title: Vienna

text: Since Vienna obtained federal state ("Bundesland") status of its own by the federal constitution of 1920, the city council also functions as the state parliament (Landtag), and the mayor (except 1934–1945) also doubles as the "Landeshauptmann" (governor/minister-president) of the state of Vienna. The Rathaus accommodates the offices of the mayor ("") and the state government ("Landesregierung"). The city is administered by a multitude of departments ("Magistratsabteilungen"), politically supervised by "Amtsführende Stadträte" (members of the city government/parliament leading offices; according to the Vienna constitution opposition parties have the right to designate members of the city government not leading offices).


title: Vienna

text: Under the city constitution of 1920, municipal and state business must be kept separate. Hence, the city council and state parliament hold separate meetings, with separate presiding officers–the chairman of the city council or the president of the state Landtag–even though the two bodies' memberships are identical. When meeting as a city council, the deputies can only deal with the affairs of the city of Vienna; when meeting as a state parliament, they can only deal with the affairs of the state of Vienna.


title: Vienna

text: In the 1996 City Council election, the SPÖ lost its overall majority in the 100-seat chamber, winning 43 seats and 39.15% of the vote. The SPÖ had held an outright majority at every free municipal election since 1919. In 1996 the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which won 29 seats (up from 21 in 1991), beat the ÖVP into third place for the second time running. From 1996 to 2001, the SPÖ governed Vienna in a coalition with the ÖVP. In 2001 the SPÖ regained the overall majority with 52 seats and 46.91% of the vote; in October 2005, this majority was increased further to 55 seats (49.09%). In course of the 2010 city council elections the SPÖ lost their overall majority again and consequently forged a coalition with the Green Party – the first SPÖ/Green coalition in Austria. This coalition was maintained following the 2015 election. Following the 2020 election, the SPÖ forged a coalition with NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is one of the wealthiest regions in the European Union: Its gross regional product of EUR 47,200 per capita constituted 25.7% of Austria's GDP in 2013. It amounts to 159% of the EU average. The city improved its position from 2012 on the ranking of the most economically powerful cities reaching number nine on the listing in 2015.


title: Vienna

text: With a share of 85.5% in gross value added, the service sector is Vienna's most important economic sector. Industry and commerce have a share of 14.5% in gross value added, the primary sector (agriculture) has a share of 0.07% and therefore plays a minor role in the local added value. However, the cultivation and production of wines within the city borders have a high socio-cultural value. The most important business sectors are trade (14.7% of added value in Vienna), scientific and technological services, real estate and housing activities as well as manufacturing of goods. In 2012, Vienna's contribution in Austria's outgoing and incoming foreign direct investments was of about 60%, which demonstrates Vienna's role as an international hub for domestic and foreign companies.


title: Vienna

text: Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Vienna has expanded its position as gateway to Eastern Europe: 300 international companies have their Eastern European headquarters in Vienna and its environs. Among them are Hewlett Packard, Henkel, Baxalta and Siemens. Companies in Vienna have extensive contacts and competences in business with Eastern Europe due to the city's historical role as center of the Habsburg Empire. The number of international businesses in Vienna is still growing: In 2014 159 and in 2015 175 international firms established offices in Vienna.


title: Vienna

text: Altogether, approximately 8,300 new companies have been founded in Vienna every year since 2004. The majority of these companies are operating in fields of industry-oriented services, wholesale trade as well as information and communications technologies and new media. Vienna makes effort to establish itself as a start-up hub. Since 2012, the city hosts the annual Pioneers Festival, the largest start-up event in Central Europe with 2,500 international participants taking place at Hofburg Palace. Tech Cocktail, an online portal for the start-up scene, has ranked Vienna sixth among the top ten start-up cities worldwide.


title: Vienna

text: The city of Vienna attaches major importance to science and research and focuses on creating a positive environment for research and development. In 2014, Vienna has accommodated 1,329 research facilities; 40,400 persons are employed in the R&D sector and 35% of Austria's R&D expenses are invested in the city. With a research quota of 3.4% Vienna exceeds the Austrian average of 2.77% and has already met the EU target of 3.0% by 2020. A major R&D sector in Vienna are life sciences. The Vienna Life Science Cluster is Austria's major hub for life science research, education and business. Throughout Vienna, five universities and several basic research institutes form the academic core of the hub with more than 12,600 employees and 34,700 students. Here, more than 480 medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with almost 23,000 employees generate around 12 billion euros in revenue (2017). This corresponds to more than 50% of the revenue generated by life science companies in Austria (22.4 billion euros).


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is home to global players like Boehringer Ingelheim, Octapharma, Ottobock and Takeda. However, there is also a growing number of start-up companies in the life sciences and Vienna was ranked first in the 2019 PeoplePerHour Startup Cities Index. Companies such as Apeiron Biologics, Hookipa Pharma, Marinomed, mySugr, Themis Bioscience and Valneva operate a presence in Vienna and regularly hit the headlines internationally. Vienna also houses the headquarters of the Central European Diabetes Association, a cooperative international medical research association.


title: Vienna

text: To facilitate tapping the economic potential of the multiple facettes of the life sciences at Austria's capital, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the local government of City of Vienna have joined forces: Since 2002, the LISAvienna platform is available as a central contact point. It provides free business support services at the interface of the Austrian federal promotional bank, Austria Wirtschaftsservice and the Vienna Business Agency and collects data that inform policy making.


title: Vienna

text: The main academic hot spots in Vienna are the Life Science Center Muthgasse with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), the Austrian Institute of Technology, the University of Veterinary Medicine, the AKH Vienna with the MedUni Vienna and the Vienna Biocenter. Central European University, a graduate institution expelled from Budapest in the midst of a Hungarian government steps to take control of academic and research organizations, welcomes the first class of students to its new Vienna campus in 2019.


title: Vienna

text: The Viennese sector for information and communication technologies is comparable in size with the sector in Helsinki, Milan or Munich and thus among Europe's largest IT locations. In 2012 8,962 IT businesses with a workforce of 64,223 were located in the Vienna Region. The main products are instruments and appliances for measuring, testing and navigation as well as electronic components. More than ⅔ of the enterprises provide IT services. Among the biggest IT firms in Vienna are Kapsch, Beko Engineering & Informatics, air traffic control experts Frequentis, Cisco Systems Austria, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Austria, IBM Austria and Samsung Electronics Austria.


title: Vienna

text: The US technology corporation Cisco runs its "Entrepreneurs in Residence" program for Europe in Vienna in cooperation with the Vienna Business Agency.


title: Vienna

text: The British company UBM has rated Vienna one of the "Top 10 Internet Cities" worldwide, by analyzing criteria like connection speed, WiFi availability, innovation spirit and open government data.


title: Vienna

text: In 2011 74.3% of Viennese households were connected with broadband, 79% were in possession of a computer. According to the broadband strategy of the city, full broadband coverage will be reached by 2020.


title: Vienna

text: There were 17.6 million overnight stays in Vienna in 2019 (+6.8% compared to 2018). The top ten incoming markets in 2019 were Germany, Austria, the United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, China, France, Russia and Switzerland.


title: Vienna

text: In 2019 the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranked Vienna 6th in the world for association meetings. The Union of International Associations (UIA) ranked Vienna 5th in the world for 2019 with 306 international meetings, behind Singapore, Brussels, Seoul and Paris. The city's largest conference center, the Austria Center Vienna (ACV) has a total capacity for around 22,800 people and is situated next to the United Nations Headquarters in Vienna. Other centers are the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center (up to 3,000 people) and the Hofburg Palace (up to 4,900 people).


title: Vienna

text: Vienna was ranked top in the "2019 Quality of Living Ranking" by the international Mercer Consulting Group for the tenth consecutive year. In the 2015 liveability report by the Economist Intelligence Unit as well as in the "Quality of Life Survey 2015" of London-based "Monocle magazine" Vienna was equally ranked second most livable city worldwide.


title: Vienna

text: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme "UN-Habitat" has ranked Vienna the most prosperous city in the world in its flagship report "State of the World Cities 2012/2013".


title: Vienna

text: According to the 2014 City RepTrack ranking by the Reputation Institute, Vienna has the best reputation in comparison with 100 major global cities.


title: Vienna

text: The "Innovation Cities Global Index 2014" by the Australian innovation agency 2thinknow ranks Vienna sixth behind San Francisco-San Jose, New York City, London, Boston and Paris. In 2019 PeoplePerHour put Vienna at the top of their Startup Cities Ranking.


title: Vienna

text: US climate strategist Boyd Cohen placed Vienna first in his first "global smart cities" ranking of 2012. In the 2014 ranking, Vienna reached third place among European cities behind Copenhagen and Amsterdam.


title: Vienna

text: The "Mori Memorial Institute for Urban Strategies" ranked Vienna in the top ten of their Global Power City Index 2016.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna's new Central Railway Station was opened in October 2014. Construction began in June 2007 and was due to last until December 2015. The station is served by 1,100 trains with 145,000 passengers. There is a shopping center with approximately 90 shops and restaurants.


title: Vienna

text: In the vicinity of the station a new district is emerging with office space and 5,000 apartments until 2020.


title: Vienna

text: Seestadt Aspern is one of the largest urban expansion projects of Europe. A 5 hectare artificial lake, offices, apartments and a subway station within walking distance are supposed to attract 20,000 new citizens when construction is completed in 2028.


title: Vienna

text: In addition, the highest wooden skyscraper in the world, “HoHo Wien”, will be built within 3 years, starting in 2015.


