Art, music, coffee, chocolate cake and feng shui
Vienna is home to Mozart, Hayden, Beethoven (2020 marks 250 years since the birth of Beethoven), Strauss and other musicians as well as the birthplace of the sowing machine, slow motion, psychoanalysis, croissant (not Paris) and the snow globe (yes, Schneekugeln was invented in Vienna over hundred years ago and there is a museum to prove it).
13 million tourists flock to Vienna every year. About 2 million people live happily and comfortably in Vienna which has been voted the most livable city in the world for several years now (five times until 2019). Is it something to do with the feng shui of Vienna? I’m going to find out.
Vienna’s architecture
Architecture in Vienna is very opulent which is very good feng shui for any feng shui expert or feng shui enthusiast. Vienna City Hall, The Belvedere Palace, The Vienna State Opera House, Kunsthistorisches Museum and Maria-Theresien-Platz, The Albertina, Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), The Austrian Parliament Building and the superb National Theater (Burgtheater) are good examples.
Vienna is full of Baroque and Rocco palaces and be advised, there is so much gold leaf, porcelain and elaborate details and old paintings one can take.
“with no appreciation of art or pleasure in form was unimaginable … You were not truly Viennese without a love for culture.” Stefan Zweig, the Austrian novelist and journalist
History and Vienna
The predecessor energy (chi) is very present in Vienna, which has over a hundred museums if you’re into history and art. The current Freud museum was Sigmund Freud’s home/office between 1881 and 1938 attracts about 80 000 visitors/year. Feng shui of Freud’s home/office is very revealing if you excuse my pan.
Vienna has some of the prettiest fountains I have seen in my travels. Kärtner Strasse and the Donner Fountain is one of them.
To slow and moderate the energy flow along Viennese streets, tourists (only) use horse and cart mode of transport (fiaker) which represents and portraits well the yin and yang things of this city. Trams are popular in Vienna and I encourage you to try it at least once. From feng shui perspective, metal rails are not so good for the land, since they disturb the natural vibration of the Earth (Schumann resonance). But, for the feng in feng shui ie air/wind, trams are good since they don’t produce too much pollution.
Spiritual feng shui of Vienna
The spiritual, or more exactly the religious side of Vienna is well represented with a number of churches with amazing interiors and exteriors such as St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Karlskirche, The Imperial Crypt and the Capuchin Church, Collegial and Parish Church of St. Peter and The Franciscan Church: St. Jerome.
Nature and human-friendly house – Hundertwasserhaus
You can enjoy (from the outside, unless you know somebody living there) the famous ‘nature and human-friendly’ house, Hundertwasserhaus. This brightly coloured landmark on the corner of Löwengasse and Kegelstrasse, was designed by painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser and completed in 1985. The main occupants of Hundertwasserhaus, unsurprisingly, are artists and intellectuals. While you’re there, explore the nearby Kunsthaus Wien, with a terrace café where you can enjoy the vibe before you do some shopping in the similarly styled shopping arcade.
The energy of food in Vienna
Naschmarkt is a historic market (since 16th century) popular with Viennese and the tourists. You can try traditional Sturm, partially fermented wine or traditional Käsekrainer sausages there or if you’re into fine dining go to the Famous Demel: Vienna’s Ultimate Café or better still historic Cafe Central which is my favourite (which was also popular with Trotsky, Tito, Lenin, Freud as well as Hitler since 1876). The classic desserts are applestrudel and sachertorte. I also like Café Hawelka and Café Schwarzenberg (good for breakfast). Gemütlich (cosy) coffee houses are virtually on every street, you can walk the city with no particular route in mind, knowing that you can always stop for a breather.
Vienna is very different from Barcelona or Berlin when it comes to going out. People still dress up when going out, read books in the coffee houses, go to the opera, eat endless plates of applestrudel or sachertorte and linger over a hot chocolate. Bliss if you’re into a more sedate way of life and looking for a refuge from life’s chores.
Famous people born or living in Vienna
Victor Frankl, Freud, Wittgenstein, Poppe, Schoenberg, Carnap, and Klimpt were born or lived in Vienna.
Victor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing – the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any give set of circumstance, to choose one’s own way.” We, human beings imbue the world with meaning. We create ourselves. The purpose of life is just to create ourselves, to become more, among other things. We are human becomings… Frank also said, “Man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognise it is he who is asked.” In feng shui, we create meaning in our homes and workplaces with images, symbols, placement, colours and all the things we love and like. The act of creating a home from a house or building is part of feng shui milieu. Victor Frankl, walked his talk and in his life, especially in his confinement in the concertation camp during the WWII, has shown us that our attitudes to our circumstance and environment can make us or break us. Similarly, Nelson Mandela, during his 27 years of imprisonment, has shown us that feng shui is not the most important or influential thing in life. Our mindsets, worldviews, perspectives, values are more powerful than the environment (feng shui). In feng shui, we have a saying, “Don’t put your life in feng shui, put feng shui in your life.” Feng shui is a very useful tool and we all want to have nice, comfortable and empowering homes and workplaces so it has the right place in our personal and professional lives.
Playfulness of Vienna
To balance the seriousness of Freud’s ‘discoveries’ Viennese like to visit Prater, amusement park (location of the Oscar-winning, a British film noir directed by Carol Reed, The Third Man).
Snowball – the ultimate feng shui remedy for the bagua travel corner
In 1900, Erwin Perzy I, created the very first snowglobe and his first design was the Basilica of Maria Zell, which contained snow made from ground rice. Since then, millions of people enjoy the magic of snowballs and use them as a feng shui travel remedy/cure which ideally should be placed in the bagua travel area of the home or workplace.
Feng shui consultants in Vienna, Austria
Feng shui is popular in Austria and there are feng shui consultants in Vienna. But if you live in Vienna and are looking for a feng shui consultant near you – with 30+ years of experience in feng shui, vastu and environmental psychology feel free to call/text me on +44 7956 288574 for a quote for feng shui consultation for your home or workplace. Although I live in London, I do remote feng shui consultations. Email me