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Jan 25 18 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Vienna was once the center of the world, a city where emperors ruled, artists thrived, and ideas that shaped the world were born.

Today, we explore its iconic places that have left an impeccable mark on its history. 🧵 Palace of Justice (Justizpalast) is the seat of the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) of Austria.  Credit: Christian Escobar on pinterest pin/3659243440187729/
1. Vienna State Opera (1869)

Its opening night featured a performance of Don Giovanni by Mozart, marking the opera house as a global cultural institution from day one. Credit: @ArchitectureTud
2. Schönbrunn Palace (1743)

Napoleon used the palace as his headquarters during the occupation of Vienna in 1805 and 1809, solidifying its place in European history. Photo by Nguyễn Khánh on pinterest pin/802414858637859092/
3: St. Stephen's Cathedral (1137)

In 1945, the cathedral’s roof was severely damaged by fire during World War II, but it was meticulously restored. Image
4. Belvedere Palace (1723)

The palace hosted the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955, marking Austria’s regained independence after World War II.
5. The Hofburg (1279)

It served as the imperial residence of the powerful Habsburg dynasty for over 600 years. Image
6. Kunsthistorisches Museum (1891)

The museum was inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph I and has since housed one of the most extensive art collections in the world. Credit: Elena Sanchez on pinterest pin/441915782204949240/
7. Karlskirche (1737)

Built to celebrate the end of the plague epidemic, it remains a powerful symbol of faith and resilience in Vienna’s history. Credit: ♡Mari♡ on pinterest pin/4714774603535171/
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8. Justizpalast (1881)

The palace gained historical significance during the 1927 July Revolt when it was set on fire by protestors, marking a pivotal moment in Austria’s political history. Image
9. Albertina Museum (1744)

During World War II, the museum safeguarded priceless artworks by wrapping them in protective materials and storing them underground.
10. Hundertwasserhaus (1985)

The unique architectural design by Friedensreich Hundertwasser challenged traditional city planning, making it a landmark of modern creativity. Image
11. Volksgarten (1823)

It was created over the ruins of city fortifications destroyed by Napoleon, transforming destruction into beauty and public leisure. Photo on pinterest pin/996210380059950286/
12. Graben and Kohlmarkt (14th century)

These streets were historically part of Vienna’s medieval fortifications and later transformed into the city’s most luxurious shopping districts. Credit: Scootertourvienna on pinterest  pin/14355292555549835/
13. Café Central (1876)

A legendary meeting spot for intellectuals, it was frequented by figures like Sigmund Freud and Leon Trotsky, making it a hub of revolutionary ideas and literary discussions. Image
14. MuseumQuartier (1713, modernized 2001)

Once imperial stables, the space was transformed into a contemporary cultural hub, blending history with modern art and entertainment. Image
15. Vienna City Hall (1883)

The Rathaus became a focal point of political and social change, hosting major events such as the proclamation of the First Austrian Republic in 1918. Photo by roliathBrickworx on flickr
How many of these stunning locations have you visited?

Any that should be added to this list?

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More from @CultureExploreX

Dec 19
Forget the predictable Christmas destinations.

If you want a December that actually feels like Christmas, these places still get it right.

Snow, bells, candlelight, and streets older than modern life itself.

Here are 23 European towns that turn Christmas into something real. 🧵⤵️Old Town Tallinn, Estonia Christmas Market
Tallinn, Estonia

One of Europe’s oldest Christmas markets, set inside a medieval square that time forgot. Credit: @archeohistories
Florence, Italy

Renaissance stone glowing under festive lights. Christmas surrounded by genius. Credit: @learnitalianpod
Read 26 tweets
Dec 18
Christmas didn’t just change how people worship.

It rewired how the West thinks about identity, guilt, desire, reason, and the soul.

This thread traces the thinkers who quietly shaped your mind, whether you believe or not. 🧵 Neapolitan presepio at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh
Paul the Apostle did something radical in the first century.

He told people their past no longer had the final word. Not birth. Not class. Not failure.

That idea detonated the ancient world. Identity became moral, not tribal. A statue of St. Paul in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran by Pierre-Étienne Monnot
Origen of Alexandria shocked early Christians by saying Scripture wasn’t simple on purpose.

