Vienna City Hall

The City Hall on Vienna’s Ringstrasse in the historicist neo-Gothic style was completed in 1883 after 11 years of construction according to the plans of Friedrich von Schmidt. The location is due to the initiative of the Viennese mayor Cajetan Felder, who rejected the originally planned building site opposite today’s Stadtpark and was finally able to convince Emperor Franz Josef I. to build on the former parade ground.

The monumental building, modeled on Flemish Gothic town halls, bears a multitude of reliefs, statues of historical figures, artists, representatives of civic professions, citizen soldiers and shield bearers with the coats of arms of the suburbs, both inside and out. The building is crowned by a 5.4 m high and 1.8 t heavy town hall man in the form of a standard bearer, which is placed on the 98 m high main tower.

The building, which was severely damaged during WWII, was then renovated until the 1970s, the last general renovation taking place in 2012-2014. In addition to the mayor, the municipal council, the city senate, the provincial government and various municipal departments, including the director of the magistrate’s office, also reside in the building.