Wender·Vista
Wiener Riesenrad
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileAustria
above the Prater, east of the Innere Stadt

Wiener Riesenrad

— — the wheel the city keeps turning.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The giant wheel above Vienna's old amusement park, built in 1897 for Emperor Franz Joseph's golden jubilee. Originally thirty gondolas, now fifteen, each a little wooden room rising sixty-five metres above the chestnut trees. Most of the wheel was lost in the war and rebuilt with what could be saved. Orson Welles took it up in The Third Man, and it has been a film set ever since.

from the studio
Wiener Riesenrad
— bring it home

Wiener Riesenrad, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Wiener Riesenrad

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Wiener Riesenrad stands at the entrance to the Wurstelprater, the public amusement park inside the larger Prater on the northeast edge of Vienna's Leopoldstadt district. It was designed by the English engineers Walter Bassett and Harry Hitchins for the 1897 jubilee marking fifty years of Franz Joseph I on the Habsburg throne. The wheel rises to 64.75 metres above the ground and turns at a slow walking pace, with views west across the Danube to the Vienna Woods on a clear afternoon.

— the air

From the top of the wheel the view runs west across the Danube to the spires of the Innere Stadt: Stephansdom's south tower, the Karlskirche dome, the Kahlenberg ridge beyond. Most of the wheel's superstructure was destroyed in April 1945 during the battle for Vienna and rebuilt afterwards with surviving original parts and new steel from the Waagner-Biró works in Graz. Only fifteen of the original thirty gondolas were restored, which is why the wheel today looks half-strung.

— the visit

The wheel runs through every season, with longer hours from May through September and shorter ones in winter. A full revolution takes about twenty minutes at the wheel's gentle walking pace, with the gondola pausing at the platform for boarding. Adult tickets are roughly thirteen euros, and several gondolas are fitted out for private dinners on request. The Prater itself is open without charge and easily reached on the U1 underground line to Praterstern, a short walk from the wheel.

— where
Austria · Leopoldstadt, Vienna
— within
Wurstelprater
— position
48.2167° N · 16.3958° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Praterstern
rail and U-Bahn junction
3 km W
Stephansdom
Gothic cathedral
8 km SW
Schönbrunn Palace
imperial palace
N
Wiener Riesenrad
Praterstern
Stephansdom
Schönbrunn Palace
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Wiener Riesenrad — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In 1897, by the English engineers Walter Bassett and Harry Hitchins, for the golden jubilee marking fifty years of Emperor Franz Joseph I on the Habsburg throne.

64.75 metres at the top of the wheel. A full revolution takes around twenty minutes at a slow walking pace, with several stops at the platform for boarding.

The wheel was largely destroyed in April 1945 during the battle for Vienna and rebuilt afterwards with half its original gondolas, to make the rebuild possible with the parts and steel that remained.

At the entrance to the Wurstelprater in Vienna's Leopoldstadt district, on the northeast side of the city, a short walk from the U1 underground stop at Praterstern.

The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed in 1949, where Orson Welles delivers his cuckoo-clock speech from one of the gondolas. The wheel has appeared in many films since.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with family or schooling in Vienna and for fans of pre-war Mitteleuropa. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels easily as a posted gift.

The wheel reads well in Jewel-tone Maximalist, Vienna-Secession-inflected interiors, and warm Mid-century rooms. The stained-glass colour palette also suits a darker library or a music room.

A single Large above most consoles; above a sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the wheel at scale. A nine-tile Mural turns the wheel itself into the room.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-tolerant, which makes them suitable for kitchen backsplashes, bathroom walls, and shower installations.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so the piece does not fade with regular wiping or sunlight.

Yes. Each WenderVista painting is original to the studio, in our stained-glass and alcohol-ink language. There is no licensing; the piece comes from one curator's eye.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.