title: Vienna

text: In 2014, the Vienna City Council adopted the Smart City Wien Framework Strategy 2050. It is a long-term umbrella strategy that is supposed to establish a conducive, long-term and structural framework in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 3.1 tonnes per capita to 1 tonne per capita by 2050, have 50% of Vienna's gross energy consumption originate from renewable sources and to reduce motorized individual traffic from the current 28% to 15% by 2030. A stated goal is that, by 2050, all vehicles within the municipal boundaries will run without conventional propulsion technologies. Additionally, Vienna aims to be one of the five biggest European research and innovation hubs in 2050.


title: Vienna

text: Famous composers including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferdinand Ries, Nina Stollewerk, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Robert Stolz, and Arnold Schoenberg have worked in Vienna.


title: Vienna

text: Art and culture had a long tradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theaters in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of the performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Theater an der Wien, the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Classical concerts are performed at venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra known across the world for the annual widely broadcast "New Year's Day Concert", as well as the Wiener Konzerthaus, home of the internationally renowned Vienna Symphony. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music, particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss I, and Johann Strauss II.


title: Vienna

text: Up until 2005, the Theater an der Wien hosted premieres of musicals, but since 2006 (a year dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth), has devoted itself to opera again, becoming a stagione opera house offering one new production each month. Since 2012, Theater an der Wien has taken over the Wiener Kammeroper, a historical small theater in the first district of Vienna seating 300 spectators, turning it into its second venue for smaller sized productions and chamber operas created by the young ensemble of Theater an der Wien (JET). Before 2005 the most successful musical was "Elisabeth", which was later translated into several languages and performed all over the world. The Wiener Taschenoper is dedicated to stage music of the 20th and 21st century. The Haus der Musik ("house of music") opened in the year 2000.


title: Vienna

text: The Wienerlied is a unique song genre from Vienna. There are approximately 60,000 – 70,000 Wienerlieder.


title: Vienna

text: In 1981 the popular British new romantic group Ultravox paid a tribute to Vienna on an album and an artful music video recording called "Vienna". The inspiration for this work arose from the cinema production called "The Third Man" with the title Zither music of Anton Karas.


title: Vienna

text: The Vienna's English Theatre (VET) is an English theater in Vienna. It was founded in 1963 and is located in the 8th Vienna's district. It is the oldest English-language theater in continental Europe.


title: Vienna

text: In May 2015, Vienna hosted the Eurovision Song Contest following Austria's victory in the 2014 contest.


title: Vienna

text: Notable entertainers born in Vienna include Hedy Lamarr, Christoph Waltz, John Banner, Christiane Hörbiger, Eric Pohlmann, Boris Kodjoe, Christine Buchegger, Mischa Hausserman, Senta Berger and Christine Ostermayer.


title: Vienna

text: Notable musicians born in Vienna include Louie Austen, Alban Berg, Falco, Fritz Kreisler, Joseph Lanner, Arnold Schönberg, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II, Anton Webern, and Joe Zawinul.


title: Vienna

text: Famous musicians who came here to work from other parts of Austria and Germany were Kurt Adler, Johann Joseph Fux, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferdinand Ries, Johann Sedlatzek, Antonio Salieri, Carl Czerny, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Franz Liszt, Franz von Suppé, Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler and Rainhard Fendrich.


title: Vienna

text: Notable writers from Vienna include Karl Leopold von Möller, Carl Julius Haidvogel, and Stefan Zweig.


title: Vienna

text: Writers who lived and worked in Vienna include Franz Kafka, Arthur Schnitzler, Elias Canetti, Ingeborg Bachmann, Robert Musil, Karl Kraus, Ernst von Feuchtersleben, Thomas Bernhard and Elfriede Jelinek.


title: Vienna

text: The Hofburg is the location of the Imperial Treasury ("Schatzkammer"), holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum (a museum devoted to Empress Elisabeth of Austria) allows visitors to view the imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg are the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses many paintings by old masters, ancient and classical artifacts, and the Naturhistorisches Museum.


title: Vienna

text: A number of museums are located in the Museumsquartier (museum quarter), the former Imperial Stalls which were converted into a museum complex in the 1990s. It houses the Museum of Modern Art, commonly known as the MUMOK (Ludwig Foundation), the Leopold Museum (featuring the largest collection of paintings in the world by Egon Schiele, as well as works by the Vienna Secession, Viennese Modernism and Austrian Expressionism), the AzW (museum of architecture), additional halls with feature exhibitions, and the Tanzquartier. The Liechtenstein Palace contains much of one of the world's largest private art collections, especially strong in the Baroque. The Belvedere, built under Prince Eugene, has a gallery containing paintings by Gustav Klimt (The Kiss), Egon Schiele, and other painters of the early 20th century, also sculptures by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and changing exhibitions too.


title: Vienna

text: There are a multitude of other museums in Vienna, including the Albertina, the Military History Museum, the Technical Museum, the Burial Museum, the Museum of Art Fakes, the KunstHausWien, Museum of Applied Arts, the Sigmund Freud Museum, and the Mozarthaus Vienna. The museums on the history of the city, including the former Historical Museum of the City of Vienna on Karlsplatz, the Hermesvilla, the residences and birthplaces of various composers, the Museum of the Romans, and the Vienna Clock Museum, are now gathered together under the group umbrella Vienna Museum. The Jewish Museum Vienna, founded 1896, is the oldest of its kind. In addition there are museums dedicated to Vienna's individual districts. They provide a record of individual struggles, achievements and tragedy as the city grew and survived two world wars. For readers seeking family histories these are good sources of information.


title: Vienna

text: A variety of architectural styles can be found in Vienna, such as the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche and the Baroque Karlskirche. Styles range from classicist buildings to modern architecture. Art Nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna. The Secession building, Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world. Wagner's prominent student Jože Plečnik from Slovenia also left important traces in Vienna. His works include the Langer House (1900) and the Zacherlhaus (1903–1905). Plečnik's 1910–1913 "Church of the Holy Spirit" () in Vienna is remarkable for its innovative use of poured-in-place concrete as both structure and exterior surface, and also for its abstracted classical form language. Most radical is the church's crypt, with its slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals and bases.


title: Vienna

text: Concurrent to the Art Nouveau movement was the Wiener Moderne, during which some architects shunned the use of extraneous adornment. A key architect of this period was Adolf Loos, whose works include the Looshaus (1909), the Kärntner Bar or American Bar (1908) and the Steiner House (1910).


title: Vienna

text: The Hundertwasserhaus by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, designed to counter the clinical look of modern architecture, is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions. Another example of unique architecture is the Wotrubakirche by sculptor Fritz Wotruba. In the 1990s, a number of quarters were adapted and extensive building projects were implemented in the areas around Donaustadt (north of the Danube) and Wienerberg (in southern Vienna).


title: Vienna

text: The 220-meter high DC Tower 1 located on the Northern bank of the Danube, completed in 2013, is the tallest skyscraper in Vienna. In recent years, Vienna has seen numerous architecture projects completed which combine modern architectural elements with old buildings, such as the remodeling and revitalization of the old Gasometer in 2001.


title: Vienna

text: Most buildings in Vienna are relatively low; in early 2006 there were around 100 buildings higher than . The number of high-rise buildings is kept low by building legislation aimed at preserving green areas and districts designated as world cultural heritage. Strong rules apply to the planning, authorization and construction of high-rise buildings. Consequently, much of the inner city is a high-rise free zone.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is the last great capital of the 19th-century ball. There are over 450 balls per year, some featuring as many as nine live orchestras. Balls are held in the many palaces in Vienna, with the principal venue being the Hofburg Palace in Heldenplatz. While the Opera Ball is the best known internationally of all the Austrian balls, other balls such as the Kaffeesiederball (Cafe Owners Ball), the Jägerball (Hunter's Ball) and the Life Ball (AIDS charity event) are almost as well known within Austria and even better appreciated for their cordial atmosphere. Viennese of at least middle class may visit a number of balls in their lifetime.


title: Vienna

text: Dancers and opera singers from the Vienna State Opera often perform at the openings of the larger balls.


title: Vienna

text: A Vienna ball is an all-night cultural attraction. Major Vienna balls generally begin at 9 pm and last until 5 am, although many guests carry on the celebrations into the next day. Viennese balls are being exported (with support from the City of Vienna) to around 30 cities worldwide such as New York, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Prague, Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is part of the Austro-Bavarian language area, in particular Central Bavarian ("Mittelbairisch"). In recent years, linguistics experts have seen a decline in the use of the Viennese variant. Manfred Glauninger, sociolinguist at the Institute for Austrian Dialect and Name Lexica, has observed three issues. First, many parents feel there's a stigma attached to the Viennese dialect so they speak Standard German to their children. Second, many children have recently immigrated to Austria and are learning German as a second language in school. Third, young people are influenced by mass media which is most always delivered in Standard German.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is considered the center of LGBT life in Austria. The city has an action plan against queerphobic discrimination and, since 1998, has an anti-discriminiation unit within the city's administration. The city has several cafés, bars and clubs frequented by LGBT people. Among the most prominent is Café Savoy, which is a traditional coffee house built in 1896. In 2015, the city introduced traffic lights with same-sex couples before hosting the Eurovision Song Contest that year, which attracted media attention internationally. Every year in June, Vienna Pride is organised. In 2019, when the pride parade was also hosting Europride, it attracted 500.000 visitors.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is Austria's main center of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums (high schools).


