Spanish Riding School

Behind this elegant façade on Michaelerplatz, inside the Hofburg Palace complex, lies the Winter Riding School. The Spanish Riding School was founded in 1565, making it one of the oldest classical riding academies still operating. The name comes from the Spanish horses Emperor Maximilian II imported to Vienna. Their descendants, the Lipizzaner stallions, still perform in the baroque hall built between 1729 and 1735.

Riders wear bicorne hats and tailcoats from the 18th century. But what makes these horses unique: they are born dark. Every Lipizzaner foal starts bay or black, then gradually turns white over 6 to 10 years. Only stallions perform. No mares allowed.

The school almost vanished in 1945. As World War II ended, 244 breeding mares were trapped in Hostau, Czechoslovakia, with the Red Army closing in. American Colonel Charles Reed organized a rescue with General Patton's approval. On April 28, U.S. troops fought their way to Hostau and extracted the horses. American soldiers and German handlers worked together, fighting off Waffen SS attacks to get the mares to safety.

Training a Lipizzaner takes 4 to 8 years. Same movements, same discipline as 250 years ago. The white stallions inside are direct descendants of the horses Reed and Patton saved.