The Volksgarten (People's Garden) is a public park in the Innere Stadt, the first district of Vienna, Austria. Opened in 1823, it was Vienna's first public park.

In 1809, following France's decisive victory over Austria in the War of the Fifth Coalition, French troops occupying Vienna destroyed a major defensive bastion of the Hofburg, the Burgbastei. Instead of rebuilding, the area around the Hofburg was redesigned. Court architect Ludwig Gabriel von Remy planned the construction of the now named Heldenplatz, which was to be flanked either side by two parks, the Volksgarten and the Burggarten. Remy worked together with gardener Franz Antoine the Elder, who was responsible for the horticultural design.

During construction of the park, architect Pietro Nobile designed the Theseustemple, a recreation of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, built specifixally to house "Theseus Slaying the Centaur", a statue by Antonio Canova. The adjacent Paradeisgartel, situated on the fortification wall, was redesigned during the creation of the Volksgarten and later connected with the park by a ramp.

The park was opened on 1 May 1823.

Two coffe houses, one in the Volksgarten and one in the Paradeisgarel were constructed, both owned by Peter Corti. The coffe houses attracted many visitors, and hosted many concerts, inlcuding by Joseph Lanner and Johann Strauß I.

The park was expanded during the construction of the Ringstraße. The wall seperating it from the Heldenplatz was removed, and the park was expanded outwards.

Between 1883 and 1884, the Volksgarten was expanded once again by Franz Antoine the Younger. However, the section was later redesigned by Friedrich Ohmann between 1903 and 1907.

The Volksgarten was meant to be replaced by the Kaiserforum, with the mirrored wing of the Neue Hofburg planned to stand in its place. However, the outbreak of World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary rendered this construction project obsolete.

• Theseustempel: erected before the opening of the park, the temple is a reconstruction of the Temple of Hepheastus in the Agora of Athens. It was built soecigically to house the Theseusgruppe, a marmor sculpture by Antonio Canova of Theseus slaying a centaur, originally intended for Napoleon Bonaparte, which had been acquired by Emperor Franz I after Napoleons downfall.^[1] Its catacombs seved as storage for the Kaisers antique collection, and was open to the public, however, the antiques had to be removed due to dampness. In 1890, the Theseusgruppe was relocated to the Kunsthistorisches Museum.^[2] A bronze statue of a young athlete by Joseph Müller was placed in front of the temple in 1921. It now serves the Kunsthistorisches Museum as an exhibition space.^[3]
• Öffentliche Bedürfnisanstalt (public toilet): built in 1884, it is one of the oldest public toilets in the city.^[4]

• Grillparzer monument: erected in 1889 by Carl Kundmann, the Lasa marble memorial to the Austrian dramatist Franz Grillparzer features depictions of his plays.^[5]
• Sisi memorial: a statue honoring Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), it was unveiled in the presense of Emperor Franz Joseph, Sisis widow. The statue overlooks a pond and a rose garden.
• Jugendlicher Athlet: a bronze sculpture of a young athlete from 1921, honouring athletes of the First World War.^[6]
• Raab-Denkmal: a 1967 memorial to Julius Raab, chancellor of Austria who oversaw Austrias independence in 1955.^[7]
• Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice: an x-shaped monument honouring Austrian deserters and conscious objectors who had been excecuted by the Nazis.^[8]

• Volksgarten-Brunnen: built in 1866, designed by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.
• Triton- und Nymphenbrunnen: errected in 1880 by Viktor Oskar Tilgner, featuring Triton with a nymph, as well as a putto and a dolphin.^[9]

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksgarten_(Wien)#Baulichkeiten

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Volksgarten

https://www.khm.at/en/visit/collections/theseus-temple/

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Cortisches_Kaffeehaus

https://www.visitingvienna.com/sights/winter-palace/volksgarten/

https://www.bundesgaerten.at/hofburggaerten/Volksgarten.html

https://magazin.wienmuseum.at/200-jahre-wiener-volksgarten

https://www.stadtbekannt.at/spaziergaenge/von-frueh-bis-spaet-im-volksgarten/