Danube-Networkers
The "Wurstelprater" in Vienna
Text: Herta Spitaler
Bilder: Maria Dürr
A relatively small part of the large Prater area is called „Wurstelprater“. It is an amusement park and the name “Wurstel” is a Viennese expression for clown or harlequin. If you put in “Wurstelprater, Vienna” into Google you will certainly get a lot of information about it. But this is not my aim: I would like to tell you about my personal experience with the Wurstelprater as a Viennese child.
The majority of Viennese children after the Second World War (1939 – 1945) was very poor – we too – but nevertheless there existed sometimes special occasions (birthdays or similar) to make a visit to the Wurstelprater. Our father – who had had to go to the war as a soldier and had been a war prisoner in Russia – was very happy to be again together with his family and he invited us sometimes to the Prater. We very much liked a merry-go-round with real horses. My brother sat on a horse and I – who was afraid of horses – was in a carriage. We also very much liked the swings and all kinds of little cars. Sometimes we also made a tour on the “Giant Wheel” from which we had a good view on the city – which had been gravely bombed during the war. Or we went by “Liliputbahn”- a small train which passes through the Prater. My father spent all his money for us and he came home without a Groschen (our currency of that time).
I believe that still today the Wurstelprater has a certain charm and attraction for children although today children in Vienna have also many other entertainments.
