Otto Wagner Wiener Stadtbahn, Vienna's Metropolitan Railway

Home , Hietzing (Vienna U-Bahn), Karlsplatz, Otto Wagner, Wienzeile, Wien (river)

ARST 457.02 History of Architecture and Human Settlements II -The Rise of Modernity, 1750 to the Present Professor: Graham David Livesey

Otto Wagner Wiener Stadtbahn, Vienna’s Metropolitan Railway System

Winter 2015 April 7th, 2015 Danais Ponce ID: 10079896

1 The stations for the elevated and underground "Wiener Stadtbahn”, also known as the Vienna Metropolitan City Railway, are one of Vienna’s better-known examples of early Art Nouveau architecture. Designed by Otto Wagner (1841-1918), the stations acquired architectural relevance as they broke with tradition by insisting on function, material, and structure as the bases of architectural design.1

Vienna’s city railway line exemplifies Wagner’s ability to lend artistic refinement to the work of the engineer, while achieving a unity of form and function that was well ahead of his time.2 It is in fact this ability that separated Wagner from contemporaries such as the unimaginative architectural dilettantes of the International Association for Public Building in Paris.3 Thus, by allowing Wagner to built the Stadtbahn the Viennese municipal council permitted the formation of the strongest influences on European architecture even well before war, creating work that led directly to the architecture of the present day and saving the city from the tasteless design drawn up by the English engineers.4

For that reason these stations are considered one of Otto Wagner’s masterpieces and one of his most famous works. Ultimately, his designs for the Wien Stadtbahn stations led him to be recognized as the pioneering Viennese architect and representative of the European Art Nouveau era.5 However, in order to clearly understand the relevance of Wagner’s railway stations and his contribution to architecture, it is necessary to get acquainted with the historical context of the city of Vienna.

The "Gründerzeit" period of the late nineteenth century in Austria, under the reign of emperor Franz Joseph I (1848–1916), was a time of intensive industrialization, investment, speculation and growth.6 Between the years 1850 and 1920 the metropolis of Vienna, one of the numerous centers within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy; became the hub of a vast, multi-racial empire, attracting thousands of citizens from far-flung provinces and countries.7 Thus, the population of the capital increased more than four-fold during the reign of the Emperor, from less than half a million in the 1850s to over two million inhabitants by 1910.8 As a result, Vienna became one of the largest cities in the world, the third most densely populated region in Europe and the economic and administrative center of a multi-ethnic nation.9

1 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Otto Wagner | Biography - Austrian Architect." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed March 23, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/633917/Otto-Wagner. 2 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1984, 176 3 Geretsegger, Heinz, and Max Peintner. Otto Wagner, 1841-1918; the Expanding City, the Beginning of Modern Architecture, New York: Praeger, 1970, p.50 4 Ibid, 50, Wien, Kaiser and Platzer. Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag, 2007, 39 5 "Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn Pavilions." – Vienna now or never. Accessed March 20, 2015, http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/art-nouveau/wagners-stadtbahn-pavilions. 6 Vergo, Peter. Art in Vienna 1898-1918: Klimt, Kokoschka, Schiele and Their Contemporaries. London: Phaidon, 1975, 9 7 Ibid, 9; Wien, et al., Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries, 39 8 Ibid, 9 9 Wien, et al., Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries, 39

2 However, the expansion of the city led to the development of a critical transportation problem within Vienna. Transportation issues were accelerated mainly due to the large influx of people flocking to the imperial capital from all corners of the Habsburg Empire, which lead to the second phase of urban expansion.10 The expansion, realized in 1890, expanded the city by demolishing the old city walls that separated Vienna from its vororte or suburbs.11

In order to solve traffic issues, the city aimed to create major traffic lines that would match roads and means of mass transportation with the seemingly ever-increasing population of Vienna and be used simultaneously to transport military freight. To achieve these goals, the city proposed the construction of a metropolitan rail network as a special commission in the year 1898-89. 12 Thus, a competition for metropolitan railway system was announced in 1890 by the municipal authorities following the incorporation of the outer districts.13

