Only in Vienna by Duncan J.D. Smith
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ONLY IN VIENNA I dedicate this book with love and thanks to Roswitha, without whom the following pages could not have been written, also to the many good friends I have made during my time in Vienna Above: Etched glass door at Berggasse 19, home of Sigmund Freud (see no. 97) Page 2: The viewing platform of the flak tower in Esterházypark, Mariahilf (see no. 63). 4 Contents Introduction 8 THE INNER CITY: (Innere Stadt: 1st District) 1 Exploring Beethoven’s Bastion 1o 2 Harry Lime’s Doorway 13 3 Turkish Delights 16 4 At the Court of the Babenberg Dukes 18 5 The Lucky Chimney Sweep 20 6 Vienna Subterranea 22 7 At the Sign of the Black Camel 25 8 The Clockmakers’ Quarter 27 9 “Out of the depths I cry to you” 29 10 The Church of the Danube Boatmen 31 11 The Fountains of Vienna 33 12 Of Courtly Love and the Four Seasons 36 13 The Ruins of Roman Vindobona 38 14 An Infamous Address 41 15 The Architect who Feared his Wife 44 16 From Julius Meinl to Marilyn Monroe 47 17 Pedestrians Beware! 49 18 A Renaissance Rarity 51 19 Cathedral Curiosities 53 20 Mozart Passed this Way 56 21 Carrying the Weight of the World 59 22 The Secret of St. Virgil’s Chapel 62 23 The Snake’s Tongue Poison Detector 65 24 The Knights of Blood Alley 67 25 The World’s First Fitted Kitchen 70 26 One of the Last Bastions 73 27 The Last City Vineyard 77 28 Where the Wurst is Best! 79 29 Coffee and the Comfort of Strangers 81 30 Vienna Made to Measure 83 31 Vienna at your Convenience! 85 32 From Busy Streets to Quiet Courtyards 88 Contents 5 33 A Hidden Necropolis 91 34 A Shrine to International Language 94 35 The Legend of the Holy Lance 96 36 The Emperor’s Only Statue 99 37 The Myth of Montezuma’s Headdress 102 38 The Beguiling Smile of an Ancient Egyptian 104 39 The Imperial Cabinet of Natural Curiosities 106 THE INNER SUBURBS: (Vorstädte: 3rd–9th Districts) 40 Landstrasse’s Little-Known Saint’s Fountain 109 41 A Little Piece of Russia in Vienna 111 42 Lost Amongst the Lilacs and Birdsong 113 43 From the Mortar of Belgrade to the Unknown Soldier 115 44 A Ballroom Reborn 118 45 The Bones of Antonio Vivaldi 120 46 A Perfect Pair of Pavilions 122 47 The Composers’ Quarter 125 48 The Incredible Imperial Furniture Depot 127 49 In an Armenian Monastery 129 50 The Creation of the Croissant 131 51 A Library with a View 133 52 Stepping Back in Time 136 53 The Iron Soldier 138 54 Grass Raincoats and One-Legged Milking Stools 140 55 The Little Visited Locksmiths’ Square 142 56 The Emperor, the Tailor, and the Church of Deliverance 144 57 A Cloister for Academics 147 58 Vienna’s First Skyscrapers 149 59 The Forgotten Jewish Cemetery 151 60 Meet Me at the Strudlhof Steps 154 61 The Fools’ Tower 157 62 007 in Vienna 159 THE EASTERN SUBURBS: (Leopoldstadt, etc: 2nd & 20th–22nd Districts) 63 Monstrous Monuments 162 64 On Waltz Street 165 65 Memories of “Mazzes Island” 167 66 The Fun of the Fair 170 6 Contents 67 A Day at the Races 173 68 Napoleon and the Lion of Aspern 175 THE OUTER SUBURBS: (Vororte: 10th–19th & 23rd Districts) 69 The Cemetery of the Nameless Ones 178 70 A City for the Dead 180 71 The Forgotten Inventor of the Motor Car 184 72 Gasometer Living 186 73 The Socialist Swimming Pool 189 74 The Spinner at the Cross 191 75 A Wonderful Water Tower 193 76 From Austria to the Arctic 195 77 Silver Screen Vienna 197 78 Schönbrunn’s Beautiful Spring 199 79 The Most Graceful of Greenhouses 201 80 The Emperor’s Private Railway Station 203 81 Klimt’s Last Studio 205 82 A Unique Housing Estate 208 83 A Milestone in the Manufacture of Steel 210 84 The Villas of Otto Wagner 212 85 Peace and Respite Under a Golden Dome 214 86 All Change at Westbahnhof 216 87 In Praise of Concrete 219 88 From the Outer Suburbs to Outer Space 221 89 Ottakring’s Mystery Wartime Bunker 224 90 Land of the Wild Geese 226 91 Fire at the Ringtheater 229 92 Vienna’s Via Dolorosa 232 93 A Story of Love and Bubbles 234 94 Close to Paradise 236 95 Karl Marx and Red Vienna 239 96 The Taming of the Blue Danube 242 97 The Secret of Dreams 245 APPENDICES Opening Times 247 Bibliography 250 Acknowledgements 253 Imprint 256 Contents 7 Introduction “Die Straßen Wiens sind mit Kultur gepflastert, die Straßen anderer Städte mit Asphalt.” (The streets of Vienna are paved with culture, the streets of other cities with asphalt) Karl Kraus (1874–1936)* Most visitors would agree with the words of Karl Kraus, the renowned Austrian writer and satirist. Vienna is indeed one of the most cultured capital cities in Europe. It is also one of the most fascinating and easy to explore. The