This important re-discovery records the architectural state of Vienna in 1871 seen from the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Kärntnerstrasse in the south-west of the city.

Only six years earlier the Ringstrasse had been laid out over the old fortifications, surrounding the centre of the city, which were razed in 1857. When Alt painted this work, the city was in the process of erecting a series of important official buildings along the avenue. The Opera, the light building in the foreground, had just been completed in 1869 and, in the distance to the left, the excavations for the new Parliament were in progress.

In the 1860s and 1870s, Alt was frequently commissioned to paint views of Vienna, including yet unrealised building projects for architects to present to their patrons. Rarely, however, was such a commission to be a view of the whole city. One known version was painted for the architects, Karl Hasenauer and Gottfried Semper of 1869, (Österreichische Staatsbibliothek, Vienna), including their projects for the Kaiserforum, which was to connect the court buildings with the Hofmuseen by a series of triumphal arches. It is conceivable that our watercolour was produced for an architect, although the detailed execution and high finish do, however, rather suggest a private commission.