In 1893 Wagner’s entry won the competition for the general regulation of the city, for which he was appointed the general planner of the Vienna Stadtbahn and adviser to the Transport Commission.14 As the winner, Wagner was commissioned to undertake the overall architectural planning of Vienna’s first public transport system, which provided a plan for six lines in all - two more than were actually built.15 The Stadtbahn plan had four individual lines: the Gürtellinie, the wiental-Donaukanallinie, the Wientallinie and the Vorortelinie or Line to the second district or suburbs.16 Most of these lines were on the “inner network”, therefore one of the two additional lines was supposed to run close to the Ringstrasse, while the other was projected to run along the outer belt.17

When the construction of the Stadtbahn started in 1893, the general layout comprising the Outer Suburban, Gürtel, Wien Valley and the Danube Canal lines, had already been determined.18 The Stadtbahn lines were laid out to connect the main railroad terminals in the city and to improve Vienna's position as the capital of the empire.19 Yet, as the adviser to the Transport Commission and general planner, Otto Wagner was called in to advise on the aesthetic aspects of the scheme.20

10 Ibid, 40 11 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920, p.50; City of Vienna. "Municipal Housing in Vienna. History, Facts & Figures." Accessed March 20, 2015. https://www.wienerwohnen.at/.../1.0Wiener-Gemeindebau-engl.pdf 12 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 9; Geretsegger, et al., Otto Wagner, 1841-1918; the Expanding City, 48 13 Wien, et al., Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries, 46; Ylimaula, Anna. Origins of Style: Phenomenological Approach to the Essence of Style in the Architecture of Antoni Gaudi, C. R. Mackintosh and Otto Wagner. Oulu: Univ. of Oulu, 1992, p.131 14 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 95-96 15 Geretsegger, Heinz, and Max Peintner. Otto Wagner, 1841-1918, p.50 "Stadtbahn Pavillons." Lonely Planet. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/vienna/sights/landmarks-monuments/stadtbahn- pavillons#ixzz3VEDx17k6. 16 Geretseggeret al., Otto Wagner, 1841-1918, 47 17 Ibid, 47, 50; Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 131 18 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 172 19 "Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn Pavilions." – Vienna now or never 20 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920, 172

3 So as to manage the large-scale project and speed up work on the city railway, Wagner set up a large drawing office in which he installed some seventy collaborators, bringing together a group of talented architects such as Olbrich, Hoffmann, Max Fabiani and Leopold Bauer.21 As a result, Wagner and his team designed not only the 40km steam powered Stadtbahn network but also the station buildings, bridges, viaducts, embankments, arches, columns and tunnel entrances along the track.22

Overall the Stadtbahn was planned to accommodate more than thirty stations, some of them quite extensive with platforms, staircases, signal boxes and booking offices.23 These stations can be classified in two types: the stations for the lines running in cuttings below ground level and the elevated stations.24 In this manner, the architect approach was unique in that he was able to provide each line with its own individual character and integrated them with the body of the city, heightening the perception of the city’s hilly topography.25

The Stadtbahn stations bring to life several characteristics and qualities of Wagner’s distinctive and revolutionary style. First, the Stadtbahn stations designs exemplify Wagner’s demands for truth and honesty to materials as the base of innovation in architectural design.26 For instance, the use of new materials such as concrete, glass, marble, aluminum and ebonite by Otto Wagner were considered “pure new words” as no architect would have thought of suchlike at the time when the Landerbank was being built.27 Thus, even though Otto Wagner did not invent these materials, he “discovered them” and gave them their up-to-date significance by revealing their practical and aesthetical application for architecture.28

Therefore, the use of new building materials and proportions in the Stadtbahn stations designs gave rise to new methods of construction, encouraged new decorative and monumental means of expression and reduced the demands of the day to one radical formula: glass and iron.29 Yet, Wagner was convinced that forms must correspond not only to new materials but also to contemporary needs if they are to be found suitable for mankind today.30