plethora of available tourist guidebooks offers the undemanding visitor a fabulous (and effortlessly accessible) array of museums, churches, palaces and eateries, reflecting the history of the city from Roman times, via the Habsburg Empire, up to the present day. However, for those with a little more time on their hands, and for those who want to discover something of the place for themselves, this new guide has been expressly written. It only takes a few min- utes of planning, and a glance at a decent street map**, to escape the crowds and the orchestrated tours and discover a rather different Vienna. Based on personal experience walking all twenty-three of the city’s districts (Bezirke), the author points the city explorer in a new and unusual direction. This is the Vienna of Roman ruins, medieval cel- lars and catacombs; tranquil courtyards and romantic fountains; unfrequented museums brimming with fascinating objects; secret gar- dens and astronomical observatories; Art Nouveau swimming baths and ornate public conveniences (!); film locations from James Bond and The Third Man; not to mention artist Gustav Klimt’s recently dis- covered last studio. It is also a city with a dark and sinister past, its forgotten Jewish cemeteries and Third Reich anti-aircraft towers still bearing grim witness to terrible times. As would be expected, many of these curious locations, all of which are both visible and visitable, are to be found within the nar- row streets of the ancient inner city (Innere Stadt or Altstadt), Vien - na’s 1st District, some of which still trace earlier medieval and Roman thoroughfares. However, an equal number lie outside the old city walls (today’s Ringstrasse boulevard built by the Habsburgs), in both 8 Introduction the inner suburbs (Vorstädte) of the 18th century (the 3rd–9th Districts and the 2nd District of Leopoldstadt), and the outer suburbs (Vororte) laid out in the 20th century (the 10th–23rd Districts). The latter lie beyond the old Linienwall ramparts (today’s busy Gürtel ringroad) to the west, as well as the River Danube to the east. Using Vienna’s exemplary transport network of trams (Strassen- bahn), underground trains (U-Bahn), fast trains (Schnellbahn) and buses (Autobus), the explorer can quite quickly reach all the places described within the following pages – and that’s without detracting whatsoever from the sense of personal discovery that each of these places has to offer. Indeed, directions have been kept to a minimum so as to leave the visitors free to find their own particular path. Whether walking on the slopes of the Vienna woods where Sig- mund Freud pondered the meaning of dreams, relaxing in a tranquil Japanese garden in a quiet suburb, or gazing at what was once thought to be Montezuma’s headdress in the very heart of the city, the visitor will hopefully experience a sense of having made the discov- ery for themselves. In embarking on these mini-odysseys in search of Vienna’s tangi- ble historical legacy the author would only ask that telephones be switched off in places of worship (which should not be visited during services), and that due respect be shown in the quiet city courtyards that are home and workplace to many Viennese. Other than that, treat Vienna as a giant oyster containing many precious pearls – I just hope you enjoy finding them as much as I did. Duncan J. D. Smith Vienna * The dates given after the names of Austria’s various monarchs are the actual years they reigned for, whereas those given after important non-royal personalities relate to their birth and death. ** The ÖAMTC street map available from Freytag & Berndt covers all 23 districts of Vienna and includes tram, bus and rail routes. After each entry there is a selection of others within walking distance. An alphabetical list of opening times of museums and other places of interest mentio- ned in the text can be found at the back of the book. Introduction 9 17 Pedestrians Beware! 1st District (Innere Stadt), a walk along Fleischmarkt and Griechengasse; take U-1, U-4 to Schwedenplatz Fleischmarkt is an ancient street first documented in 1220. The name recalls the city’s butchers who had their guildhall here. Although nothing remains a curious tower overlooks the spot. This is the Korn- häuselturm erected in the 1820s as a studio by Biedermeier star archi- tect, Josef Kornhäusel. That the buildings once surrounding it are now gone creates a fortified appearance, giving rise to the legend that the architect came here to escape his nagging wife! Although Fleischmarkt finds its origins in the meat trade it has more recent connections with coffee.