Nikolaiberg

The Nikolaiberg rises 65 metres above the Wien valley in the 13th district of Hietzing. It is a wooded hill at the north-eastern edge of the Lainzer Tiergarten, bounded by the river Wien on its northern side. The Hagenberg lies to the south while the Hackinger Wiese spreads across the south-western slope. At the south-eastern foot stands the Nikolaiwiese, home to the small Nikolaikapelle. The hill was first recorded in 1788 and takes its name from the nearby chapel. That chapel appears in documents from 1321 and for centuries belonged to the parish of Hütteldorf. Built partly in the Romanesque style, it passed into the Lainzer Tiergarten estate in 1833 along with the surrounding land. Visitors walk shaded paths through beech and oak woods on the Nikolaiberg. The Nikolaikapelle, partly Romanesque, sits on a gentle meadow with views across the Wien valley. Beneath the hill runs the Lainzer Tunnel of the Westbahn railway, unseen from above.