In Berlin the word is Kiez, New York has its neighborhoods, Madrid its barrios – while Vienna’s districts are referred to as “Grätzel”. Originally derived from the obsolete word “gereiz”, which meant “perimeter”, it describes a small, inner-city unit consisting of several streets. Most of the Grätzel emerged from the former settlements outside what was then the city center and is now the first district. The centers of Grätzel are mostly defined by markets or main squares, as well as by the streets leading to them. What makes Vienna’s Grätzel unique is that they often have no official boundaries, no beginning and no end. Visitors suddenly step from one into another and marvel at how varied Vienna can be.

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Uniquely varied

Vienna is synonymous with variety. The same can be said of the atmosphere of each individual district. Even if there are some common features, each district has a unique combination of architecture, urban feeling, culinary and shopping offerings and, above all, people. It is precisely these elements that are responsible for making the world-renowned Viennese attitude to life so tangible in each Grätzel. Each plays a role of its own for both residents and visitors in the great city of Vienna.

There is the lively Karmelitermarkt, for instance, with its exciting Jewish history. Or the Spittelberg, with its uneven cobblestones just next to Vienna’s cultural hotspot, the MuseumsQuartier Not forgetting gourmet streets such as Servitengasse in the French-inspired Servitenviertel or the Schleifmühlgasse in the Freihausviertel. The Gußhausviertel with the social hotspot that is Karlsplatz and the Wien Museum. The Stuwerviertel, located close to the Prater. Markets that could not be more different: the bourgeois Kutschkermarkt, the long, multicultural Brunnenmarkt or the Meidlinger Markt, which is still unfamiliar to many. And districts that are still coming into being, such as Seestadt, the Sonnwendviertel and the Nordbahnviertel.

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Grätzel life

What makes a Grätzel unique is a sense of togetherness. This is not reserved just for residents. Whether it’s in the heart of the action in the Schanigarten, in the corner store with its sustainable products or at the bakery next door: if you approach people in a friendly manner, you will get a smile back. In Vienna’s Grätzel, you are a temporary neighbor and not just a visitor. Here you can feel like a true Viennese.

More about Vienna’s districts, or Grätzel:

Discover Vienna’s Grätzel