He argued that God hid meaning beneath the surface.

Truth, he said, rewards effort. If reading never costs you anything, you’re not reading deeply enough. Origen significantly contributed to the development of the concept of the Trinity and was among the first to name the Holy Spirit as a member of the Godhead
Read 17 tweets
Dec 10
We’ve been taught a false story for 150 years that Evolution erased God.

But evidence from science, psychology, and history points to a very different conclusion, one that almost no one is ready to face.

Nature produced a creature that refuses to live by nature’s rules. 🧵 During the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas sought to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Augustinian theology. Aquinas employed both reason and faith in the study of metaphysics, moral philosophy, and religion. While Aquinas accepted the existence of God on faith, he offered five proofs of God’s existence to support such a belief.
When Darwin buried his daughter Anne, he didn’t lose his faith because of fossils.

He lost it because he couldn’t square a good God with a world full of pain.

Evolution didn’t break him. Grief did. Anne Darwin's grave in Great Malvern.
But here’s something we often forget.

The same evolutionary world that frightened Darwin is the one that produced compassion, loyalty, sacrifice, and love.

Traits no random process should easily create.

Why did nature bother?
No one has a satisfying answer. Hugging is a common display of compassion.
Read 17 tweets
Nov 21
This inscription was carved into a cliff 2,500 years ago. At first glance you see a king towering over chained rebels.

But this isn’t a carving of victory. It’s a warning.

The ruler who ordered it was watching his world fall apart and trying to warn us that ours will too. 🧵 Image
He didn’t carve this to celebrate power.
He carved it because rebellion nearly shattered the world he ruled.

A man rose up claiming the throne. People believed him. Entire provinces switched allegiance overnight.

Reality and Truth were twisted. Loyalties changed.

The king wasn’t concerned with rebellion, rather he was concerned with confusion.The Behistun Inscription is a multilingual Achaemenid royal inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran.  Photo By Korosh.091 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
The purpose of the inscription was to leave lessons for future generations.

Lesson 1: A civilization dies the moment truth becomes optional.

His empire didn’t collapse because of war or famine. It collapsed because millions accepted a story that wasn’t real. And once people started believing the false king, the entire structure of society twisted with frightening speed.

Truth wasn’t a moral preference to him.
It was the ground everything stood on.
Read 16 tweets
Sep 27
Civilizations don’t just fall.

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Art has always mirrored collapse in real time. Here’s the story... 🧵 In 1742 the great Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), better known as Canaletto, painted a series of five views of Rome's greatest monuments.
Rome left warnings in paint and stone.

Pompeii’s graffiti mocked leaders, cursed neighbors, and scrawled crude jokes.

“I’m amazed, wall, you haven’t collapsed under the weight of so many scribbles.”

When Vesuvius buried Pompeii, it froze satire in ash. CIL IV 10237. Gladiator Graffiti from the Nucerian Gate, Pompeii, depicting the names “Princeps” and “Hilarius”. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
CIL IV 8055. Graffiti depicting Gladiators, Pompeii. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain
Asellina’s Tavern Election Poster. Picture Credit: Marco Ebreo. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons
Rufus est (This is Rufus). Caricature from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
By the 5th century, Roman art had shifted.

Gone were muscular gods and lively battles.
Instead: flat, rigid emperors, empty eyes, Christian symbols replacing myth.

The style mirrored an empire losing vitality. Late Roman mosaics at Villa Romana La Olmeda, Spain, 4th-5th centuries AD By Valdavia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Read 18 tweets
Sep 19
Friday the 13th wasn’t always unlucky.

It became cursed the morning the most powerful knights in the world were dragged from their beds in chains.

This is the story of the Knights Templar — warrior monks who built empires, invented banking, and died in fire. 🧵 Image
Formed in 1119, the Templars began as nine knights sworn to protect Christian pilgrims on the dangerous roads to Jerusalem.

They lived atop the Temple Mount itself. Believed to be the site of Solomon’s Temple. That sacred address gave them instant mystique.
They were no ordinary knights.

Templars took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They lived like monks but fought like soldiers, a combination that shocked the medieval world. Image
Read 19 tweets

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