The latter statement manifest of a second important characteristic present on Wagner’s style: his conviction that the sole departure point for art and architecture should be within the context of modern life.31 To Wagner the architect was supposed to be a modern man that takes into account the colossal, technical and scientific advances of our age, as well as the practical requirements of the present in order to produce structures fit for modern humanity.32 Thus the architect task was

21 Ibid, p.172 22 Ibid, 172; Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 98 23 Ibid, 98 24 Wien, et al., Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries, 46 25 Ibid, 46; Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 173 26 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 91 27 Ibid, 104 28 Ibid, 104-105 29 Ibid, 100, 104,105 30 Ibid, 93 31 Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 127 32 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 93; Schezen, Roberto, and Peter Haiko. Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1992, p.148

4 to bring together both idealism and realism and produce pieces that embody our own development, our democracy and our self-confidence. 33

Wagner’s design for the Stadtbahn stations reflect his unique way of combining the logic of the engineered structures and modern advances to address the physical constraints of the big city while meeting the practical requirements of the present. Thus the stations embody Wagner representation of his own time, his own epoch, its means and possibilities.34

Curiously, despite Otto Wagner insistence in that architecture should represent their own age, he did not denied the importance of history.35 This characteristic of Wagner is also present on the design of the Stadtbahn stations, which confirm his style remained bound to many traditional notions and was never in total opposition against the Historicism style of the late 19th century of Vienna.36 For instance many of the Stadtbahn station demonstrate his attachment to the classical and traditional formal repertoire through the great value placed on strict symmetry and the incorporation of traditional elements such as pavilions, domes, and porticos.37

Yet, Wagner went further than a classicist in his approach, including an independent interpretation of this tradition, combining tradition with something unexpected, some ideas of his own.38 Thus, he viewed the architecture of the past as a model or a given foundation to be built upon a varied in order to arrive at a new, contemporary, modern style and meet the “requirements of the present”.39 Thus as a modern architect Wagner was not a slave to history, directing his architecture towards the future, yet simultaneously striving to meet the requirements of the world in which he lived.40

A fourth unique architectural quality of Otto Wagner style that also manifested itself in the Stadtbahn stations was that despite the previous practical considerations, he never neglected beauty. Therefore, despite being revolutionary by employing new materials, incorporation of history and using modern advances to solve physical constraints, Wagner was able to produce buildings for the for the Wien Stadtbahn that were beautiful, innovative and functional. Therefore he was able to prove his idea that the practical can also be beautiful by creating a transport system that enhanced the appearance of the city, was artistically pleasing and had stations that acted as new focal points for the community.41

33 Ibid, 93; Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 127 34 Ibid, 127 35 Ibid, 127, 128 36 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 173 37 Christian Branstatter, Editor. Bisanz, Bisanz-Prakken, Brandstatter, Faber, Gorsen, Gregori, Koeck, Kurdiovsky, Metzger and Springer: Vienna 1990 Art, life and culture, The Vendome Press, 2005, p.250 38 Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 138 39 Bisanz, Bisanz-Prakken, Brandstatter, Faber, Gorsen, Gregori, Koeck, Kurdiovsky, Metzger and Springer: Vienna 1990 Art, life and culture, The Vendome Press, 2005, p.246, 247, 250 40 Ibid, 255 41 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 132, 172; Schezen, et al., Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 148

