Pfaffenberg

The Pfaffenberg rises north-east of central Vienna, a 415-metre wooded hill in the 19th district of Döbling. It sits between the Latisberg to the north-west and the Neuberg to the south-west, forming part of the north-eastern spur of the Alps. Geologists classify its slopes as part of the Flysch zone, built from layers of sandstone, marl and claystone. The hill’s name first appears in 1340 as ‘Pfaffenberge’, referring to its position above the old village of Obersievering.

The hill carries traces of centuries of land use. In the 18th century Hofrat Binder von Krieglstein bought a farm called ‘der Himmel’ and built a small castle there. Later owners laid out a park that was later farmed. In 1854–56 the merchant Johann Carl Freiherr von Sothen erected the Sisi-Kapelle on the southern slope. A more recent addition is the Lebensbaumkreis, a circle of forty trees planted in 1997, each labelled with supposed Celtic meanings.

Visitors follow paths through beech and oak woods to reach the Sisi-Kapelle, a small chapel with a red roof and white walls. Nearby stands the Oktogon am Himmel, an octagonal wooden pavilion with glass walls that houses a small restaurant. From the clearing around the pavilion the city skyline is visible across the vineyards of Sievering. The hilltop offers wide views over the Danube Canal and the Pannonian plain beyond.