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Wiener Riesenrad

The Riesenrad, seen from the outside of the Prater

The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant


Wheel[1] ), or Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall
Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement
park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Viennas most popular tourist
attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city
for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the worlds
tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

Lt. Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), RN, builder of the


Wiener Riesenrad

History

The Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897 by


the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett
(1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (18341908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon.[2] Its purpose 2 Height
was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz
Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever
built. Bassetts Ferris wheel manufacturing business was
not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost See also: Ferris wheel Timeline
bankrupt.
A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but due When the 64.75-metre (212 ft)[5] tall Wiener Riesenrad
to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre
it survived.[3]
(264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, deThe Ferris wheel and cafe on the Prater were owned by a molished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel
Jew, Eduard Steiner, who was murdered at Auschwitz.[4] in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were
taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris,
It originally had 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged constructed in 1900, was taller still. However, when
in World War II and when subsequently rebuilt only 15 the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the
gondolas were replaced.
Riesenrad became the worlds tallest extant Ferris wheel,
The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the conleaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism struction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in
under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension. 1985.
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EXTERNAL LINKS

[5] Wiener Riesenrad - Technical data


[6] Michael Bywater (October 22, 2011). Graham Greenes
Vienna: The city with a starring role in its own lm noir.
The Independent.

5 External links
Ocial website
Viennas tourist trail of plunder, Guardian (World
News), 21 May 2002.
Coordinates: 481300N 162345E / 48.2166505N
16.3959494E

In popular culture
The Riesenrad famously appeared in the post-war
lm noir The Third Man (1949)[6]
The wheel is featured in the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio
(1973), and the 1987 James Bond lm, The Living
Daylights.
The wheel appears in The Star of Kazan by Eva
Ibbotson, Max Ophls' Letter from an Unknown
Woman (1948) and its Generation X counterpart,
Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, and The Glass
Room by Simon Mawer.
The Riesenrad appears in the lm Woman in Gold
(2015) about the repatriation of a Klimt portrait
stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish Viennese family.

References

[1] The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel | Das Wiener Riesenrad


[2] Jahn, Helmut & Petritsch, Peter, The Vienna Giant Ferris
Wheel, Dienten am Hochkonig, 1989
[3] Wiener Riesenrad - History
[4] http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/world/
vienna-skewered-as-a-nazi-era-pillager-of-its-jews.
html

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Text

Wiener Riesenrad Source:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Riesenrad?oldid=712179078 Contributors:
Warofdreams,
David.Monniaux, Andy Smith, Michael Zimmermann, Glenlarson, Axoplasm, TMC1982, Stemonitis, Miaow Miaow, Vegaswikian,
Robert Fraser, RussBot, Bota47, Alarob, Superp, Tryptofeng, SmackBot, Hmains, Chris the speller, Bluebot, Rhollenton, Zonk43, J
1982, Courcelles, CmdrObot, Guitar Slim, Timtrent, Cnhardman, Arb, Thijs!bot, JAnDbot, Jllm06, Mbc362, Rich257, The Anomebot2,
KConWiki, DoorsAjar, Hqb, JhsBot, SieBot, Ori, Bede735, Sabbe, TIY, Pointillist, DragonBot, Alexbot, MystBot, Addbot, BrainMarble,
Lightbot, Vegaswikian1, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Slikraft, Williamcowper, Tabledhote, HRoestBot, Zyxwvut2009, Ripchip Bot, EmausBot,
Lobsterthermidor, Jereyjahja, ClueBot NG, Farnlogo, EuroCarGT, Jerry Pepsi, JaconaFrere, Professor2014, Benqo, GoodProse and
Anonymous: 53

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Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?


File:LtWalterBassettofWatermouthCastleDevon.JPG
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/
LtWalterBassettofWatermouthCastleDevon.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: Published in Petritsch, Jahn, The Vienna
Giant Ferris Wheel, Dienten am Hochkonig, 1989 Original artist: Unknown photographer
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Wien_Riesenrad.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Wien_Riesenrad.jpg License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Thomas Ledl
File:Wiener_Prater_Vienna_Austria_20476.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Wiener_Prater_
Vienna_Austria_20476.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

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