7 Photos of Vienna's empty city center

You know that I'm a huge fan of abandoned places. During the Covid-19 Lockdown, I didn't have to walk that far to photograph abandoned places. Each week, I took an evening walk through the city center of Vienna, and, of course, I did that alone. I chose to go for a walk in the evening hours to avoid other people and to take some night photos of abandoned Vienna.

So, carrying just a bottle of water in my packable backpack, the iPhone in the Moment Photo Case with the Fisheye Lens mounted I went for several two hour walks in the city center of empty Vienna.

During my walks, I only took snapshots of the empty city using my iPhone 11 Pro and night mode camera.

Here they are: 7 photos of empty Vienna taken during lonely evening walks during the lockdown.

Michaelerplatz

This place is usually crowded with tourists, no matter when you go there. I took the photo below on a Sunday evening before the lockdown began. To be able to fit the entire building into the frame, I used the Moment Fisheye Lens and used the perspective correction feature of Adobe Lightroom.

It was truly spooky. I've never seen Vienna so empty. You could even hear the wind blowing through the empty streets.

Empt Michaela’s Square in Vienna

City Square and Townhall

Another square and place that's usually crowded is the city square right in front of the Vienna town hall. The benches are typically full of people, or you'd spot dozens of people that go for a walk through this park. Not so during the lockdown. I met only one other photographer who also seemed to like abandoned places.

Empty City Square in Vienna

Resselpark and Charles Church

During the 20 years since I moved to Vienna, I've never experienced this park to be empty. The church in the distance is the famous Charles Church, and usually, you'd always see a few people strolling through the park.

Empty Ressel Park with Charles Church in Vienna

Artsy Metro Station

I've always wanted to take a photo of this metro station while it's empty. Now, this was almost the perfect time to do so. Only one person was sitting on a bench and waiting for the train.

Almost empty Metro Stop in Vienna

Empty Metro Station

Another often photographed metro station in Vienna. I walked through some of these empty stations that are usually full of life. Eerie!

Empty Metro Station in Vienna

Vienna State Opera

Right in front of the State Opera, you'd always find hundreds of tourists and dozens of busses. Right in front is one of the busiest streets in Vienna, the ring-road. Standing there and taking a photo without any car passing by felt somehow like a scene from "The Walking Dead."

It’s usually busy in front of the State Opera

Musikverein

Musikverein is a well-known concert hall in Vienna. Allegedly, the concert hall is perceived as one of the most beautiful concert halls with one of the world's best acoustics.

Musikverein Vienna

Night Mode Camera

As I've mentioned, I took all of the above night photos using the iPhone 11 night mode camera, and again, I was quite positively surprised by the results. I didn't use a tripod for any of these night photos, and it didn't need it. I watched the estimated exposure time closely, and it always was just one second.

Head over to my complete guide of the iPhone night mode camera to learn more or see other ways how to take night photos with iPhone.