title: Vienna

text: Vienna possesses many parks, including the "Stadtpark", the "Burggarten", the "Volksgarten" (part of the "Hofburg"), the "Schlosspark" at Schloss Belvedere (home to the Vienna Botanic Gardens), the "Donaupark", the "Schönbrunner Schlosspark", the "Prater", the "Augarten", the "Rathauspark", the "Lainzer Tiergarten", the "Dehnepark", the "Resselpark", the "Votivpark", the "Kurpark Oberlaa", the "Auer-Welsbach-Park" and the "Türkenschanzpark". Green areas include "Laaer-Berg" (including the Bohemian Prater) and the foothills of the "Wienerwald", which reaches into the outer areas of the city. Small parks, known by the Viennese as "Beserlparks", are everywhere in the inner city areas.


title: Vienna

text: Many of Vienna's parks include monuments, such as the Stadtpark with its statue of Johann Strauss II, and the gardens of the baroque palace, where the State Treaty was signed. Vienna's principal park is the Prater which is home to the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel, and Kugelmugel, a micronation the shape of a sphere. The imperial Schönbrunn's grounds contain an 18th-century park which includes the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752.


title: Vienna

text: The Donauinsel, part of Vienna's flood defenses, is a long artificial island between the Danube and Neue Donau dedicated to leisure activities.


title: Vienna

text: Austria's capital is home to numerous football teams. The best known are the local football clubs include FK Austria Wien (21 Austrian Bundesliga titles and record 27-time cup winners), SK Rapid Wien (record 32 Austrian Bundesliga titles), and the oldest team, First Vienna FC. Other important sports clubs include the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna (American Football), who won the Eurobowl title between 2004 and 2007 4 times in a row and had a perfect season in 2013, the Aon hotVolleys Vienna, one of Europe's premier Volleyball organizations, the Vienna Wanderers (baseball) who won the 2012 and 2013 Championship of the Austrian Baseball League, and the Vienna Capitals (Ice Hockey). Vienna was also where the European Handball Federation (EHF) was founded. There are also three rugby clubs; Vienna Celtic, the oldest rugby club in Austria, RC Donau, and Stade Viennois


title: Vienna

text: Vienna hosts many different sporting events including the Vienna City Marathon, which attracts more than 10,000 participants every year and normally takes place in May. In 2005 the Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Austria and the final was played in Vienna. Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium was the venue of four Champions League and European Champion Clubs' Cup finals (1964, 1987, 1990 and 1995) and on 29 June it hosted the final of Euro 2008 which saw a Spanish 1–0 victory over Germany. Tennis tournament Vienna Open also takes place in the city since 1974. The matches are played in the Wiener Stadthalle.


title: Vienna

text: The Neue Donau, which was formed after the Donauinsel was created, is free of river traffic and a popular destination for leisure and sports activities.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is well known for "Wiener Schnitzel", a cutlet of veal "(Kalbsschnitzel)" or pork "(Schweinsschnitzel)" that is pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in clarified butter. It is available in almost every restaurant that serves Viennese cuisine and can be eaten hot or cold. It is usually served in many cozy cafeterias in the old town evoking all the history behind the Empire city. The traditional 'Wiener Schnitzel' though is a cutlet of veal. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include "Tafelspitz" (very lean boiled beef), which is traditionally served with "Geröstete Erdäpfel" (boiled potatoes mashed with a fork and subsequently fried) and horseradish sauce, "Apfelkren" (a mixture of horseradish, cream and apple) and "Schnittlauchsauce" (a chives sauce made with mayonnaise and stale bread).


title: Vienna

text: Vienna has a long tradition of producing cakes and desserts. These include "Apfelstrudel" (hot apple strudel), "Milchrahmstrudel" (milk-cream strudel), "Palatschinken" (sweet pancakes), and "Knödel" (dumplings) often filled with fruit such as apricots ("Marillenknödel"). Sachertorte, a delicately moist chocolate cake with apricot jam created by the Sacher Hotel, is world-famous.


title: Vienna

text: Sausages are popular and available from street vendors ("Würstelstand") throughout the day and into the night. The sausage known as "Wiener" (German for Viennese) in the U.S. and in Germany, is called a "Frankfurter" in Vienna. Other popular sausages are "Burenwurst" (a coarse beef and pork sausage, generally boiled), "Käsekrainer" (spicy pork with small chunks of cheese), and "Bratwurst" (a white pork sausage). Most can be ordered "mit Brot" (with bread) or as a "hot dog" (stuffed inside a long roll). Mustard is the traditional condiment and usually offered in two varieties: "süß" (sweet) or "scharf" (spicy).


title: Vienna

text: The "Naschmarkt" is a permanent market for fruit, vegetables, spices, fish, meat, etc., from around the world. The city has many coffee and breakfast stores.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna, along with Paris, Santiago, Cape Town, Prague, Canberra, Bratislava and Warsaw, is one of the few remaining world capital cities with its own vineyards. The wine is served in small Viennese pubs known as Heuriger, which are especially numerous in the wine growing areas of Döbling (Grinzing, Neustift am Walde, Nußdorf, Salmannsdorf, Sievering), Floridsdorf (Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf), Liesing (Mauer) and Favoriten (Oberlaa). The wine is often drunk as a Spritzer ("G'spritzter") with sparkling water. The Grüner Veltliner, a dry white wine, is the most widely cultivated wine in Austria. Another wine very typical for the region is "Gemischter Satz", which is typically a blend of different types of wines harvested from the same vineyard.


title: Vienna

text: Beer is next in importance to wine. Vienna has a single large brewery, Ottakringer, and more than ten microbreweries. A "Beisl" is a typical small Austrian pub, of which Vienna has many.


title: Vienna

text: Also, local soft drinks such as Almdudler are popular around the country as an alternative to alcoholic beverages, placing it on the top spots along American counterparts such as Coca-Cola in terms of market share. Another popular drink is the so-called "Spezi", a mix between Coca-Cola and the original formula of Orange Fanta or the more locally renowned Frucade.


title: Vienna

text: Viennese cafés have an extremely long and distinguished history that dates back centuries, and the caffeine addictions of some famous historical patrons of the oldest are something of a local legend. These coffee houses are unique to Vienna and many cities have unsuccessfully sought to copy them. Some people consider cafés as their extended living room where nobody will be bothered if they spend hours reading a newspaper while enjoying their coffee. Traditionally, the coffee comes with a glass of water. Viennese cafés claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from booty captured after the second Turkish siege in 1683. Viennese cafés claim that when the invading Turks left Vienna, they abandoned hundreds of sacks of coffee beans. The Polish King John III Sobieski, the commander of the anti-Turkish coalition of Poles, Germans, and Austrians, gave Franz George Kolschitzky (Polish – Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki) some of this coffee as a reward for providing information that allowed him to defeat the Turks. Kolschitzky then opened Vienna's first coffee shop. Julius Meinl set up a modern roasting plant in the same premises where the coffee sacks were found, in 1891.


title: Vienna

text: Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights include the Burgtheater, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lipizzaner horses at the spanische Hofreitschule, and the Vienna Boys' Choir, as well as excursions to Vienna's Heurigen district Döbling.


title: Vienna

text: There are also more than 100 art museums, which together attract over eight million visitors per year. The most popular ones are Albertina, Belvedere, Leopold Museum in the Museumsquartier, KunstHausWien, Bank Austria Kunstforum, the twin "Kunsthistorisches Museum" and "Naturhistorisches Museum", and the Technisches Museum Wien, each of which receives over a quarter of a million visitors per year.


title: Vienna

text: There are many popular sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including Beethoven's various residences and grave at Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) which is the largest cemetery in Vienna and the burial site of many famous people. Mozart has a memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens and at St. Marx cemetery (where his grave was lost). Vienna's many churches also draw large crowds, famous of which are St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche, the Karlskirche, the Peterskirche, Maria am Gestade, the Minoritenkirche, the Ruprechtskirche, the Schottenkirche, St. Ulrich and the Votivkirche. In order to get deeper insight in the history of Vienna visitors like to join the popular Free Walking Tour in Vienna.


title: Vienna

text: Modern attractions include the Hundertwasserhaus, the United Nations headquarters and the view from the Donauturm.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna has an extensive transportation network with a unified fare system that integrates municipal, regional and railway systems under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR). Public transport is provided by buses, trams and five underground metro lines (U-Bahn), most operated by the Wiener Linien. There are also more than 50 S-train stations within the city limits. Suburban trains are operated by the ÖBB. The city forms the hub of the Austrian railway system, with services to all parts of the country and abroad. The railway system connects Vienna's main station Vienna Hauptbahnhof with other European cities, like Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Ljubljana, Munich, Prague, Venice, Wrocław, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zürich.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is served by Vienna International Airport, located southeast of the city center next to the town of Schwechat. The airport handled approximately 31.7 million passengers in 2019. Following lengthy negotiations with surrounding communities, the airport will be expanded to increase its capacity by adding a third runway. The airport is undergoing a major expansion, including a new terminal building that opened in 2012 to prepare for an increase in passengers.


title: Vienna

text: Vienna is the seat of a number of United Nations offices and various international institutions and companies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Vienna is the world's third "UN city", next to New York, Geneva, and Nairobi. Additionally, Vienna is the seat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's secretariat (UNCITRAL). In conjunction, the University of Vienna annually hosts the prestigious Willem C. Vis Moot, an international commercial arbitration competition for students of law from around the world.


