingerbread bakers (Lebzelter) hung out their shingles; seesaws and merry-go-rounds as well as bowling alleys were not far behind.
In 1895, the amusement area "Venice in Vienna" was established, in whose midst one of the landmarks of the city, the Riesenrad, appeared in 1897 The Prater became a place where everyone finds enjoyment. The "better” class of people came here in their horse-drawn carriages, military cadets and laundry girls met on secret dates, one found barrel organs, Heurigen singers and ladies orchestras – and some of the great composers of their time, such as the Waltz King Johann Strauss or the composers Joseph Lanner and Carl Michael Ziehrer performed here. For children's entertainment, puppet theaters were established in simple wooden booths, where Hanswurst played the leading part. The name "Wurstelprater" derives from this figure.
In 1938, the Prater became the property of the City of Vienna. During World War II, bombs and the construction of trenches destroyed large parts of the Prater area. A large part of the Wurstelprater fell victim to fire in April 1945. After 1945, the Wurstelprater rebuilt with the help of private initiatives, and the devastated Prater grounds afforested by the Vienna public park authorities.
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