5 Yet, the most prominent and relevant quality within Wagner’s designs present in the Wien Stadtbahn stations was his association with the Viennese Jugendstil or Art Nouveau. This movement had a short peak between 1895 and 1905, where Wagner’s role remained as one of a protagonist of transition from nineteenth century historicism to twentieth century functionalism.42 Yet, characteristics of the Art Nouveau movement such as symmetry, curving line and organic conceptual motives can be found on several of Wagner’s designs.43 The influence of the movement is seen at various extends within the Vienna railway stations, with stations such as Nussdorfer Strasse (Figure 1), Währinger Strasse (Figure 2), Alser Strasse (Figure 3) and Gumpendorfer Strasse (Figure 4) portraying a classical style with geometric ornamentation. In contrast, stations such as Stadtpark (Figure 5), Kettenbrückengasse (Figure 6) and Josefstädter Strasse (Figure 7) demonstrate Riegl’s influence on Wagner, through an architecture of double perspective combining the mathematical or classical and the organic.44

Still, the Hofpavilion Hietzin and the Karlsplatz station are considered the most famous buildings along the Wien Stadtbahn as they testify to Wagner’s espousal of the West European Art Nouveau style and act as external signs for the changing spirit of the age Because of the latter, these two stations will be used to demonstrate the characteristics described above and how the stations broke the historicist tradition and become revolutionary and relevant architectural designs.

Located on the Wein Valley Line, Hofpavilion Hietzin also known as the Court Pavilion was built between 1897 and 1899 (Figure 8). This station is usually accounted as the most unusual of all the city railway buildings, yet it is one of the most famous sections of the former Stadtbahn.45 The station was meant to be the private Stadtbahn stop for the Emperor, his family, the members of the court and “crowned head” visiting Vienna as a convenient spot for entering and exiting the Vienna Stadtbahn network.46 Wagner first raised the idea in 1896 In the course of planning the individual stations for the Wiental (Vienna valley) stretch of the Vienna Stadtbahn.47

42 Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 39; Oechslin, Werner, and Lynnette Widder. Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and the Road to Modern Architecture. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002, 18 43 Ibid, 39 44 Ibid, 126 45 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920, p.173; Schezen et al., Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 110 46 Ibid, 173; Ibid, 110 47 Ibid, p.110; "Otto Wagner Hofpavillon Hietzing- Wienmuseum.at." Wienmuseum.at. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/otto-wagner-hofpavillon-hietzing.html.

Figure 8. Hofpavilion Hietzin also known as the Court Pavilion

He envisioned this station as a building with a special “waiting room for the Most High Court” close to the Hietzing station, in the immediate vicinity of the summer palace at Schönbrunnon.48 Thereore, Wagner designed the station in unique modern style and with opulent art nouveau decoration, bringing the architecture of the Court Pavilion into “harmony with the Schönbrunnon pleasure palace”.49

To achieve such harmony, the functional character of the city railway so rigorously accentuated elsewhere; was masked by Imperial trappings but still present in the interior.50 The station portrays a baroque tenor, which stands in contrast to the more distinctly classical architecture of many of his other Stadtbahn stations.51 Still, Wagner’s attachment to traditional notions and embrace of the modern were manifested in the central structure, which was given a Baroque dome while the portechere of glass and iron was richly ornamented. Inside however, the new Secession style predominates, especially in the furnishings52

Wagner also made room in his plans for an artwork, yet the piece would be designed to serve a purpose. Thus he added a piece of art that would shorten the seconds spent waiting by ”allowing the emperor to visually survey the entire expanse of the new Stadtbahn facilities in the bird’s eye view of Vienna painted by Carl Moll” (Figure 9). The carpet too, bore just not any pattern, but was “actually decorated with the paths the emperor [could] take upon exiting through any of the various doors of the room”.53 These simple details demonstrate how Wagner took into account the building’s function and materials at the Court Pavilion.

