Mayday ( 1st May ) was a good day to visit Vienna as there were loads of things going on marches, free concerts, food stalls, fireworks in the evening at the Prater .. Anyway my day started off well as i left my accommodation ( wombats hostel on Mariahilfer strasse - which was great ) A brass marching band was passing so i decided to tag along with them and they marched to Vienna city hall past numerous vienna landmarks so i got a free tour-if you like. These are a few of the images along the route.

Austrian parliament building Construction work began in 1874 and was completed in full by 1884. Hansen deliberately chose a Greek style for the building, to reflect the idea of law and freedom and other relevant concepts popularized and/or developed by the Hellenic culture.

In common with many other historic sights, WWII took a severe toll on the building. It was half demolished by Allied aerial bombing, but the rebuilding work at least gave the state the opportunity to modernize the insides.

Classic motifs appear throughout the building. For example, the two large ramps at the front are decorated with statues of Thucydides, Polybius, Xenophon and Herodotus (Greek) and Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Titus Livius and Sallust (Roman).

The large fountain between the ramps is topped by a white marble statue of Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom, war and peace. In her hand she carries Nike, the Goddess of victory.

Nike turns up elsewhere in the building too; the horse-drawn chariots that dominate the roof are all driven by her, as symbols of victory.

Just under the topmost point of the building is a statue of Emperor Franz Joseph, in whose reign the building was constructed. He’s dressed somewhat unusually in a toga and surrounded by human representations of the countries subject to his rule.

The other statues and reliefs dotted about the roof and elsewhere are a mix of historical figures from Rome and Greece, representations of countries and other geographical features under the aegis of the monarchy, and representations of relevant human characteristics and activities.