title: Vienna

text: Diplomatic meetings have been held in Vienna in the latter half of the 20th century, resulting in documents bearing the name Vienna Convention or Vienna Document. Among the more important documents negotiated in Vienna are the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as well as the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Vienna also hosted the negotiations leading to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program as well as the Vienna peace talks for Syria.


title: Vienna

text: Alongside international and intergovernmental organizations, there are dozens of charitable organizations based in Vienna. One such organization is the network of SOS Children's Villages, founded by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949. Today, SOS Children's Villages are active in 132 countries and territories worldwide. Others include HASCO.


title: Vienna

text: Another popular international event is the annual Life Ball, which supports people with HIV or AIDS. Guests such as Bill Clinton and Whoopi Goldberg were recent attendees.


title: Vienna

text: The general policy of the City of Vienna is not to sign any twin town agreements with other cities. Instead Vienna has only cooperation agreements in which specific cooperation areas are defined.


title: Vienna

text: In addition, individual Viennese districts have international partnerships all over the world. A detailed list is published on the website of the City of Vienna.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films "Private Parts" (1997), "Annie" (1999) and "Blind Date" (2007). She is best known for playing Haley Dunphy in the ABC sitcom "Modern Family" (2009–2020), for which she received much acclaim, including four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In August 2022, Hyland began hosting "Love Island USA" on Peacock.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland is also known for her roles in the films "Geek Charming" (2011), "Struck by Lightning" (2012), "Scary Movie 5" (2013), "Vampire Academy" (2014), "See You in Valhalla" (2015), "XOXO" (2016), "Dirty Dancing" (2017) and "The Wedding Year" (2019).


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland was born in Manhattan, New York on November 24, 1990. She is the daughter of actors Melissa Canaday and Edward James Hyland, and the sister of actor Ian Hyland.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland has been acting since her first role as Howard Stern's daughter in the film "Private Parts" in 1997. She went on to portray roles such as Molly in the 1999 television film of "Annie" and Maddie Healy in "Lipstick Jungle" on NBC. Hyland was featured in an Olive Garden commercial along with actress Molly Culver. She also appeared on Broadway as the young Jacqueline Bouvier in "Grey Gardens" (2006).


title: Sarah Hyland

text: From 2009 to 2020, Hyland played Haley Dunphy on the ABC sitcom "Modern Family", for which she and the rest of the show's cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series each year from 2011 through 2014.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In 2011, Hyland co-starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Geek Charming". In 2012, Hyland appeared in the film "Struck by Lightning". In September 2012, she was involved in a Nintendo 3DS ad campaign along with Dianna Agron and Gabby Douglas.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Additional musical projects and theatre productions Hyland has performed in are: "Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live" (2013 concert), "Hair" (2014 adaptation at the Hollywood Bowl), "The Unauthorized Musical Parody of Scream" (2014 play at Rockwell Table & Stage) and The Kindred Foundation for Adoption created by Jenna Ushkowitz and Samantha Futerman (2015 fundraiser).


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In 2014 and 2018, Hyland was a co-host at the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade" (during "Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration" and "The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration"), which included dancing and singing with Jordan Fisher. Hyland also made a guest appearance during "" (2016) and "Mickey's 90th Spectacular" (2018).


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In 2016, Hyland covered songs with Boyce Avenue such as "Closer" by The Chainsmokers and "Don't Wanna Know" by Maroon 5, both included on the Boyce Avenue album "Cover Sessions Vol. 4", which was released on December 19, 2017. "Don't Wanna Know" peaked at No. 62 on the "Billboard" Canadian Hot 100 chart in December 2016.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland sang her debut performance of "Met At a Party" with Jordan McGraw (son of Dr. Phil) at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards. The single was released on August 9, 2019, via Republic Records.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In August 2022, Hyland began hosting "Love Island USA" on Peacock. In August 2022, she appeared on "America's Got Talent" (alongside Sofía Vergara) during the first live Qualifier Results Show of season seventeen, to assist season sixteen winner Dustin Tavella with his magic act.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland dated her "Geek Charming" co-star Matt Prokop for four years after meeting in 2010. In August 2014, Hyland obtained a domestic violence temporary restraining order against Prokop for physically and verbally abusing her throughout the four years of their relationship. In October of that same year, the restraining order became permanent.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland dated her "Shadowhunters" and "Vampire Academy" co-star Dominic Sherwood from 2015 until 2017.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In 2017, Hyland began a relationship with Wells Adams, a radio personality and former contestant on "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise". In July 2019, the couple became engaged. They postponed their wedding multiple times, originally planning to marry in August 2020, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple were married on August 20, 2022, at a California vineyard with her "Modern Family" co-stars attending, after celebrating an outdoor bridal shower in early June, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson officiating the wedding. They currently reside in Los Angeles.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: Hyland was diagnosed with kidney dysplasia as a young child and received a kidney transplant from her father in April 2012. That kidney failed after a few years, leading to a second kidney transplant in September 2017, donated by her younger brother, Ian. Hyland is on regular anti-rejection medicines and steroids to ensure that her body does not reject her donated kidney; consequently, Hyland has difficulty maintaining weight and muscle mass, and has been put on bed-rest several times, sometimes continuing to film "Modern Family" simultaneously.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In a December 2018 "Self" magazine article, Hyland said she had contemplated suicide because she felt she was a burden on her family and blamed herself for her body rejecting her father's kidney. Since birth, she has undergone 16 surgeries to improve her health, including numerous kidney surgeries and a laparoscopic surgery to treat her endometriosis.


title: Sarah Hyland

text: In 2019, Hyland partnered with Olay for a skin product campaign. In October 2021, she became the new creative director and co-founder of Sourse, a line of chocolate-infused vitamins (including "Beauty Bites" and "Mood Bites").


title: Fortnite

text: Fortnite is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: "Fortnite Battle Royale", a free-to-play battle royale game in which up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing; "", a cooperative hybrid tower defense-shooter and survival game in which up to four players fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with traps and fortifications they can build; and "Fortnite Creative", in which players are given complete freedom to create worlds and battle arenas.


title: Fortnite

text: "Save the World" and "Battle Royale" were released in 2017 as early access titles, while "Creative" was released on December 6, 2018.


title: Fortnite

text: While the "Save the World" and "Creative" versions have been successful for Epic Games, "Fortnite Battle Royale" in particular became an overwhelming success and a cultural phenomenon, drawing more than 125 million players in less than a year, earning hundreds of millions of dollars per month. "Fortnite" as a whole generated in gross revenue up until December 2019.


title: Fortnite

text: "Save the World" is available only for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while "Battle Royale" and "Creative" were released for all those platforms, and also for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices. The game also launched with the release of the ninth-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.


title: Fortnite

text: "Fortnite" is distributed as three different game modes, using the same engine; each has similar graphics, art assets, and game mechanics.


title: Fortnite

text: Players can use their pickaxe to knock down existing structures on the map to collect basic resources that are wood, brick, and metal. Subsequently, in all modes, the player can use these materials to build fortifications, such as walls, floors, and stairs. Such fortification pieces can be edited to add things like windows or doors. The materials used have different durability properties and can be updated to stronger variants using more materials of the same type. Within "Save the World" this enables players to create defensive fortifications around an objective or trap-filled tunnels to lure husks through. In "Battle Royale", this provides the means to quickly traverse the map, protect oneself from enemy fire, or to delay an advancing foe. Players are encouraged to be very inventive in designing their fortifications in "Creative".


title: Fortnite

text: While "Battle Royale" and "Creative" are free-to-play, "Save the World" is pay-to-play. The games are monetized through the use of V-Bucks, in-game currency that can be purchased with real-world funds, but also earned through completing missions and other achievements in "Save the World". V-Bucks in "Save the World" can be used to buy loot boxes, in the form of piñatas shaped like llamas, to gain a random selection of items. In "Battle Royale", V-Bucks can be used to buy cosmetic items like character models or the like, or can also be used to purchase the game's battle pass, a tiered progression of customization rewards for gaining experience and completing certain objectives during the course of a "Battle Royale" season.


title: Fortnite

text: "Fortnite" began from an internal game jam at Epic Games following the publishing of "Gears of War 3" around 2011. Though it was not initially one of the developed titles during the jam, the concept of merging the construction game genre, representing games like "Minecraft" and "Terraria", and shooter games arose, leading to the foundation of "Fortnite". Development of "Fortnite" slowed due to several issues, including switching from the Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 4, a deeper role-playing game approach to extend the life of the game, and a switch of art style from a dark theme to a more cartoonish style. Further, Epic was looking to get into the games as a service model, and brought in Chinese publisher Tencent to help; Tencent took a large stake in Epic as part of this, leading to the departure of several executives, including Cliff Bleszinski, who had been a key part of "Fortnite"s development. "Fortnite"s approach was changed to be Epic's testbed for games as a service, and further slowed the development.


title: Fortnite

text: Epic was able to prepare to release "Fortnite" as a paid early access title in July 2017, with plans to release it as free-to-play sometime in 2019 while gaining feedback from players to improve the game. With the release of "Fortnite Battle Royale", the player-versus-environment mode was distinguished as "Save the World". Ultimately, Epic opted to release "Save the World" as a premium title, bringing it out of early access on June 29, 2020.


