Bohemian Prater

The Böhmischer Prater is a small amusement park on the southern edge of Vienna in the 10th district, Favoriten. It began in the late 19th century when workers from Bohemia and Moravia built swings and merry-go-rounds beside an inn run by Franz Bauer. The name came from these visitors, who were known locally as ‘Ziegelboehm’. By 1884 there were twenty restaurants and many showmen living and working in the Laaer Wald. A bomb destroyed most of the park in December 1944 during the Second World War. The centre of the park is still called Tivoli after the meeting place that once stood there. The park is worth visiting because it keeps alive the spirit of working-class entertainment from the 1880s. Franz Bauer’s original application for games in 1882 marks the start of the amusement park. Showmen and innkeepers created a lively community beside the Laaer Wald brickworks. The Ferris wheel, 21.5 metres tall with fourteen cars, was built in the same tradition as Vienna’s larger Prater wheel. It is run today by Reinhardt, keeping the tradition of family-run rides. The park remains a rare survivor of 19th-century working-class leisure. Visitors find a compact park with classic rides and a central meeting place called Tivoli. The Ferris wheel offers views across the southern districts of Vienna. The paths between the rides pass old inn buildings that once served excursion crowds. A small number of rides date back more than a hundred years, showing the park’s age. The atmosphere is quiet compared with the main Prater, yet it still feels like a living piece of local history. The trees of the Laaer Wald stand close by, reminding visitors of the park’s origins as a woodland excursion spot.