At the mention of Vienna, many visitors think of Sachertorte, romantic open carriage trips and an evening inone of local wine taverns. But the old imperial city has much more to offer - The Essence of Culture: Vienna presents a comprehensive, richly illustrated view of the art treasures to be found in the Danube metropolis. The main focus is on the baroque era with its magnificent church buildings and palaces including the Hofburg, Schonbrunn and Belvedere; historicism with its architectural highlights on the new Ringstrasse; and Viennese art nouveau including artists Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, the Wiener Werkstatte und Sezession. Well-founded essays on the beginnings of the history of art in Vienna and on the state of contemporary Viennese art round off the book.