48 Ibid, 110 49 Ibid, 110; "Otto Wagner Pavillon Karlsplatz." Wienmuseum.at. 50 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 176; Schezen, et al., Vienna 1850-1930: Architectur, 110 51 Ibid, 110 52 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920. New York, 176 53 Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920, 176; Schezen, et al., Vienna 1850-1930: Architectur, p.110

Figure 9. Court Pavilion artwork for the emperor

Still, “the heart of the building is the imperial waiting salon. It has an octagonal floor plan and is crowned by a chased copper cupola. It is remarkable how the latter produces a pleasant link with the baroque buildings of Schönbrunnon Palace without copying a single baroque form.54 (Despite the elegant and functional architecture achieved by Wagner in the Hofpavilion Hietzing, sources show that the emperor used the Court Pavilion exactly twice, both times for the dedication ceremonies for a section of the Vienna Stadtbahn.55

However, the lack of use of the pavilion by Franz Joseph was of secondary importance to Otto Wagner as his main concern was that the imperial splendour the “supreme court" casted over the little building would bring a breakthrough for modern architecture.56 Today the Court Pavilion at Hietzing station been reopened to visitors after extensive renovation and restoration works and is considered a potent embodiment of Otto Wagner’s artistic vision, which was to inspire the development of 20th-century architecture.57 Yet, this is not the only relevant station along the Wiener Stadtbahn. Otto Wagner’s Pavillion Karlsplatz is another jewel of art nouveau that demonstrates his combination of technical and constructional functionality with high aesthetic criteria and his own progress as an architect from neo-classicist towards modernism.58

Peeking above the Resselpark, are two of Otto Wagner’s finest and most revolutionary designs, the Stadtbahn Pavilions at the famous Karlsplatz station. Otto Wagner planned this station with two entrance buildings of identical design facing each other on opposite sides of the street, yet each serving a separate platform.59 The pavilions were erected in 1898 in the course of Stadtbahn construction at each end of Academy Street, located in one of Vienna’s most important squares.60

54 Ibid, 110 55 Ibid, 110 56 "Otto Wagner Hofpavillon Hietzing - Wienmuseum.at 57 Ibid 58 Ibid, Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 138 59 Geretsegger et al., Otto Wagner, 1841-1918, 478 60 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 173

8 Consequently, the pavilions location provided easy access for the railway and marked the intersection of the axis of Karlskirche and Akademiestrasse, the street leading to the Ringstrasse.61

Unlike the other stations traditionally built of stone and mortar, the two pavilions made use of new materials and techniques with prefabricated metal elements and a steel skeleton.62 Moreover the iron structures in the entrance halls and ticket stations of the low-level stations were left unfaced, as well as the I-beams were used as window lintels.63 In addition, the Karlsplatz pavilions had special cavity walls.64 The outer sheets were covered with plates of fine white Carrara marble while the inner walls were faced with stucco, both of which were supported by unfaced iron frameworks while the structural scaffolding remained visible.65 Then the pavilions received an extraordinary copper roof with a characteristic green patina. Yet, the exposure of structural detail and the new method of wall cladding were to remain essential features of the modern style.66

Furthermore, the design of the Karlsplatz pavilion demonstrates the influence of the Jugendstil through the stylized letters and wrought iron handrails, lights, windows and door screens underlined by green, the signal color of the Stadtbahn. Ludwig Hevesi, the hagiographer of incipient Viennese modernism, described the Karlsplatz by Otto Wagner as a “masterpieces in their own way” with “Delicate, light forms of polished, white marble, iron and Secession-green décor”.67

Figure 10. Karlsplatz: ("Charles's Square") - Station opened in 1899, completely rebuilt and reopened in 1978. Square named after the Karlskirche, a Baroque church commissioned by Emperor Charles IV to thank God for the end of the plague in 1713.

61 Schezen, Haiko. Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 118 62 Duncan JD Smith. Only in Vienna. "The Vienna Stadtbahn." Wien-vienna.at. Accessed March 21, 2015. http://www.wien-vienna.at/blickpunkte.php?ID=537. 63 Geretsegger, et al., Otto Wagner, 1841-1918; the Expanding City, 50 64 Ylimaula, Origins of Style 65 Schezen, et al., Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 118; Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 173; Geretsegger, et al., Otto Wagner, 1841-1918; the Expanding City, 50 66 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 176 67 Schezen, Haiko. Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 118

