Stadt und Land (City and Country) was written at the end of 1867 after the composer's return from a guest performance in London. At that time he also acquired a villa (now known as the Fledermaus villa because a few years later, he composed the operetta of the same name there) in Hietzing, which was still rural at the time. The polka musically describes the contrast between city and country life at that time. The first performance took place on January 19, 1868 as part of a promenade concert in the flower rooms of the Vienna Horticultural Society. The work, in the Austrian-Viennese style, was well received by the audience. In 1899 Adolf Mueller used parts of this work in the operetta Wiener Blut.