Vienna a city with Chi

Image of the Danube river from satellite - showing the mouth of the river

Ah Vienna, if you have every set foot in the pristine city you will know why it was awarded the title of the most LIVEABLE city in the world. It's held a steady second place for several years but was beaten for the last seven years, by Melbourne, Australia which was dethroned by .07%.

The judging criteria includes - infrastructure, stability, education, healthcare, culture and environment. My abiding memory of the city many years ago was a pristine, crisp city with an uber efficient infrastructure. Not forgetting an air of affluence and when you add another 'c' to chi you get Chic.... and Vienna has both - in spades. It's home to the World Heritage listed UNESCO site Belvedere palace, the most spectacular C18th palace, that houses the vivid rich paintings of two iconic Austrian painters Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele - Amazing!

Natural occurring rivers of chi are most fortuitous for cities and the vital breath (chi) of the second largest river in Europe, the Danube, courses through the city's veins. It's a well known fact that waterways were an essential commerce link to import and export goods. Without a lifeline like a river or a port, cities of old failed to prosper. Today, societies quest for speed has seen airlines and trains taken over, but a river is still benefic to its commercial enterprises.

A quote from a classic scholar Guō Pú, taken from the oldest surviving Feng Shui manuscript speaks to this point beautifully when he stated,

'When chi rides the wind it is dispersed, when it meets a boundary of water it is retained.'

Vienna's Danube Canal

When viewed from an aerial perspective the Danube river meanders through many cities, including four national capitals, more than any other river in the world. It's fed by 30 tributaries and the source to the 2,680km long river starts in Black Forest of Germany, flanked by the Rhine Valley to the west and the south.

When viewed from an aerial perspective the waters of the Danube river meanders through many cities, including four national capitals, more than any other river in the world. It's fed by 30 tributaries and the source to the 2,680km long river starts in Black Forest of Germany, flanked by the Rhine Valley to the west and the south. Austria's capital city Vienna, is the most populous city on the waterway, where the Danube floodplain - a 1037hectare biosphere called the Lobau is a protected UNESCO site. The Lobau lies north of the Danube River and houses a huge variety of species of flora and fauna that are in danger of extinction. This lush fecund National Reserve from a Feng Shui perspective brings nourishing prosperity to the city.

The centre of Vienna's Old Town (Innere Stadt) is situated away from the main flow of the Danube and bounded by the 'Danube canal' (Donaukanal). The 17.3 km Canal is a former arm of the river Danube, within the city and unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, where the Wien River flows into it. An island is formed between the Donaukanal and the Danube, and two of the 23 districts of Vienna: The canal is crossed by 15 road bridges and five rail bridges, that circulates the disperses the energy (chi) in the city.

This black and white lithograph shows the city of Vienna with its former medieval city fortifications. The high walls and broad open field embankments, criss-crossed by paths. The walled city effectively harnessed the chi delivered via the river. Although today the walls are replaced by The Ring Road, a circular grand boulevard around the historic Old Town district.

Traditionally the Old Town was divided into four quarters, which were designated after important town gates. Interestingly the gates marked the cross quarter directions of northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest.

A place called Heaven

Vienna is also home to Am Himmel, which means ‘in heaven’, a place on a hilltop with newly planted trees in a circle formation - each tree represents a few calendar weeks. This is the perfect place to relax and get in touch with nature, while viewing a city that oozes with benefic Sheng Chi. I think I feel a European road trip come on!

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