FESTSPIELHAUS AUSTRIA
Once the riding school for the archbishops’ horses, it now hosts many of the big-name events of the Festspiele in its two opera houses, ( 84 90 97. Down Wiener-Philharmonikerg. from Universitatspl. Tours at 2pm. ‚5, under 13 ‚2.90.) Opposite the Festspielhaus, the Rupertinum Gallery exhibits modem painting, sculpture, and photography in a graceful building remodeled by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. (s80 42 23 36. Open mid-July to Sept. Su, Tu and Th-Sa 9am-5pm, VJ 10am- 9pm; Oct. to mid-July Su, Tu and Th-Sa 10am-5pm, IV 10am-9pm. ‚8, students ‚4.50.)
FESTSPIELHAUS AUSTRIA Photo Gallery
Inside are the remains of the bridge operating systems, with the wooden wheel, although badly worn, still intact and within arm’s reach, while behind the wheel is the doorway leading into Captain Baker’s cabin. The door has long since rotted off, leaving a black, cold and uninviting void. The bridge wings still have antiaircraft guns defiantly pointing towards the surface with empty shells lying scattered around the base, testifying to the brave and heroic fight the crew put up against the Heinkel bomber. Moving away back from the bridge to the engine room, skylights allow the diver to see right down the stairwell to the engine room and further back still, revealing the gaping hole where the funnel once stood, flanked on four sides by ventilation shafts that supplied air to the engines. Close by are the davits that had been left outboard, providing the means of escape for the ship’s crew. A little further back, the wreck is twisted and broken, with the decks changed from horizontal to vertical. Caution is required at this point, because a very large trawl net is suspended from the bottom of the deck and lies like a huge curtain, nearly parallel with the decks. The net is also suspended on floats and is a considerably danger to the diver in the very dim light and murky conditions. The ship’s main bell lies someway off the wreck, left there when a lifting bag to which it was tied broke loose and fell back to the seabed. Large cod, bib, pollack, ling and probably conger can be found all around the wreck, making it an excellent boat-angling venue.
