Vienna developed to be a metropolis around about the middle of the 19 Century. The mighty city wall that had protected Vienna for centuries stood in the way of the dynamic urban development and the connection to the growing suburbs around Vienna. Kaiser Franz Josef 1 Ordered the removal of the fortification walls and the construction of the ring road in its place
On 1 May 1865 the Ring Road was opened. The magnificent buildings and palaces which shape the cityscape of today were built over the following centuries, according to the historical style of the Ring Road. Today, the old city of Vienna together with the Ring Road are part of the World Heritage.
A second great architectural endeavour altered the cityscape during the same period – the Danube became regulated through a new river bed. The growing city received an effective flood protection. Drinking water, however, was brought to the city through the construction in 1873 of the 1 Viennese mountain spring pipeline. An evident sign of this is the fountain at Schwarzenbergplatz.
More info here:
http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/ringstrasse2015/most-important-public-buildings
Ringstrasse. Maria Theresia Monument
Ringstrasse. Statue of Mozart in the Burggarten
