The Wiener Riesenrad ( German: [ˈviːnɐ ˈʁiːzn̩ˌʁaːd] ; 'Vienna Giant [Ferris] Wheel'), or simply 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 Vienna's most popular tourist attractions , and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.
4-636: The Wiener Riesenrad was designed by the British engineers Harry Hitchins and Hubert Cecil Booth and constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy , son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle , Devon. Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I , and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business
8-549: The drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension. When the 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre (264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, demolished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris , constructed in 1900,
12-485: Was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt. A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but because of a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived. It was built with 30 gondolas , but was severely damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced. The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through
16-777: Was taller still. However, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel , and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the construction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in 1985. For other quiescent (incomplete, delayed, stalled, cancelled, failed, or abandoned) proposals, see: Ferris wheel#Quiescent proposals 48°13′00″N 16°23′45″E / 48.2166505°N 16.3959494°E / 48.2166505; 16.3959494 Hubert Cecil Booth Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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