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| This statue of the goddess Athena is an example of the Greek influence on Vienna's public architecture. |
The Austrian capital of Vienna (Wien), with a population of more than 1.6 million, is a city forever implanted into the international imagination as a dreamy place of cream-filled pastries（奶油馅饼）and angelic choir1 boys, of prancing2 white horses and swirling3 Strauss waltzes. It is a city where legend overrules reality -- the Danube River（多瑙河）, which flows through Vienna, may not be true blue, yet, the "Blue Danube" waltz（蓝色多瑙河华尔兹）has permanently4 painted the waterway that hue5 in the mind's eye.
The imperial seat of the Habsburg court since the 17th century, Vienna was one of the world's most powerful cities, both culturally and politically, until World War I, when the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire（奥匈帝国）left it humbled6 by the redefinition of Europe's political structure. Despite having the power plug pulled, the city has retained its cultural cache（文化蕴藏地）.This statue of the goddess Athena is an example of the Greek influence on Vienna's public architecture.
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| The world-famous Vienna Boys Choir |
Music is the soul of Vienna -- the great composers of Europe, from Mozart to Beethoven, Haydn to Schubert, Strauss to Mahler, called the city home. And at every opportunity, from the grand Opera Ball to the smallest of musical gatherings7, Viennese swoon（陶醉）together in the city's famously romantic waltz. Or they gather for dramatic musical stagings（上演的节目）at the Staatsopera (State Opera House), one of the world's great opera venues8.
Vienna celebrates its well-composed heritage with numerous festivals and concerts, as well as well-preserved landmarks9 such as Schubert's birthplace and the homes of Mozart and Beethoven. Another noteworthy Viennese note-taker, Sigmund Freud, is honored at a museum devoted10 to his life and work as the father of psychotherapy（?窳品ǎ?睦砹品ǎ?
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| Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Art) contains some of the world's greatest art. |
Art and architecture are also Viennese trademarks11, and with 90 museums, many devoted to art, the city is awash in great works. Art Nouveau (known locally as "Jungendstil," or Young Style) took hold here, born of the Vienna Secession which straddled（跨越，横跨）the turn of the 20th century. The movement's most famous member was Viennese painter Gustav Klimt, and his work, as well as that of other secessionists, is showcased at the Secession Pavilion, designed by Josef Maria Olbrich. Vienna's most famous art museum, however, is the Kunsthistorisches, housing works by such greats as the Dutch master Pieter Brueghel the Elder.
As for Vienna's other cultural icons12, they still thrive: from the Spanish Riding School, home of the world-famous, high-stepping Royal Lipizzaner Stallions, to the dulcet-toned Vienna Boy's Choir（维也纳男童合唱团）, which tours the globe when not singing morning mass at the Hofburgkapelle during the summer months.
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