9 Stylistically, the Karlsplatz pavilions are prime examples of Viennese Jugendstil or Art Nouveau in its most elegant expression. Yet, the Jugendstil period in Otto Wagner’s life at the turn of the century was short and transitional, influenced mostly by his pupils.68 Such influence can be observed on the Karlsplatz station building due to the presence of gilded ornaments made of gold and set into marble with floral motifs such as sunflowers rosettes and wreaths and golden plants frieze around the roof.69 Yet curvy floral lines never became part of Wagner’s layout, confined to facades and decorative detailing.70 Thus the presence of such ornaments revealed two facts. First, the short floral ornamentation period Wagner went through supported the Secessionist ideas of the turn of the century71 Second, the curvy floral ornamentation indicates J. M. Olbrich, the founder of the Secession movement and one of Wagner’s pupil, was involved with the details, design and outward appearance of Wagner’s buildings.72

Overall, the unparalleled simple and practical design and details found on the Karlsplatz pavilions buildings already points to Wagner’s internationally admired style further developed in the buildings erected after 1900. Still, at this time his style was defined as refined and cool gentleman architecture, which did not hesitated to use fancy details, expensive materials nor the use of perspective effects.73

In the late 1960’s the planning for the underground rail junction of Karlsplatz threatened the pavilion with demolition. Protests followed and the station building was dismantled and re-erected in 1977, but elevated 1.5 m above its old level on the square.74 A few years ago the old entrance pavilions to the former Karlsplatz Stadtbahn station were carefully restored.75 Today, however, the two pavilions have lost their original function. The west pavilion, where the trains once left for Hütteldorf, is open during the summer season for an Otto Wagner documentation of the Vienna Museum, paying homage by holding an exhibit on his most famous works.76 On the other hand, the eastern pavilion, next to Musikverein, is a café.

Both the Karlsplatz pavilions and Court Pavilion have been described as “the highpoint of Otto Wagner’s dialectic (in his planning of the Statbahn) between function and poetry, construction and decoration, whereby a severe rationalism engages in competition with an almost Secessionist kind of decoration”.77 Yet, at the time these were also seen as the most controversial works of Wagner’s Stadtbahn, not so much by the appearance of the buildings themselves but mainly due to the artistic affiliation they demonstrated. Thus the Stadtbahn station designs indicated that yet another established artist was willing to ally himself with the Secessionists, who were evidently bent upon turning the development of Viennese art upside down.78

68 Ibid, 118 69 Duncan JD Smith. Only in Vienna."The Vienna Stadtbahn." Wien-vienna.at. Accessed March 21, 2015 70 Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 132 71 Ibid, 138 72 Schezen, Haiko. Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture, 118 73 Ylimaula, Origins of Style, 138 74 "Otto Wagner Pavillon Karlsplatz." Wienmuseum.at. Accessed March 19, 2015. http://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/otto-wagner-pavillon-karlsplatz.html. 75 "Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn Pavilions." – Vienna now or never. Accessed March 20, 2015 76 Ibid, "Stadtbahn Pavillons." Lonely Planet. Accessed March 22, 2015. 77 Wien, et al., Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries, 47 78 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 100

The alliance or embracement of Wagner of the Art Nouveau became significant due to the economic, political and cultural circumstances peculiar to Vienna at this time. Viennese art and architecture had been influenced by the Baroque and Classicist styles encompassed by historicism since the 18th century, and were linked to the belief that the use of time-honored historical styles was necessary in making a "correct" architecture.79 The practice of historicism was reinforced by Franz Joseph long reign, which created an illusion of continuity and permanence.80 Emperor Francis Joseph had a total lack of sympathy with reform, which went hand in hand with a profound mistrust in innovation. He was raised as a sovereign who would sustain the empire in accordance with “the principle”, in other words the conservative tradition.81 Therefore, in his reign everything had its norm and everything was fixed, immovable following the ideas of stability and preservation of the existing order.82