title: Fortnite

text: Near the same time that Epic released "Fortnite" into early access, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" had become a worldwide phenomenon, having sold over 5 million copies three months from its March 2017 release, and drawing strong interest in the battle royale genre. Epic recognized that with the "Fortnite" base game, they could also do a battle royale mode, and rapidly developed their own version atop "Fortnite" in about two months. By September 2017, Epic was ready to release this as a second mode from "Save the World" in the paid-for earlier access, but then later decided to release it as a free game, "Fortnite Battle Royale", supported with microtransactions. This version quickly gained players, with over 10 million players during its first two weeks of release, and leading Epic to create separate teams to continue the "Fortnite Battle Royale" development apart from the "Save the World" version, outside of common engine elements and art assets. This allowed "Fortnite Battle Royale" to expand to other platforms otherwise not supported by "Save the World", including iOS and Android mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch.


title: Fortnite

text: A creative sandbox mode launched on December 6, 2018, synchronized with the start of season 7 of "Fortnite Battle Royale". Each player has access to a private, persistent island on which they construct buildings and add and manipulate objects as desired. Players are able to invite friends to this island and participate in unofficial games such as race tracks or jumping courses. Only players who purchased the battle pass initially received their own island, but a week later, on December 13, players who did not purchase it received access to the game mode for free.


title: Fortnite

text: The "Save the World" mode achieved over one million players by August 2017, just prior to the release of "Battle Royale".


title: Fortnite

text: "Fortnite Battle Royale" became a significant financial success for Epic Games, leading them to separate the teams between "Save the World" and "Battle Royale" to provide better support for both modes. Within two weeks of release, over 10 million players had played the mode, and by June 2018, just after the Nintendo Switch release, had reached 125 million players. Revenue from "Fortnite Battle Royale" during the first half of 2018 had been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars per month, with total 2018 revenue estimated at by analysis firm SuperData Research. Total revenue for "Fortnite" reached more than by the end of 2019.


title: Fortnite

text: "Fortnite Battle Royale" has also become a cultural phenomenon, with several celebrities reporting they play the game, and athletes using "Fortnite" emotes as victory celebrations. A notable streaming event in March 2018, with streamer Ninja playing "Fortnite Battle Royale" alongside Drake, Travis Scott, Kim DotCom, and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, broke viewership records for Twitch to date, and led to Epic arranging a "Fortnite Battle Royale" pro–am with 50 pairs of streamers and professional players matched with celebrities at E3 2018 in June 2018. Epic Games has developed organized esports competitions around "Fortnite Battle Royale", such as the inaugural Fortnite World Cup tournament that took place in July 2019.


title: Fortnite

text: There has also been growing concern over "Fortnite Battle Royale" draw toward young children, emphasized with the release of the mobile client. Parents and teachers had expressed concern that students are being distracted and drawn away from school work due to playing "Fortnite". Concerns have also been raised about the impact that playing a game involving repeated depictions of gun violence may have on young children.


title: Fortnite

text: In 2017, the game was nominated for "Best Co-op Game" by "PC Gamer", and for "Best Spectator Game" by IGN. In 2018, the game won the award for Best Ongoing Game by "PC Gamer" and IGN, the latter of which nominated it for "Best Nintendo Switch Game", "Best Mobile Game", and "Best Action Game".


title: Axl Rose

text: W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in 1985. Possessing a distinctive and powerful wide-ranging voice, Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including "Rolling Stone" and "NME".


title: Axl Rose

text: Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Rose moved in the early 1980s to Los Angeles, where he became active in the local hard rock scene and joined several bands, including Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. In 1985, he co-founded Guns N' Roses, with whom he had great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their first album, "Appetite for Destruction" (1987), has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. with 18 million units sold. Its full-length follow-ups, the twin albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (1991), were also widely successful; they respectively debuted at No.2 and No.1 on the "Billboard" 200 and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide.


title: Axl Rose

text: After 1994, following the conclusion of their two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, Rose disappeared from public life for several years, while the band disintegrated due to personal and musical differences. As its sole remaining original member, he was able to continue working under the Guns N' Roses banner because he had legally obtained the band name. In 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 3, and subsequently played periodic concert tours to promote the long-delayed "Chinese Democracy" (2008), which undersold the music industry's commercial expectations despite positive reviews upon its release. In 2012, Rose was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses, though he declined to attend the event and requested exclusion from the Hall. In 2016, the same year as he toured with AC/DC, Rose partially reunited the "classic" lineup of Guns N' Roses and has since toured the world as part of the Not in This Lifetime... Tour.


title: Axl Rose

text: Axl Rose was born William Bruce Rose Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, the oldest child of Sharon Elizabeth (née Lintner), then 16 years old and still in high school, and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old. His father has been described as "a troubled and charismatic local delinquent," and the pregnancy was unplanned. His parents separated when Rose was approximately two years old, prompting his father to abduct and allegedly molest him before disappearing from Lafayette. His mother remarried Stephen L. Bailey, and changed her son's name to William Bruce Bailey. He has two younger siblings—a sister, Amy, and a half-brother, Stuart. As young children, both Rose and his siblings were regularly beaten. Until the age of 17, Rose believed Bailey was his natural father. He never met his biological father as an adult; William Rose Sr. was murdered in Marion, Illinois, in 1984 by a criminal acquaintance who was convicted even though the body was never recovered. Rose did not learn about the murder until years later.


title: Axl Rose

text: The Bailey household was very religious; Rose and his family attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week and even taught Sunday school. Rose later recalled an oppressive upbringing, stating, "We'd have televisions one week, then my stepdad would throw them out because they were Satanic. I wasn't allowed to listen to music. Women were evil. Everything was evil." He accused his stepfather of physically abusing him and his siblings and sexually abusing his sister. Rose found solace in music from an early age. He sang in the church choir from the age of five, and performed at services with his brother and sister under the name the Bailey Trio. At Jefferson High School, he participated in the school chorus and studied piano. A second baritone, Rose began developing "different voices" during chorus practice to confuse his teacher. He eventually formed a band with his friends, one of whom was Jeff Isbell, later known as Izzy Stradlin. He also befriended a girl called Anna Hoon, who would later introduce him to her little brother, Shannon.


title: Axl Rose

text: At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name. However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father. Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became a local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested more than twenty times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served jail terms up to three months. After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal, Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982. After moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose. He legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.


title: Axl Rose

text: Shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles, Rose met guitarist Kevin Lawrence outside The Troubadour in West Hollywood and joined his band Rapidfire. They recorded a five-song demo in May 1983, which, after years of legal action, was released as an EP, "Ready to Rumble", in 2014. After parting ways with Lawrence, he formed the band Hollywood Rose with his childhood friend Izzy Stradlin, who had moved to Los Angeles in 1980, and 16-year-old guitarist Chris Weber. In January 1984, the band recorded a five-song demo featuring the tracks "Anything Goes", "Rocker", "Shadow of Your Love", and "Reckless Life", which was released in 2004 as "The Roots of Guns N' Roses". Guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler, future members of Guns N' Roses, joined Hollywood Rose before the band's dissolution. Rose then joined L.A. Guns. While struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene, Rose held down a variety of jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records/Video location on Sunset Boulevard. Rose and Stradlin also smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at UCLA for the reported wages of $8 per hour ().


title: Axl Rose

text: In March 1985, encouraged by their manager Raz Cue, Rose and his former L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses by merging their respective bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns with Stradlin, drummer Rob Gardner and bassist Ole Beich. By June, after several line-up changes, the band consisted of Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The line-up debuted at The Troubadour and proceeded to play the L.A. club circuit, eventually building a devoted fan following. The band attracted the attention of several major record labels, before signing with Geffen Records in March 1986. The following December, they released the four-song EP "Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide" on the Geffen imprint UZI Suicide.


title: Axl Rose

text: In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released their debut album "Appetite for Destruction". Although the record received critical acclaim, it experienced a modest commercial start, selling as many as 500,000 copies in its first year of release. However, fueled by the band's relentless touring and the mainstream success of the single "Sweet Child o' Mine"—Rose's tribute to his then-girlfriend Erin Everly—the album rose to the No.1 position. To date, "Appetite for Destruction" has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, 18 million of which sold in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S.


title: Axl Rose

text: During the band's performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donington, England, in August 1988, two fans were crushed to death when many in the crowd of 107,000 began slam-dancing to "It's So Easy". Rose had halted the show several times to calm the audience. From then on, he became known for personally addressing disruptive fans and giving instructions to security personnel from the stage, at times stopping concerts to deal with issues in the crowd. In 1992, Rose stated, "Most performers would go to a security person in their organization, and it would just be done very quietly. I'll confront the person, stop the song: 'Guess what: You wasted your money, you get to leave.'" As a result of the deaths at Monsters of Rock, the festival was canceled the following year.


title: Axl Rose

text: In November 1988, Guns N' Roses released the stopgap album "G N' R Lies", which sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone. The band – and Rose in particular – were accused of promoting racist and homophobic attitudes with the song "One in a Million", in which Rose warns "niggers" to "get out of my way" and complains about "faggots" who "spread some fucking disease". During the controversy, Rose defended his use of the racial slur by claiming, "it's a word to describe somebody that is basically a pain in your life, a problem. The word nigger doesn't necessarily mean black." In 1992, however, he conceded that the song reflected his initial and impressionable perspective when he first arrived in Los Angeles in his late teens, where he experienced culture shock to a lifestyle very much different from the conservative town he grew up in. Rose stated "I was pissed off about some black people [who] were trying to rob me. I wanted to insult those particular black people. I didn't want to support racism." In response to the allegations of homophobia, Rose said he considered himself "pro-heterosexual" but is "not against [homosexuals] doing what they want to do as long as it's not hurting anybody else and they're not forcing it upon [him]". He blamed this attitude on "bad experiences" with gay men, citing an attempted rape in his late teens and the alleged molestation by his biological father. The controversy led to Guns N' Roses being dropped from the roster of an AIDS benefit show in New York organized by the Gay Men's Health Crisis.


