Gürtel, Vienna

Running 13.1 km (8.1 mi) parallel to the famous Vienna Ring Road, it encompasses the inner city districts (Innenbezirke) and follows the route of the former Linienwall outer fortification.

[1] The Gürtel was laid out from 1873 at the site of the former Linienwall fortification, built under Emperor Leopold I at the beginning of the 18th century to protect his residence from kuruc invasions in the course of Rákóczi's War for Independence.

In the south it starts in the Landstraße district, at the junction with A23 Südosttangente and runs westward toward the Central Station, where the Vienna Pre-metro has been built under surface.

The Gürtel then turns north, running along the eastern rim of the Meidling suburb, crossing the Wienfluss and the Wienzeile road, separating the inner city districts of Mariahilf and Neubau in the east from Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus with the Westbahnhof.

The road continues as the border of Josefstadt and Alsergrund with the outer Hernals and Währing districts, passing the General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus, AKH) and the Volksoper.

The Währinger Gürtel close to Vienna's General Hospital ( Allgemeines Krankenhaus ). To the left is Währing , Vienna's 18th district.
Painting of the Linienwall fortification (by August Stefan Kronstein)
U-Bahn station Alser Straße at Hernalser Gürtel , seen towards the north
Burggasse-Stadthalle station of the U6 line, towards the north