Therefore by using public governmental buildings to initiate a transition from classical and historicism style towards the Art Nouveau and the contemporary, Wagner was creating a strong contradiction to the Viennese way of life and going against the principles held by the Austrian empire and the emperor himself. His alliance and way of thinking in addition to the narrow mindedness and conservatism of critics, public, and the press due to their admiration, respect and loyalty towards the emperor caused many of his outstanding building projects to remain as grandiose, unrealized dreams.83 However, it was Wagner’s blazing audacity that promoted the courage to believe once again in Austria’s artistic future, creating an atmosphere in which the Secession, the Klimt group, applied art and Adolf Loos became possible.84

Overall, it can be said Otto Wagner’s designs for Vienna Stadtbahn were revolutionary, exemplifying his ability to lend artistic refinement to the work of the engineer, and to achieve a unity of form and function that was well ahead of his time.85 Wagner used Wien train stations to introduce a new, forward looking tendency into Viennese architecture, which included not only the formal principles of the early nineteenth century, but also to contemporary trends in Western European Art Nouveau style.86 This new tendency supported the survival of classical elements juxtaposed with sophisticated technological innovations and new materials, while meeting the requirements of the present and the modern man.87 Thus Otto Wagner’s Vienna’s Stadtbahn was able to successfully establish a relationship between need, purpose and construction, combining contemporary city life with the structures of a historically grown urban conglomeration, technology, beauty and Art Nouveau to create famous landmarks that are still in active use in the current U4, U6 subway lines U4, U6.

79 "Historicism and Eclecticism in Vienna." Historicism and Eclecticism in Vienna. Accessed March 29, 2015. http://projects.ecfs.org/bome/cities/hband2004/vienna/SKendall/HistoricismEclecticism.html 80 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 10 81 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 49 82 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 10 83 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 17 84 Ibid, 91 85 Ibid, 16,17,99,100; Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 176 86 Waissenberger, Vienna, 1890-1920, 173, 180 87 Vergo, Art in Vienna 1898-1918, 99; Schezen, et al., Vienna 1850-1930, 148

11 Appendix

Figure 1. Nussdorfer Strasse: ("the road to Nussdorf") - Station opened in 1898. Architect: O. Wagner. Nussdorf is a former village in what is now Vienna's 19th district.

Figure 2. Währinger Strasse - Volksoper: ("Währing High Street & People's Opera") - Station opened in 1898. Architect: O. Wagner. Währing is Vienna's 18th district. The People's Opera is a popular opera and operetta venue.

Figure 3. Alser Strasse: Station opened in 1898. Architect: O. Wagner. The street forms the border between Vienna's 8th and 9th districts and is named after the small river Als, which used to flow here long ago.

Figure 4. Gumpendorfer Strasse: ("Gumpendorf High Street") - Station opened in 1898. Architect: O. Wagner. Street named after the former village Gumpendorf ("village on the pond"), now a part of Vienna's 6th district.

Figure 5. Stadtpark: ("City Park") - Station opened in 1899. This station is the only one on the line that is still preserved in its original appearance.

Figure 6. Kettenbrückengasse

Figure 7. Josefstädter Strasse: ("Josefstadt High Street") - Architect: O. Wagner. Station opened in 1898. Josefstadt ("Joseph's town") is the name of Vienna's 8th district.

References

1. Christian Branstatter, Editor. Bisanz, Bisanz-Prakken, Brandstatter, Faber, Gorsen, Gregori, Koeck, Kurdiovsky, Metzger and Springer: Vienna 1990 Art, life and culture, The Vendome Press, 2005

2. City of Vienna. "Municipal Housing in Vienna. History, Facts & Figures." Accessed March 20, 2015. https://www.wienerwohnen.at/.../1.0Wiener-Gemeindebau-engl.pdf

3. Duncan JD Smith. Only in Vienna."The Vienna Stadtbahn." Wien-vienna.at. Accessed March 21, 2015. http://www.wien-vienna.at/blickpunkte.php?ID=537.

