Vienna, MO

Vienna is Maries County's seat in central Missouri, where U.S. 63 meets Missouri Route 42. The 2020 census counted 581 residents. The city sits between the Gasconade River about two miles east and the Maries River about two miles west, with the courthouse and town streets on the ground between them. Vienna's place in the county is practical: county offices, the library, schools, and the two highway routes all meet in a small central-Missouri grid.

Vienna became the county seat in 1855. The name is usually linked to Vienna, Austria, although a local story says the town honored Vie Anna, a judge's daughter. Maries County R-I operates an elementary school and Vienna High School, and the Vienna branch of the Heartland Regional Library System gives residents a civic stop beyond the courthouse. The Gasconade and Maries watersheds pull in different directions around town, while U.S. 63 keeps Vienna tied to the wider county. It feels like a county seat in the most literal sense: a small place carrying the records, schools, and everyday business of a larger rural area.