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The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant Wheel〔(The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel | Das Wiener Riesenrad )〕), or Riesenrad, is a tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985. ==History== The Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon.〔Jahn, Helmut & Petritsch, Peter, The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel, Dienten am Hochkonig, 1989〕 Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt. A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but due to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.〔(Wiener Riesenrad - History )〕 The Ferris wheel and cafe on the Prater were owned by a Jew, Eduard Steiner, who was murdered at Auschwitz.〔http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/world/vienna-skewered-as-a-nazi-era-pillager-of-its-jews.html〕 It originally had 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in World War II and when subsequently rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced. The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wiener Riesenrad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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