title: Axl Rose

text: With the success of "Appetite for Destruction" and "G N' R Lies", Rose found himself lauded as one of rock's most prominent frontmen. By the time he appeared solo on the cover of "Rolling Stone" in August 1989, his celebrity was such that the influential music magazine agreed to his absolute requirement that the interview and accompanying photographs would be provided by two of his friends, writer Del James and photographer Robert John. MTV anchorman Kurt Loder described Rose as "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic".


title: Axl Rose

text: In early 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording the full-length follow-up to "Appetite for Destruction". Recording sessions initially proved unproductive due to Steven Adler's struggle with drug addiction, which made him unable to perform and caused sessions to be delayed for several days at a time. Adler was fired the following July and replaced by Matt Sorum of The Cult. Keyboardist Dizzy Reed also joined the band that year at Rose's insistence. Sorum and Reed played their first show with Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 2 in January 1991. The group fired its long-time manager, Alan Niven, in May of that year; Rose reportedly forced the dismissal of Niven against the wishes of his bandmates by refusing to complete the new album until Niven was gone. He was replaced by roadie Doug Goldstein, whom Izzy Stradlin described as "the guy who gets to go over to Axl's at six in the morning after he's smashed his $60,000 grand piano out of the picture window".


title: Axl Rose

text: In May 1991, still without an album to promote, the band embarked on the two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, which became known for its financial success and myriad controversial incidents that occurred during shows, including late starts, on-stage rantings and even riots. Rose received much criticism for his late appearances at concerts, sometimes taking the stage hours after the band was scheduled to perform. In July 1991, 90 minutes into a concert at the Riverport Amphitheater near St. Louis, after on-stage requests from Rose for security personnel to confiscate a fan's video camera, Rose himself dived into the crowd to seize it. After being pulled back on stage, he announced, "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!" and departed, following which some 2,500 fans staged a riot, resulting in an estimated $200,000 in damages.


title: Axl Rose

text: In September 1991, with enough material completed for two albums, Guns N' Roses released "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II", which debuted at No.2 and No.1 respectively on the "Billboard" 200, a feat not achieved by any other group. By the albums' release, however, Rose's relationships with his bandmates had become increasingly strained. His childhood friend Izzy Stradlin abruptly left the group in November 1991; he was replaced by Gilby Clarke of Kill For Thrills. Of his reasons for leaving, Stradlin said, "I didn't like the complications that became such a part of daily life in Guns N' Roses," citing the riot and Rose's chronic lateness as examples, as well as his new-found sobriety making it difficult to be around other bandmates' continued alcohol and substance abuse.


title: Axl Rose

text: On April 20, 1992, Axl performed with Elton John at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium singing Bohemian Rhapsody as a duet with Elton and also sang "We Will Rock You".


title: Axl Rose

text: Another riot occurred in August 1992 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, during a co-headlining tour with Metallica. Prior to Guns N' Roses' appearance, Metallica's set was cut short after singer-guitarist James Hetfield suffered second-degree burns in a pyrotechnics accident. However, Guns N' Roses was unable to go on stage early, because Rose once again was late arriving at the venue. Nearly an hour into their show, Rose complained of voice problems before walking off stage, following which a riot erupted in downtown Montreal, resulting in an estimated $400,000 in damages. In November of that year, Rose was convicted of property damage and assault in relation to the Riverport riot; he was fined $50,000 and received two years' probation.


title: Axl Rose

text: Guns N' Roses played its final show of the Use Your Illusion Tour on July 17, 1993, at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires; it proved to be Rose's last live performance with the band for seven and a half years. The following August, Rose testified in court against Steven Adler, who had filed a lawsuit contending that he had been illegitimately fired. When the judge ruled against Rose, he agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $2,500,000 and 15% of the royalties for everything Adler recorded prior to his departure. In November of that year, Guns N' Roses released ""The Spaghetti Incident?"", a cover album of mostly punk songs, which proved less successful than its predecessors. Rose had included the hidden track "Look at Your Game, Girl", a song written by convicted murderer Charles Manson, which he intended as a personal message to his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour. Controversy ensued, and the band subsequently pledged to donate any royalties to the son of one of Manson's victims.


title: Axl Rose

text: Without consultation from his bandmates, Rose did not renew Gilby Clarke's contract with the band in June 1994, as he claimed Clarke to be only a "hired hand." Tension between Rose and Slash reached a breaking point after the latter discovered that Rose had hired his childhood friend Paul "Huge" Tobias as Clarke's replacement. Although the band recorded material during this time, it was ultimately not used because, according to Rose, their lack of collaboration prevented them from producing their best work.


title: Axl Rose

text: In August 1995, Rose legally left the band and created a new partnership under the band's name, a step he said he took "to salvage Guns not steal it". Rose reportedly purchased the full rights to the Guns N' Roses name in 1997. Slash claimed he and other bandmates signed away rights to the name before a show during the previous tour, with Axl delivering an ultimatum: they had to sign the name over to him or he would not perform. (In 2008, however, Rose said Slash's claims were false and that the alleged coercion would have rendered the contract legally untenable.)


title: Axl Rose

text: Slash finally left Guns N' Roses in October 1996 due to his differences with Rose, while Matt Sorum was fired in June 1997 after an argument over Tobias's involvement in the band. Duff McKagan departed the band in August of that year, leaving Rose and Dizzy Reed as the only remaining band members of the "Use Your Illusion" era.


title: Axl Rose

text: As the stability of Guns N' Roses collapsed, Rose withdrew from public view. The band never officially broke up, although it did not tour or perform for several years and no new material was released. Rose continued to recruit new musicians to replace band members who either left or were fired. By the late 1990s, he was considered to be a recluse, rarely making public appearances and spending most of his time in his mansion in Malibu. In various media reports, he was referred to as the "Howard Hughes of rock" and "rock's greatest recluse". Rose was said to spend his nights rehearsing and writing with the various new lineups of Guns N' Roses, working on the band's next album, "Chinese Democracy".


title: Axl Rose

text: After a warmup show in Las Vegas a few weeks earlier, Rose resurfaced with Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 3 on January 14, 2001, to commence the decade-long Chinese Democracy Tour, though the majority of its scheduled concerts over the next two years did not take place. A surprise appearance at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards was followed by an incident in November when a riot erupted at Vancouver's General Motors Place after Rose failed to show up for a scheduled concert. When venue staff announced the cancellation, a riot broke out, resulting in an estimated $100,000 in damages. As the band's line-up continued to evolve, his constant bandmates were guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman.


title: Axl Rose

text: After the tour was cancelled by the promoter, Rose again withdrew from the public view. During this time, he joined Slash and Duff McKagan in a lawsuit against Geffen Records in an unsuccessful attempt to block the release of the "Greatest Hits" compilation album, and lent his voice to the 2004 video game "", as the DJ for the radio station, K-DST. In a rare interview in January 2006, Rose said "people will hear music this year." While Guns N' Roses toured extensively throughout 2006 and 2007, with several guest appearances by Izzy Stradlin, "Chinese Democracy" again failed to materialize. Rose did collaborate with his friend Sebastian Bach on his album "Angel Down".


title: Axl Rose

text: Fifteen years after its last album, in November 2008, Guns N' Roses released "Chinese Democracy" exclusively via the electronics retailer Best Buy. Rose did not contribute to the album's promotion; by December, he had reportedly been missing for at least two months and had not returned phone calls or other requests from his record label. In a subsequent interview, Rose said he felt he had not received the necessary support from Interscope Records. A year after the album's release, in December 2009, Guns N' Roses embarked on another two-and-a-half years of touring, including a headlining performance at Rock in Rio 4.


title: Axl Rose

text: Together with the other members of Guns N' Roses' classic lineup, Rose was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, their first year of eligibility. He did not attend the induction ceremony in April, however, as he had announced in an open letter three days prior. Rose, who had long been on bad terms with several of his former bandmates, wrote that the ceremony "doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected". He subsequently joined his band in residencies at The Joint in Las Vegas in 2012 and 2014, as part of the Appetite for Democracy Tour celebrating the anniversaries of "Appetite for Destruction" and "Chinese Democracy". By mid-2014, the group's new album, recorded concurrently with "Chinese Democracy", and a remix album were completed and pending release, but no new material emerged.


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose and Slash reunited for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, one of the most-anticipated reunion tours in rock history. Alongside Dizzy Reed and returning member Duff McKagan, who had previously made guest appearances with the band, they comprised two-thirds of the band's "Use Your Illusion"-era line-up, with "Chinese Democracy"-era members Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer joining new member Melissa Reese to fill out the rest of the lineup. Rose shared a stage with Slash for the first time in nearly 23 years during the group's surprise performance at The Troubadour in April 2016, ahead of its headlining shows at Coachella. The tour was a massive success, and became the third highest-grossing concert tour of all time.


title: Axl Rose

text: On April 16, 2016, Australian hard rock band AC/DC announced that Rose would be joining them and performing as the lead singer for the remainder of the band's Rock or Bust World Tour, after long-time lead vocalist Brian Johnson had to stop touring due to hearing problems. Subsequent reports indicated that guitarist Angus Young would be continuing the band with Rose as its official lead singer. This did not happen however; on September 30, 2020, AC/DC officially announced that Brian Johnson, along with Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams had returned to the band in 2018 and recorded an album, showing that Rose only stepped in to help finish the tour and that he was never brought in to replace Johnson.


title: Axl Rose

text: In 2018, Rose appeared in an episode of "New Looney Tunes" as himself, singing an original song "Rock the Rock". In 2021, Rose again appeared as himself in a cartoon, this time "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?".


