the spanish riding school

of vienna

The Spanish school was founded in Vienna (Austria) in 1572 at the time of the Austrian Empire before the creation of the French Riding Hall of Antoine Pluvinel. It is the oldest of its kind still existing in the world.

It seems that a wooden carousel has already been envisaged in 1565 but it was not until 1729 that Charles VI asked the architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to built the present building. Previously, the school used a wooden arena located in Josefsplatz for working horses.

The Spanish Riding School uses only stallions from the Federal Stud Piber. All are light gray (actually pure white) except for a stallion that, by tradition, is entirely black.

Traditionnaly, the riders have always been men, although no rule has prohibited women from participating. In 2008, two women, one British and one Austrian 18 years to 21 years, passed the entrance examination and were able to access the school by becoming the first riders admitted 436 years after its creation.

Some pictures of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna