Named after the Hauptallee, the Prater’s ‘main avenue’.
The avenue was cut through the Prater’s riverside forest in 1537/1538 under Ferdinand I, to open up the imperial hunting ground. Today it runs straight for 4.5 kilometres to the Lusthaus. From the 18th century the court and nobility paraded here in their carriages, above all on 1 May. The Prater itself is recorded as ‘Pratter’ in 1403.