Vien­na devel­oped from ear­ly Celtic and Roman set­tle­ments into a Medieval and Baroque city, the cap­i­tal of the Aus­tro-Hun­­gar­i­an Empire. It played an essen­tial role as a lead­ing Euro­pean music cen­tre, from the great age of Vien­nese Clas­si­cism through the ear­ly part of the 20th cen­tu­ry. The his­toric cen­tre of Vien­na is rich in archi­tec­tur­al ensem­bles, includ­ing Baroque cas­tles and gar­dens, as well as the late-19th-cen­­tu­ry Ringstrasse lined with grand build­ings, mon­u­ments and parks.