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For those who want to be away from the hustle and bustle of city life can head to the Lainzer Tiergarten.
Even in the middle of Vienna, visitors can still experience a quiet stroll amid a lush green environment with lots of trees, shrubs, and a wide expanse of a well-manicured lawn.
The Lainz Animal Park or Lainzer Tiergarten in German has been opened to the public since 1919 and was named after its location, in the Lainz District of Vienna.
This woodland area was built by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1561 as a private hunting ground. Eventually, it was transformed into a public nature preserve after the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Lainzer Tiergarten Map
Lainzer Tiergarten Hermesvilla Museum
A trip to Lainzer Tiergarten won’t be complete without a stop at the Hermesvilla Museum.
The emperor was very much aware of his wife’s love for nature the reason why he commissioned the construction of Hermesvilla which was completed in 1886.
Situated in the Lainzer Tiergarten, this palace was a gift to Empress Sisi by her husband Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1886 in the hope to persuade his wife to spend more time in Vienna.
Today, Hermesvilla also houses a Lainzer Tiergarten restaurant and cafe where visitors can relax before or after touring the Tiergarten grounds.
When it comes to the magnificent buildings of the royalty, Vienna boasts of plenty of these. From palaces to opera houses and museums, the Austrian capital has so much to offer its visitors.
Visiting The Lainzer Tiergarten Hermesvilla is a Must
One must-visit building of the royalty is the Hermesvilla. The villa, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility, showcases the late Romantic architecture.
The former Emperor referred to the building as the “castle or palace of dreams.” It was named after the statue of “Hermes as Guardian” standing in the garden.
This villa took five years to complete by famous architect Carl von Hasenauer.
Its interior was designed by well known historicist artists such as:
- Franz Matsch
- Hugo Charlemont
- Georg
- Gustav Klimt
On the first floor, the villa now presents an exhibition featuring photographs, plans, and documents as well as the original furnishings and personal items of the late emperor and empress.
The Empress’s bedroom features a huge royal bed from the time of Maria Theresa with murals that depict the motifs from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” of Shakespeare.
To reach the Lainzer Tiergarten, you need to take the tram line 60 up to HermesstraBe. Another option is to take bus number 60B up to Lainzer Tor.
Opening times Lainzer Tiergarten 2020 & 2021
| Date | Time |
| May 2, 2020 to July 26, 2020 | from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| 27.07.2020 to 16.08.2020 | from 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. |
| 17.08.2020 to 06.09.2020 | from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| 07.09.2020 to 20.09.2020 | from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. |
| 21.09.2020 to 04.10.2020 | from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| October 19, 2020, to October 24, 2020 | from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| 25.10.2020 to 01.11.2020 | from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| November 2, 2020, to December 23, 2020 | from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| 24.12.2020 to 06.01.2021 | from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
Lainzer Tiergarten & Hermesvilla Museum Tickets
The Lainzer Tiergarten park is open to visitors for free, and for visiting Lainzer Tiergarten Hermesvilla Museum here’re prices. For more info visit here.
| Visiting Hermes Villa | Price tickets |
| Adults | 7 EUR |
| Seniors | 5 EUR |
| Children (under 19 years) | Free entry |
The Wonders of Lainzer Tiergarten
Meet deers, boars and wild sheep in a 6,000 acre park just a short ride outside the Vienna city center. The Lainzer Tiergarten or the Lainz Animal Park is perfect for nature and animal lovers.
A large part of this wild preserve (80 percent) situated in the city’s 13th district is covered with woodland. As such, long walks can be very much enjoyed here.
This wide stretch of woodland can be accessed in three ways:
- One is through the main Lainz gate which will lead you to the open parkland
- The second one is through the Lainzer Tiergarten Hermesvilla, an old country house constructed for Empress Elisabeth or Sisi
- the third one is through the Nikolai gate
The Nikolai gets is the one that takes visitors directly to the woodland where the wild boars and deers can be found.
Tiergarten literally means animal garden. What can be found here are wild boars that number between 800 and a thousand, hundreds of fallow deer, mouflon, and red deer.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Lainzer Tiergarten
How to get to Lainzer Tiergarten?
To reach the Lainzer Tiergarten, you need to take the tram line 60 up to HermesstraBe.
Or bus line 253 (from Liesing Schnellbahn) to Kalksburg Lodererweg or bus line 354 (from Liesing Schnellbahn) to Gütenbachstraße (40 minutes walk to the gate). [Source]
