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The Innere Stadt (Inner City), Vienna's first district, has been the very heart of the place since the Romans founded Vindobona here in 15 BC. It was here, too, that the Babenburg dukes built their powerbase in the twelfth century, and from 1533 the Habsburgs established the Hofburg , their imperial residence. In fact, the city occupied pretty much the same space until the zigzag fortifications, which had protected the city on two occasions against the Turks, were finally taken down in the mid-nineteenth century. The focus of the Innere Stadt is the magnificent cathedral, the Stephansdom , whose spire also acts as a useful landmark. Close by are the chief shopping streets of Karntnerstrasse , Graben and Kohlmarkt , which get progressively more exclusive the nearer you get to the Hofburg. There's a steady ebb and flow of folk along these streets at most times of the day, but the cathedral and the Kaisergruft , the last resting place of the Habsburgs, just off Karntnerstrasse, are the only sights that get heavily clogged up with tour groups. Head off into the rest of the Innere Stadt, with its baffling medieval lanes, hidden courtyards and Durchhauser (literally, "through-houses"), and you'll soon lose the crowds.
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