English Unlimited HAK/HUM 4/5, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM (mit Handelskorrespondenz)

134 Tourism 11 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE EXTRAS What do you know about the Vienna State Opera? Read a summary of its history below. READINg 19 Look at the highlighted expressions in 19 and match them with the expressions below. a was put up e warmed to it b was badly received f a tourist attraction c led to big debates g a prime representation of d a monstrosity h part of the skyline Work alone. Prepare a short talk for visitors to your country or another country you know well. 1 Make a list of interesting things they could see or do during their stay. 2 Make notes on three or four aspects of history and culture that are important for them to know about. Talk for about five minutes. If you know the places described by your classmates, is there anything you disagree with or wish to add? Did you learn anything new about different cities or regions? What were the most interesting things you heard? LANguAgE FOCuS 20 Describing a landmark a SPEAKINg 21 b Dating back to the mid-19th century, the Vienna State Opera is one of the most famous opera houses and opera companies in the world. It was erected between 1861 and 1869 as the first important building on the Vienna Ringstraße. Built in neo-Renaissance style according to plans by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, it was opened on 25 May 1869 with a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The building was heavily criticised when it was first opened. The newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters, with people calling the building an eyesore or “the Königgrätz of architecture.” In short, it caused a great deal of controversy and led to the suicide of one of the two architects. After large parts of the building had been destroyed by a bomb in WWII, the authorities were unsure what to do with it. Eventually, it was decided to rebuild it on the same site and with time people grew to love it and it became both a landmark and part of the cityscape . Today the Opera House is widely regarded as an excellent example of the so-called Ringstraßen architecture. Since its construction, it’s been visited by thousands of enthusiastic operagoers from all over the world. Info point: Cultural tourism All the expressions listed below are aspects of cultural tourism. In pairs, try to relate them to Austria. Find at least one Austrian example for each item. architecture  archaeology  balls  castles  classical music  crafts  ecology  festivals film  food & drink  historic gardens & parks  literature  monasteries  music courses national parks & wildlife  national monuments  palaces  painting holidays  theatre 22 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv