Frederick never liked Vienna, residing for preference in Wiener Neustadt, and later in Linz; Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, however, after taking Vienna, made it his residence. Maximilian I. showed an equal lack of interest in Vienna; and Ferdinand I., on arriving in Austria, found Vienna entirely old-fashioned. An other great fire raged in 1525, and in 1529 the city had to stand a siege from the Turkish troops. The suburbs were de serted, and more and more inhabitants crowded into the old town. Rudolph II. resided in Prague ; but Ferdinand II. returned to Vienna, which remained the residence of the Habsburgs.
The spiritual forces of the Counter-Reformation were what gave Vienna its most characteristic aspect. The period of early baroque saw the foundation of a number of churches—the Franciscans, the Jesuits, the Capucines and many more, including a number out side the city walls, such as the Barmherziger Briider, the Paulaner, Schwarzspanier and the Barnabiten; with a smaller output of other buildings such as the Archbishop's palace. The second siege of Vienna by the Turks (1683) was the indirect cause of the appearance of the characteristic Viennese cafés, almost simul taneously with another no less characteristically Viennese product of the Orient—the lilac, first planted in Vienna, to spread thence over Western Europe. The disappearance of the Turkish danger ushered in a time of rapid expansion; the Hofburg was rebuilt, its library and stables constructed, together with a number of buildings in sumptuous baroque style : the Karlskirche, the Peters kirche, the Reichskanzlei, Hofreitschule and Biirgerliches Zeug haus, the Pestsaule in the Graben, the Josefssaule in the Hoher Markt, the Lichtenstein, Starhemberg, Schwarzenberg, Kinsky, Esterhazy and Prince Eugen palaces. The Belvedere palace was
built 1717-24; Schonbrunn was begun about 1695, but not finished till half a century later. The architecture of the later 18th century is by comparison sober and practical.
The reign of Francis I. created the typical Viennese of tradition; frivolous, non-political, discontented, easy-going ; "Alt-Wien" with its waltzes, its Prater and its political spies. The revolution of 1848 showed that even the Viennese were not patient for ever. Its main driving forces in Vienna were the students and the work men of the suburbs, in which a dense industrial population had be gun to grow up with the development of machinery. Again Vienna suffered a siege; this time from the troops of its own emperor, by whom it was quickly reduced. The modern period under Francis Joseph saw another transformation. The old ramparts and glacis were levelled, the great Ringstrasse built in their place. Round it a number of great buildings were erected in various styles; the Opera, the new Rathaus, the Parliament, the Burg theater, the new university and the Votivkirche. In the latter half of the 19th century the population of Vienna grew with great rapidity. The inner ring of suburbs was entirely incor porated with the city, which stretched out beyond the "Vorortlinie" to the outer ring, swallowing up many of the vineyards on which much of Vienna's old fame had rested. The municipality again became a powerful political force, and once again came into conflict with the emperor, who had twice refused to confirm the appointment of Karl Lueger as Burgomaster of Vienna.
After the World War and revolution of 1918, which caused untold suffering in Vienna, partially relieved by the general effort of many foreign charitable organizations, the power passed to the Social Democratic party. Vienna became capital of the new Austrian republic, receiving the status of a province in 1921. The Social Democratic municipality embarked on a far-reaching and ambitious programme of social reform, which included a serious attempt to grapple with the very acute housing problem.