Autor: Michael Würzelberger

The architecturally attractive Meidling telephone exchange in the 12th district was built in 1913 by the „Bauleitung der k.k. Telefon-Zentrale“ before it went into operation in 1926 as a secondary exchange of the telephone network that had been built in Vienna since 1881.

The listed building with its arched window axes and vertically accentuated façade is exemplary of early 20th century industrial architecture in Vienna, the actual purpose of which is not apparent from the outside and which stands in stark contrast to the historicist tradition.

Initially, only 154 subscribers were switched manually in Friedrichstrasse, but by the 1920s the telephone network already had over 100,000 main lines – thanks in part to the automation of switching. By using underground long-distance cables and amplifiers, long-distance connections over 200 km (e.g. Vienna to Nuremberg) could be put into operation for the first time at this time.

Around 25 years after the formation of a prominent committee, the Lessing monument on Judenplatz in the 1st district was unveiled for the first time on June 15, 1935. The Viennese sculptor Siegfried Charoux was responsible for the bronze sculpture on a cubic stone plinth, also known for the Suttner monument at the courtyard of the same name and other monuments, often in municipal buildings.

Just four years later, the monument to the famous playwright and representative of the German Enlightenment, which probably also commemorates his main work „Nathan the Wise“, was dismantled by the Nazis and melted down for armaments. In May 1968, a new sculpture was unveiled by the artist, who had returned home from emigration in the meantime, before it was unveiled again at its current location in October 1981.

The reminder of the Ring Parable with its appeal to the idea of tolerance, directly opposite the entrance to the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Memorial, could not be more topical.

The Albertina Art Museum in the 1st district is one of the most important and extensive collections of graphic art in the world. Founded in 1776 by Duke Albert of Saxony-Teschen and his wife Archduchess Marie Christine, the collection was moved in 1792 to today’s Palais Erzherzog Albrecht, which was then also used as the family’s residence.

This was subsequently also the case for his adopted son Archduke Karl („Victor of Aspern“ against Napoleon), his son Archduke Albrecht (to whom the equestrian monument on the ramp was later dedicated) and his adopted son Archduke Karl Ferdinand, who lived in the palace until the end of the monarchy in 1918.

I would be happy to provide further information on the history of the palace and the collection during a guided tour of the state rooms, which were restored during a general renovation in 2003, and a visit to a current exhibition and the Batliner Collection, which has also been housed there since 2007.

Completed in 1901, the building of the former Portios & Fix company – important furniture manufacturers in Austria-Hungary – by Max Fabiani in Ungargasse in the 3rd district shows the full skill of this extraordinary architect of functionalist modernism. The attic with its semicircular, wrought-iron eaves lattice and the strikingly geometric, colorful tiling of the grid-like façade is considered an important early work by Fabiani, a student of Otto Wagner.

Among the best-known buildings of his extensive oeuvre are the „Urania“ public education center, the Artaria publishing house on Kohlmarkt and several private villas in Vienna and Slovenia.

The contemporary Alban Berg monument from 2016 in front of the Vienna State Opera is not just an ideal meeting point for visitors to Vienna. It commemorates both the composer of the Viennese atonal school, Alban Berg, and three fellow composers associated with his work: his teacher Arnold Schönberg, his friend Anton Webern and court opera director Gustav Mahler.

The exhibition designed by the renowned Arch. Wolf D. Prix of Coop Himmelb(l)au, the 5m high cast aluminum sculpture with 3 loops probably also reflects the expressive lines of the music, the 12-step pedestal refers to twelve-tone music.

Alban Berg is regarded as a major innovator of 20th century music, in particular his operas „Wozzeck“ and „Lulu“ are considered masterpieces and are regularly performed, as are orchestral pieces and the violin concerto.

There is hardly a tour through the backyards of Vienna without a visit to the Fähnrichhof in the Inner City, which can be entered through the no less famous Blutgasse. The foundation in the 13th century is legendarily connected with the Templars, who are said to have had their headquarters there.

The eventful history of the complex, which was partly built in Renaissance style, tells of its use as a branch of the Niklaskoster, as a hostel, beer house, artists‘ studios and residence of important historical personalities, e.g. the physician and humanist Johannes Cuspinian (with the well-known cenotaph in St. Stephen’s Cathedral). The name probably derives from its use as a meeting place of a citizens‘ company.

Today, the complex of houses is considered a prime example of restoration and preservation of the historical building structure. After considerable damage during WWII, the City of Vienna took over the restoration, which was completed in 1965. In addition to the Pawlatschen (balconies) so typical for Vienna, a more than 250-year-old plane tree decorates the interior.

The Palace Miller-Aichholz (since 1955 Europahaus Vienna) in the 14th district was built in the mid-18th century by Johann Bernhard Fischer vor Erlach for Baron von Grechler.

Later it was owned by the Esterházy family for about 100 years and due to its favorable location near the Vienna Woods it was a meeting place for private hunting parties, in which even Emperor Franz Josef I took part. From 1894, the Miller zu Aichholz family of industrialists and scholars used the property, which they then had to sell to the state in 1938 due to the world economic crisis.

The 2-story, elongated baroque building with garden-side state rooms with a rich collection of pictures is today, together with the extensive park including the largely original „Sonnenfanghaus“ (Orangerie), used for weddings, seminars and festivities of all kinds.

Magnificent view to the north and south from the rooftop of the Haus des Meeres in the 6th district.

The Don Bosco Church (parish church Neuerdberg) in the 3rd district planned by Robert Kramreiter, was opened after 4 years of construction in 1958 on the site of an elementary school destroyed in WWII and forms with its well-proportioned form with powerful west work a beautiful example of post-war modernism (Mid-century modern) in Vienna.

The (presumably) first exposed concrete wall in Austria, equipped with concrete dimension work by Rudolf Szyszkowitz and the central portal with enamel mosaic by Otto Beckmann form the prelude to the clearly arranged basilical section of the interior, richly equipped with glass windows. At the start we are greeted by a statue of the 1934 canonized Ital. Priest and founder of the order Giovanni Melchiore Bosco, who was committed to disadvantaged children and young people throughout his life.

Besides the light-diffusing wall with stained glass windows by Georg Meistermann, the Stations of the Cross designed by Hermann Bauch, the choir windows by Margret Bilger and the „Symbols of Love in the Form of a Cross“ by Kurt Absolon are particularly impressive.

The Antwerp Passion Altar from about 1460 in the museum of the Votivkirche is considered the most important surviving carving with original coloring from the second half of the 15th century and was owned by the sculptor Hans Gasser, among others, until it was purchased by Emperor Franz Josef I for the Ambras collection in 1858 and donated to the church about 20 years later.

The sculptures are Gothic carvings in front of landscaped reliefs. Despite the unique state of preservation, a comprehensive restoration and addition of four figures, which were apparently stolen, took place in the 1960s.

In addition to the effectively painted and decorated costumes, the canopies and the gilded rocks signaling the sun’s reflection also show an effort to authentically convey the extensive pictorial work with Passion depictions of the Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion, Deposition from the Cross and Lamentation of Christ.