Cherry Blossoms - One of the Most Beautiful Spring Photo Motifs in Vienna

You can notice that spring is coming to Vienna not only by the fact that ice cream makers open their shops after the winter break, but also by the Japanese cherry blossoms blooming in the city.

When Austria celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 1996, Japan donated a thousand kanzan cherry trees to Vienna. That’s the name of the variety that grows on the banks of the Arakawa River in Tokyo. 150 trees were planted on the Danube Island (Donauinsel) as a symbol of friendship between the two cultures. Thus, in 2002, the Cherry Grove – Kirschenhain was created here, and the special feast (Kirschenhainfest) dedicated to these trees was held for the first time.

If you come here at the right time, you will already be able to see a pink belt of blossoming trees from the Jedleseer Brücke bridge. These sakura trees have typical cone-shaped crowns (like brooms 🙂 ), the branches grow upwards.

Whether you’re just walking or on a bike or roller skates, everyone stops to take a picture of this pink beauty.

However, you need to look not only at the branches covered with thousands of pink flowers, but also among the trees. That way you might notice strange stone pillars. There are a hundred of them and they are made of granite from the town of Schrems in Lower Austria. This art installation was created by the Japanese art group “to the woods” as a modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese garden.

In 2009, when Austria and Japan celebrated 140 years of diplomatic relations, several more trees were added, and ten years later, another new installation “Table of Friendship” – a table and five chairs carved from marble from the Wachau region. The sixth chair was placed in Tokyo, in the Katsushika district, which is the partner of the district of Florisdorf.

How to get here: definitely not by car, because cars are prohibited on the Danube Island. The easiest approach is by bicycle. If you use public transport, you need to get to Florisdorf (U6) or Strebersdorf (S3) station and from there, take bus 34A to the Jedlesee Überfuhrstrasse stop. Then continue on foot for about 10 minutes and cross the Jedleseer Brücke bridge to the Danube Island. Information about transport in Vienna: www.vor.at

The Cherry Grove has its own website in German and Japanese: Kirschenhain where you can find information about the dates of upcoming events (Kirschenhainfest), but also flowering forecasts (the best time is from around April 10 to the end of April).

In 1873, Japan participated in the World’s Fair for the first time, and it was held in Vienna. At that time, Japan presented the entire traditional Japanese garden in the exhibition grounds. Today, there are several Japanese gardens in Vienna, one of which is Setagayapark in the 19th district. Vienna has 23 districts just like Tokyo, eight of which are twinned. The partner of the 19th district of Döbling is the Tokyo borough of Setagaya.

This garden was created in 1992 according to the plans of the Japanese garden architect Ken Nakajima. Already on the street in front of the entrance, several blossoming sakura trees will catch your eye.

The garden is entered through a bamboo gate; next to the entrance, there is a stone monument engraved with the Japanese word “furomon” which tells you that you are entering “paradise”.

In this oasis of peace, which is visited mainly by the residents of Vienna, there is a tea house, pagodas and a pond with fish and turtles.

And of course, sakura trees…

Address: Hohe Warte 8, 1190 Vienna

I don’t know where the rest of the trees that Japan donated to Vienna are – they are scattered all over the city. Sometimes there is only one, sometimes two… However, if you go to the small hidden street Hainburger Weg in the 3rd district (subway station U3 Schlachthausgasse), you will find sakura trees lining both sides of that street.

Walk under that pink canopy and look at those waterfalls of pink flowers from the other end of the street as well.

And don’t forget to notice one tree with white flowers…

A similar experience awaits you at the Mexikoplatz square (subway station U1 Vorgartenstrasse), enhanced by the scenery of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, also called the Jubilee Church, because its construction began in 1898 for the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph I. By the way, in this church, Holy Mass is held in English every Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

This place is one of the best in Vienna for taking pictures of cherry blossoms and a popular selfie-spot.

The branches of the trees are so densely covered with pink tufts of flowers as if they were covered with cotton candy. When the flowers go out of bloom, the leaves begin to sprout and the crowns of the trees change from pink to green…

Even a visit to the Vienna Central Cemetery can turn into a pleasant walk when the Japanese cherry blossoms are blooming.

This cemetery (the second largest in Europe) is worth a visit basically at any time of the year – there are the graves of many famous personalities as well as the remarkable Art Nouveau St. Charles Borromeo Church – but in April it has a special charm. Pink flowers with gray stone monuments can create a beautiful combination of romance and nostalgia.

In Vienna, however, you will not only find the Cherry Grove, but also the so-called Cherry Blossom Park (Kirschblütenpark) in Kagran (subway station U1 Kagran) – between the streets Attemsgasse and Tokyostrasse (what a coincidence! 🙂 ).

It is actually a modern housing estate where a large green area with trees stretches between the new residential houses.

Although the trees are still young, their branches are richly covered with flowers, but most of the flowers are white.

There are many benches in the park so that one can sit and admire this wonder of spring.

Entrance to the park: Attemsgasse 23, 1220 Vienna

Sakura are among the most beautiful trees that nature can conjure up in spring. They are a popular photographic motif of locals and tourists alike. When I was walking around the mentioned locations and taking pictures of the beautiful trees, I was surprised by the diversity of their flowers.

Some flowers have only five petals, others eight, the full ones even more. Some flowers hang from the branches on short stalks.

Some are white, others with a hint of pink, others alternate all shades of pink – from soft light pink through deep pink to crimson.

Sakura trees bloom for a very short time – one to two weeks – and shed its flowers quickly. The best time in Vienna for Hanami – a celebration to observe and enjoy this transitory beauty is the end of March, mid to end of April.

It is said that the Japanese compare blossoming sakura to clouds, as they cluster just like the clouds in the sky, and they dissipate just as quickly…