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose and Guns N' Roses continued touring after the Not In This Lifetime... Tour, with the Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour. The group released two singles in 2021, "Absurd" and "Hard Skool", the first release of newly recorded material since 2008.


title: Axl Rose

text: During Rose's late teens, a psychiatrist concluded that his delinquent behavior was evidence of psychosis. In addition, the psychiatrist made note of his high IQ. In a subsequent interview, Rose questioned the diagnosis altogether, stating,


title: Axl Rose

text: In contrast to his public image, Rose was not a heavy drug user, though he did not disavow the use of illicit substances entirely. Rose intentionally overdosed on painkillers in 1986 due to stress, stating "I couldn't take it. And I just grabbed the bottle of pills in an argument and just gulped them down and I ended up in the hospital." Rose's experience at the hospital inspired the lyrics to the Guns N' Roses song "Coma".


title: Axl Rose

text: In the early 1990s, Rose became a staunch believer in homeopathic medicine, and began regularly undergoing past life regression therapy. He went public with his "uncovered memories" of being sexually abused by his biological father at the age of two, which he said had stunted his emotional growth: "When they talk about Axl Rose being a screaming two-year-old, they're right." His dislike of touring was caused in part by the various illnesses he contracted over time. He expressed his belief that these health problems were caused by him unconsciously lowering his own resistance as a form of "self-punishment". During the recordings of "Chinese Democracy", Rose had a personal psychic who would look at photographs of potential employees to "read the auras" and decide if they should be hired.


title: Axl Rose

text: In early 1986, Rose began a relationship with model Erin Everly, the daughter of singer Don Everly of The Everly Brothers. He wrote the song "Sweet Child o' Mine" for her, and Everly appeared in the accompanying music video. Rose and Everly were married on April 28, 1990, in Las Vegas. Less than a month later, Rose first filed for divorce. The couple later reconciled, during which Everly became pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage in October 1990, which deeply affected Rose, who had wanted to start a family. Everly left Rose the following November after an altercation; they annulled their marriage in January 1991.


title: Axl Rose

text: In mid-1991, Rose became involved in a tumultuous high-profile relationship with supermodel Stephanie Seymour. During their relationship, Seymour appeared in the music videos for "Don't Cry" and "November Rain". Rose became deeply attached to Seymour's young son, Dylan, and tried to be a good father figure for the child, as there had been none in his own life. Seymour and Rose became engaged in February 1993, but separated three weeks later.


title: Axl Rose

text: In response to an informal study that named him the 'World's Greatest Singer" based on a study of vocal ranges, Rose told "Spin" in 2014, "If I had to say who I thought the best singers were, I'd say first that I don't know there's a definitive answer as in my opinion it's subjective, and second that my focus is primarily rock singers. That said, I enjoy Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Dan McCafferty, Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Don Henley, Jeff Lynne, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Scott, Etta James, Fiona Apple, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and a ton of others (predominantly Seventies rock singers) and would rather hear any of them anytime rather than me!" Rose later cited Queen as his favorite band, and Mercury as his favorite singer.


title: Axl Rose

text: On April 28, 2015, Rose sent a letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo asking Widodo to remove the option of the death penalty in the case of the Bali Nine on grounds of humanitarianism. Rose then criticized Widodo for "ignoring the international outcry" after the executions took place.


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose has used Twitter to criticize various figures in the Trump administration, as well as other figures such as Apple CEO Tim Cook. On May 7, 2020, he used Twitter to criticize Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for the Trump administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, to which Mnuchin responded.


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose and Slash were charged with statutory rape in 1985 after Rose had sex with a 15 year old girl named Michelle. After sleeping together, they had an argument and the girl left the house while she was still naked. Rose recalled the events: "This hippy chick wandered in and started fucking with our equipment trying to break stuff. So eventually she wound up running down Sunset naked, all dingy, and didn't even know her own name." After several weeks being fugitives hiding from police, the charges against the two were dropped due to lack of evidence.


title: Axl Rose

text: In November 1987, Rose was arrested onstage after assaulting a security guard during a show. Rose was held backstage and allowed to leave if he apologized to the guards, but refused and was arrested.


title: Axl Rose

text: In 1990, Rose was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly hitting his next-door neighbor on the head with an empty wine bottle. Rose stated that the neighbor swung a wine bottle at him after he responded to her yelling. There had also been frequent incidents between the two over loud music being played. The run-ins with his neighbor inspired the lyrics to the song "Right Next Door To Hell" on "Use Your Illusion I".


title: Axl Rose

text: In 1992, Rose was arrested for his role in the Riverport Riot. Rose was found guilty of property damage and assault. He was fined $50,000 and given two years probation.


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose was arrested in 1998 at an airport in Phoenix, Arizona for threatening an airport guard who was searching his luggage. He was charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. Rose's publicist stated the incident was a "simple misunderstanding and that Rose was simply trying to protect a fragile memento he had been given."


title: Axl Rose

text: Rose was arrested in Sweden in June 2006 for biting a security guard in the leg. The guard had confronted Rose who was arguing with a woman in a hotel lobby. Rose was deemed too intoxicated to be questioned right away by police. He was fined $5,500 for the incident as well as ordered to pay $1,360 in damages to the guard.


title: Axl Rose

text: In 1992, the audience member who Rose attacked during the Riverport Riot sued him for $210,000 in damages. Rose settled out of court for $160,000.


title: Axl Rose

text: After separating in 1993, Rose sued Stephanie Seymour claiming she assaulted him at a 1992 Christmas Party. Seymour filed a counter-suit claiming assault and battery by Rose. Both lawsuits were eventually settled out of court. In 1994, Rose's ex-wife Erin Everly filed a suit accusing Rose of physical and emotional abuse throughout their relationship. The lawsuit was settled out of court.


title: Axl Rose

text: In 2004, Rose unsuccessfully sued to prevent the release of "The Roots of Guns N' Roses", featuring early recordings from his band Hollywood Rose. Later that year, Rose was joined by former bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan in unsuccessfully suing to prevent the release of "Greatest Hits". Slash and McKagan then sued Rose over publishing and songwriting credits in 2006, which Rose claimed were due to a clerical error when switching publishers.


title: Axl Rose

text: In 2010, former band manager Irving Azoff sued Rose, seeking $1.87 million in unpaid fees related to touring. In a counter-suit, Rose alleged Azoff had deliberately mismanaged the band and sabotaged their record sales to force him to join his former bandmates for a reunion tour. Both cases were settled. According to Rose in 2011, part of the settlement agreement dictated that Rose and the current Guns N' Roses had to do a number of performances with Azoff's company Live Nation as the promoter.


title: Axl Rose

text: In November 2010, Rose sued Activision, the publishers of the video game "", for $20million, claiming Activision had violated an agreement with him to not include any reference to Slash or his band Velvet Revolver in the game in return for a license to use the song "Welcome to the Jungle". Instead, Rose noted that an image of Slash was used on the game's front cover. Rose's claim was summarily dismissed in February 2013, when the judge ruled that Rose had not brought suit on the contract, which relied on oral promises, within the two-year statute of limitations that began with the game's October 2007 release.


title: Axl Rose

text: In March 2013, Rose was sued by an audience member who got hit by a microphone Rose threw into the crowd at the end of a show. Rose threatened legal action in 2014 over the release of Rapidfire (his pre-Hollywood Rose band) recordings, keeping them from digital storefronts for a period of time. In August 2016, former Guns N' Roses keyboardist Chris Pitman sued Rose for $125,000 in unpaid wages. The two parties settled in November 2016.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Taxi Driver is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and morally bankrupt New York City following the Vietnam War, the film follows Travis Bickle (De Niro), a veteran working as a taxi driver, and his deteriorating mental state as he works nights in the city.


title: Taxi Driver

text: With "The Wrong Man" (1956) and "A Bigger Splash" (1973) as inspiration, Scorsese wanted the film to feel like a dream to audiences. With cinematographer Michael Chapman, filming began in the summer of 1975 in New York City, with actors taking pay cuts to ensure that the project could be completed on a low budget of $1.9 million. Production concluded that same year. Bernard Herrmann composed the film's music in what would be his final score, finished just several hours before his death; the film is dedicated to him.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The film was theatrically released by Columbia Pictures on February 7, 1976, where it was a critical and commercial success, despite generating controversy for its graphic violence at the climactic ending, and casting of then 12-year-old Foster in the role of a child prostitute. The film received numerous accolades including the 1976 Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, and four nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, Best Actor (for De Niro), and Best Supporting Actress (for Foster).


title: Taxi Driver

text: Although "Taxi Driver" generated further controversy for its role in John Hinckley Jr.'s motive to attempt to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan, the film has remained popular and is considered one of the most culturally significant and inspirational of its time. In 2012, "Sight & Sound" named it the 31st-best film ever in its decennial critics' poll, ranked with "The Godfather Part II", and the fifth-greatest film of all time on its directors' poll. In 1994, the film was considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the US Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old honorably discharged U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD and living alone in New York City. Travis takes a job as a night shift taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia and loneliness. He frequently goes to the porn theaters on 42nd Street and keeps a diary in which he consciously attempts to include aphorisms, such as "you're only as healthy as you feel." He becomes disgusted with the crime and urban decay that he witnesses in Manhattan, and dreams about ridding "the scum off the streets."


