Danube Tower, Vienna 169.4 meters
The Danube Tower (22nd, Donaupark) was built as an attraction for the Vienna International Garden Show in 1964 (WIG 64). At 252 meters high, it is still the tallest building in Austria.
The tower was financed largely by the Central Savings Bank of the City of Vienna; the Schwechat Brewery contributed a small share. The design was by Hannes Lintl (architecture) and Robert Krapfenbauer (statics). The foundation stone was laid on October 12, 1962, and the opening took place on April 16, 1964, the opening day of the garden show.
The tower's observation deck is 150 meters high, the rotating coffee house is 161.2 meters high, and the rotating restaurant is 169.4 meters high. The iron spire, painted red and white for flight safety reasons, originally bore large logos of the "Z" (Central Savings Bank) and the Schwechat Brewery (stylized beer glass), which were illuminated in the evenings.
The tower was stylized as the new "landmark of Vienna" in public relations when it opened, and in the years that followed it was positioned as a tourist destination for families. It was intended to be a symbol of a "modern, new Vienna" that was now growing not only towards the west but also towards the east and, as far as the city's image was concerned, was no longer based exclusively on the past.
Text / Source City of Vienna