4. Geretsegger, Heinz, and Max Peintner. Otto Wagner, 1841-1918; the Expanding City, the Beginning of Modern Architecture, New York: Praeger, 1970.

5. Oechslin, Werner, and Lynnette Widder. Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and the Road to Modern Architecture. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

6. "Otto Wagner Hofpavillon Hietzing - Wienmuseum.at." Wienmuseum.at. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/otto-wagner-hofpavillon- hietzing.html.

7. "Otto Wagner Pavillon Karlsplatz." Wienmuseum.at. Accessed March 19, 2015. http://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/otto-wagner-pavillon-karlsplatz.html.

8. "Otto Wagner's Stadtbahn Pavilions." – Vienna now or never. Accessed March 20, 2015. http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/art-nouveau/wagners-stadtbahn- pavilions.

9. Schezen, Roberto, and Peter Haiko. Vienna 1850-1930: Architecture. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1992.

10. "Stadtbahn Pavillons." Lonely Planet. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/vienna/sights/landmarks-monuments/stadtbahn- pavillons#ixzz3VEDx17k6.

11. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Otto Wagner | Biography - Austrian Architect." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed March 23, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/633917/Otto-Wagner.

16 12. Vergo, Peter. Art in Vienna 1898-1918: Klimt, Kokoschka, Schiele and Their Contemporaries. London: Phaidon, 1975.

13. Waissenberger, Robert. Vienna, 1890-1920. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1984.

14. Wien, Kaiser and Platzer. Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag, 2007.

15. "Wiener Stadtbahn by Otto Wagner: The Ancestor of Vienna′s Subway." Tour My City. Accessed March 20, 2015. http://www.tourmycountry.com/austria/stadtbahn- vienna.htm.

16. Ylimaula, Anna. Origins of Style: Phenomenological Approach to the Essence of Style in the Architecture of Antoni Gaudi, C. R. Mackintosh and Otto Wagner. Oulu: Univ. of Oulu, 1992.

Figures

Figure 1. Weghuber, Manfred. "Nussdorfer Strasse Metro Station (Vienna 9 (Alsergrund)) | Structurae." Nussdorfer Strasse Metro Station. August 14, 2007. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://structurae.net/structures/nussdorfer-strasse-metro-station.

Figure 2. "U6 Währinger Straße Metro Station." - Wikimedia Commons. September 26, 2008. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:W%C3%A4hringer_Stra%C3%9Fe_metro_station#/ media/File:U6_W%C3%A4hringer_Stra%C3%9Fe4.JPG

Figure 3. "U6 Alser Strasse." Panoramio. August 25, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/26079093.

Figure 4. "Otto Wagner." Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://de.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dewiki/1064147.

Figure 5. “Stadtpark”, Ktransit.com, Accessed April 5, 2015 http://www.ktransit.com/transit/Europe/Austria/Vienna/U-bahn/vie-hr-Stadtpark.htm Figure 6. Dalbéra, Jean-Pierre. "Flickriver: Photoset 'Autriche / Vienne / De Karlsplatz à La Linke Wienzeile' by Dalbera." Otto Wagner. August 1, 2006. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://flickriver.com/photos/dalbera/1282569688/

Figure 7. “In meinem Grätzel: Station Josefstädter Straße”, derStandard.at, accessed April 5, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkmIWlIuAX4 Figures 8 and 9. Dalbéra, Jean-Pierre. "Flickriver: Photoset 'Autriche / Vienne / De Karlsplatz à La Linke Wienzeile' by Dalbera." Otto Wagner. August 1, 2006. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://flickriver.com/photos/dalbera/sets/72157601780635553/.

Figure 10. Dalbéra, Jean-Pierre. "Flickriver: Photoset 'Autriche / Vienne / De Karlsplatz à La Linke Wienzeile' by Dalbera." Otto Wagner. August 1, 2006. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://flickriver.com/photos/dalbera/sets/72157601780635553/.