Philipphof
The Philipphof was a well-known, very representative large residential building on Vienna's Albertinaplatz (until 1920 Albrechtsplatz, until 1934 Revolutionsplatz) / Helmut-Zilk-Platz, which was destroyed in a bombing raid by the Allies in 1945 shortly before the end of the Second World War and almost 300 people among themselves buried.
history
Predecessor construction and urban development
In the place of the Philipphof there was previously the huge citizen hospital interest house . With a total of almost 220 apartments, it was the largest rental house of its time in Vienna. In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph I decided to tear down the city wall, open the glacis for construction and have the Vienna Ringstrasse built. It was opened in 1865; this year, however, the construction of the magnificent buildings along the ring had not even begun in some cases. The Vienna State Opera , later a neighbor of the Philipphof, opened in 1869. The Hotel Sacher opened behind the opera in 1876 . In the years from 1874 to 1883 the Bürgerspitalzinshaus was demolished in favor of the construction of the Philipphof and neighboring houses (up to Kärntner Straße ).
Construction of the Philipphof
In 1884 the Ziererhof , planned by the architect Karl König, was built, which was soon renamed Philipphof. It comprised the triangular block of houses that tapered towards the opera and Albrechtsplatz, Augustinerstraße - Führichgasse - Tegetthoffstraße. At that time Karl König also worked on several apartment buildings and palaces, the House of Industry on Schwarzenbergplatz and several synagogues in the suburbs.
Ownership
The Philipphof was soon bought by the imperial family fund. In 1919, after the end of the monarchy , the Habsburg Law took it over into the ownership of the Republic of Austria without compensation. In 1936, the Philipphof was returned to the Habsburg Fund by the dictatorship government Kurt Schuschnigg in the corporate state . After the country was annexed on March 13, 1938, the Nazi regime reversed this restitution. The Second Republic in 1945 restored the legal status before the two dictatorships; the area was thus again in Austrian state ownership.
destruction
During the Second World War, an air raid shelter was set up in the basement under the residential building, which was also intended to provide refuge for the residents of the surrounding houses. On March 12, 1945 US bombers flew the heaviest air raid on Vienna ; most of the bombs dropped hit the historic city center . The area around Albertinaplatz was almost completely destroyed. The Philipphof and its air raid shelter collapsed and buried well over 300 people under them. Fritz M. Rebhann wrote:
- “But those who had gone into the cellar suffered a horrible fate from explosions, falling walls, the embers of the fire and, ultimately, from headless or inadequate rescue operations. Only towards evening did the emergency services manage to penetrate part of the cellar. 27 people who had been boiled in the boiling extinguishing water were first brought upstairs (...) The rescue success was poor, and exhaustion and indifference spread across the board. Embers flared up again and again, the sparse reports from the fire brigade headquarters speak of post-extinguishing work until the end of March. (...) The following attacks and the rampant chaos soon hampered any further rescue attempt, especially since it became hopeless to find someone alive. "
The exact number of victims is unknown; only 180 bodies were recovered. The neighboring buildings ( Albertina , State Opera ) were also badly hit and burned out. The remains of the Philipphof were blown up on October 25, 1947 and the rubble removed.
Commemoration
Out of respect for the victims who are buried under the square to this day, it was no longer built on. A simple green area marked the former location of the Philipphof, which was now counted as Albertinaplatz; the surrounding houses kept their old addresses. The “ Memorial against War and Fascism ” commissioned by the Vienna city administration from Alfred Hrdlicka was erected on the site above the underground remains of the Philipphofe in 1988, amid heated discussions about the location chosen by Mayor Helmut Zilk . In 2009, the square around the monument was named Helmut-Zilk-Platz in recognition of Zilk's steadfastness despite media criticism. This now occupies the northern part of Albertinaplatz, which was expanded in 1947.
Two memorial plaques specifically commemorated Philipphof and its victims. They said:
- Dear fellow citizens!
- The Vienna Philipp-Hof stood here until March 12, 1945.
- On that day, explosive and incendiary bombs killed hundreds of people who had sought refuge in the air-raid shelters of this building in the general and extensive bombing war against the civilian population that was triggered by the destruction of cities in Poland and England.
- An honorable memory is being preserved for these dead and all civilian victims of the air raids in World War II. To the competent governments of the world as a requesting reminder:
- Keep the peoples the peace!
The memorial plaques could no longer be found on the spot in September 2011.
Web links
- Historical views of Philipphofs ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Fritz M. Rebhann: Finale in Vienna - Die Gaustadt im Aschenregen , Herold-Verlag, Vienna 1969, p. 167 f.
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 17 " N , 16 ° 22 ′ 8" E