title: Taxi Driver

text: Travis becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign volunteer for senator and presidential candidate Charles Palantine. Travis enters the campaign office where she works, and asks her out for coffee, to which she agrees. Betsy confesses that she feels a special connection to Travis, and agrees to go on another date with him. During their date Travis takes Betsy to a porn theater, which repulses her and causes her to leave. He attempts to reconcile with her, to no avail. Enraged, he storms into the campaign office where she works, and berates her before he is ordered to leave. Experiencing an existential crisis and seeing various counts of prostitution throughout the city, Travis confides in fellow taxi driver nicknamed Wizard about his violent thoughts.


title: Taxi Driver

text: However, Wizard dismisses them and assures him that he will be fine. In an attempt to find an outlet for his rage, Travis begins a program of intense physical training. A fellow taxi driver refers him to a black market gun dealer, "Easy" Andy, from whom Travis buys four handguns. At home, Travis practices drawing his weapons, and modifies one to allow him to hide and quickly deploy it from his sleeve. He also begins attending Palantine's rallies to scope out their security. One night, Travis shoots and kills a man attempting to rob a convenience store run by a friend of his. On his trips around the city, Travis regularly encounters Iris, a child prostitute whom he fantasizes about saving.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Travis solicits her and tries to persuade her to stop prostituting herself. Soon after, Travis cuts his hair into a mohawk and attends a public rally where he plans to assassinate Palantine. However, he is chased away by Secret Service agents who see him unzipping his jacket and putting his hand inside. That evening, Travis drives to the brothel where Iris works, and shoots her pimp, Sport. He enters the building and engages in a shootout with Sport and one of Iris's clients, a mafioso. Travis is shot several times but manages to kill the two men. He then brawls with the bouncer, whom he manages to stab through the hand with his knife located in his shoe and finish off with a gunshot to the head.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Travis attempts to commit suicide, but is out of bullets. Bloody and injured, he slumps on a couch next to a sobbing Iris. As police respond to the scene, a delirious Travis imitates shooting himself in the head using his finger. Travis goes into a coma due to his injuries. He is heralded by the press as a heroic vigilante and is not prosecuted for the murders, also receiving a letter from Iris's father, thanking him. After recovering, Travis returns to work, where he encounters Betsy as a fare; they interact cordially, with Betsy saying she followed his story in the newspapers. Travis drops her at home, and declines to take her money, driving off with a smile. He suddenly becomes agitated after noticing something in his rear-view mirror.


title: Taxi Driver

text: According to director Martin Scorsese, it was Brian De Palma who introduced him to Paul Schrader. "Taxi Driver" arose from Scorsese feeling that movies are like dreams or drug-induced reveries; he attempted to inculcate within the viewer the feeling of being in a limbo state between sleeping and waking. The director also cites Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man" (1956) and Jack Hazan's "A Bigger Splash" (1973) as inspirations for his camerawork in the movie. In writing the script, Schrader was inspired by the diaries of Arthur Bremer (who shot presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972). He was also inspired by the Harry Chapin song Taxi, about an old girlfriend getting into a cab. For the ending of the story, when Bickle becomes a media hero, Schrader was inspired by Squeaky Fromme's attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford, which resulted in her being on the cover of "Newsweek".


title: Taxi Driver

text: Schrader also used himself as inspiration; in a 1981 interview with Tom Snyder on "The Tomorrow Show", he related his experience living in New York City while battling chronic insomnia, which led him to frequent pornographic bookstores and theaters because they remained open all night. Following a divorce and a breakup with a live-in girlfriend, he spent a few weeks living in his car. After visiting a hospital for a stomach ulcer, Schrader wrote the screenplay for "Taxi Driver" in "under a fortnight," he states "The first draft was maybe 60 pages, and I started the next draft immediately, and it took less than two weeks." Schrader recalls that "I realized I hadn't spoken to anyone in weeks [...] that was when the metaphor of the taxi occurred to me. That is what I was: this person in an iron box, a coffin, floating round the city, but seemingly alone." Schrader decided to make Bickle a Vietnam vet because the national trauma of the war seemed to blend perfectly with Bickle's paranoid psychosis, making his experiences after the war more intense and threatening.


title: Taxi Driver

text: In "Scorsese on Scorsese", Scorsese mentions the religious symbolism in the story, comparing Bickle to a saint who wants to cleanse or purge both his mind and his body of weakness. Bickle attempts to kill himself near the end of the movie as a tribute to the samurai's "death with honor" principle. Dustin Hoffman was offered the role of Travis Bickle but turned it down because he thought that Scorsese was "crazy".


title: Taxi Driver

text: While preparing for his role as Bickle, De Niro was filming Bernardo Bertolucci's "1900" in Italy. According to Boyle, he would "finish shooting on a Friday in Rome ... get on a plane ... [and] fly to New York." De Niro obtained a taxi driver's license, and when on break would pick up a taxi and drive around New York for a couple of weeks, before returning to Rome to resume filming "1900". De Niro apparently lost and listened repeatedly to a taped reading of the diaries of criminal Arthur Bremer. When he had time off from shooting "1900", De Niro visited an army base in Northern Italy and tape-recorded soldiers from the Midwestern United States, whose accents he thought might be appropriate for Travis's character.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Scorsese brought in the film title designer Dan Perri to design the title sequence for "Taxi Driver". Perri had been Scorsese's original choice to design the titles for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" in 1974, but Warner Bros would not allow him to hire an unknown designer. By the time "Taxi Driver" was going into production, Perri had established his reputation with his work on "The Exorcist", and Scorsese was now able to hire him. Perri created the opening titles for "Taxi Driver" using second unit footage which he color-treated through a process of film copying and slit-scan, resulting in a highly stylised graphic sequence that evoked the "underbelly" of New York City through lurid colors, glowing neon signs, distorted nocturnal images, and deep black levels. Perri went on to design opening titles for a number of major films after this including "Star Wars" (1977) and "Raging Bull" (1980).


title: Taxi Driver

text: On a low budget of $1.9 million, various actors took pay cuts to create the project. De Niro and Cybill Shepherd each received only $35,000 to make the film, and Scorsese was given $65,000. Overall, $200,000 of the budget was given to performers in the film.


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Taxi Driver" was shot during a New York City summer heat wave and sanitation strike in 1975. The film came into conflict with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for its violence. Scorsese de-saturated the color in the final shootout, and the film got an R rating. To achieve the atmospheric scenes in Bickle's taxi, the sound men would get in the trunk and Scorsese and his cinematographer, Michael Chapman, would ensconce themselves on the back seat floor and use available light to shoot. Chapman admitted the filming style was greatly influenced by New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard and his cinematographer Raoul Coutard due to the fact the crew did not have the time nor the money to do "traditional things." When Bickle decides to assassinate Senator Palantine, he cuts his hair into a mohawk. This detail was suggested by actor Victor Magnotta, a friend of Scorsese, who had a small role as a Secret Service agent and who had served in Vietnam. Scorsese later noted: "He told us that, in Saigon, if you saw a guy with his head shaved—like a little Mohawk—that usually meant that those people were ready to go into a certain Special Forces situation. You didn't even go near them. They were ready to kill."


title: Taxi Driver

text: Filming took place on New York City's West Side, at a time when the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. According to producer Michael Phillips, "the whole West Side was bombed out. There really were row after row of condemned buildings and that's what we used to build our sets [...] we didn't know we were documenting what looked like the dying gasp of New York." The tracking shot over the shootout scene, filmed in an actual apartment, took three months of preparation; the production team had to cut through the ceiling to shoot it.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The music by Bernard Herrmann was his final score before his death on December 24, 1975, and the film is dedicated to his memory. Scorsese, a long-time admirer of Herrmann, had particularly wanted him to compose the score; Herrmann was his "first and only choice". Scorsese considered Herrmann's score of great importance to the success of the film: "It supplied the psychological basis throughout." The album "The Silver Tongued Devil and I" from Kris Kristofferson was used in the film, following "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974) where Kristofferson played a supporting role.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Some critics showed concern over 12-year-old Foster's presence during the climactic shoot-out. Foster said that she was present during the setup and staging of the special effects used during the scene; the entire process was explained and demonstrated for her, step by step. Moreover, Foster said, she was fascinated and entertained by the behind-the-scenes preparation that went into the scene. In addition, before being given the part, Foster was subjected to psychological testing, attending sessions with a UCLA psychiatrist, to ensure that she would not be emotionally scarred by her role, in accordance with California Labor Board requirements monitoring children's welfare on film sets.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Additional concerns surrounding Foster's age focus on the role she played as Iris, a prostitute. Years later, she confessed how uncomfortable the treatment of her character was on set. Scorsese did not know how to approach different scenes with the actress. The director relied on Robert De Niro to deliver his directions to the young actress. Foster often expressed how De Niro, in that moment, became a mentor to her, stating that her acting career was highly influenced by the actor's advice during the filming of "Taxi Driver".


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Taxi Driver" formed part of the delusional fantasy of John Hinckley Jr. that triggered his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, an act for which he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Hinckley stated that his actions were an attempt to impress Foster, on whom Hinckley was fixated, by mimicking Travis's mohawked appearance at the Palantine rally. His attorney concluded his defense by playing the movie for the jury. When Scorsese heard about Hinckley's motivation behind his assassination attempt, he briefly thought about quitting film-making as the association brought a negative perception of the film.