Spanish Riding School

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna preserves classical dressage and trains Lipizzaner horses. Performances take place in the Winter Riding School, a white hall built between 1729 and 1735 inside the Hofburg palace. The hall measures 55 by 18 metres and is 17 metres high, with a portrait of Emperor Charles VI above the royal box.

Don't miss

• The Winter Riding School hall, mainly white with beige and light grey, built 1729–1735
• Performances include the School Quadrille: 8 riders in formation lasting 20 minutes
• Airs Above the Ground: levade, capriole, and courbette performed without stirrups
• Riders in traditional uniform: brown tailcoats, bicorne hats, white buckskin breeches
• Fully trained stallions wear gold-plated breastplate and crupper called Goldzeug during performances

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Spanish Riding School

Cheapest way inVienna Walking Tour with Audioguide on Your Smartphone4.2★ · 61 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$12 per personSee dates →Most bookedBest of Vienna : Historic Center Walking Tour4.9★ · 1,918 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$89 per personSee dates →Private & flexibleVienna Private Family Tour: City Highlights, Museum and Cake5★ · 13 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$162 per personSee dates →

Getting there

Know before you go

• The 68 resident stallions are taken to summer stables in Heldenberg-Wetzdorf in July and August for seven weeks.
• Performances originally were only for court guests; regular public shows began after 1918.

A bit of history

The riding school was first named in 1565 during the Habsburg Monarchy, making it the oldest of its kind. A wooden arena was commissioned that year, but the current white riding hall was built in 1729–1735 under Emperor Charles VI. The school was named for the Spanish horses that helped form the Lipizzan breed. Today the horses come from the Piber Federal Stud in Styria. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918, the school opened regular performances to the public to help pay for upkeep. In October 2008, two women passed the entrance exam and were accepted to train as riders.