Villa Hohe Warte
The Villa Hohe Warte is the sixth municipal orphanage built by the municipality of Vienna in 1907/08 in the 19th district of Döbling , Hohe Warte 1–3.
architecture
The orphanage with baroque-secessionist details, built in 1907/08 on the Hohen Warte , was built by three architects from the municipal building office ( Eduard Lasch , Josef Pürzl and Julius Fröhlich ).
business
The Villa Hohe Warte was run as the Rädda Barnen children's home in the summer of 1946. In this home, needy children between three and six years selected by Sweden were housed for six to eight weeks and looked after by Schwedenhilfe Rädda Barnen . The home was opened on September 22, 1946 by President Margit Levinson in the presence of Mayor Theodor Körner .
Before the turn of the millennium, the children's home was run with six separate living groups, two living groups per floor and one living group per east and west wing, independently of the respective supervisors. In 1999 the decision was made - probably for cost reasons and because of speculation regarding the sale of the high-quality property - to outsource the six residential groups by purchasing and converting apartments all over Vienna specifically for this purpose. Among other things, this had the advantage that the children in the home could be better integrated into society, since consideration now had to be given to neighbors and neighbors' children.
After the residential groups had been relocated, the building was available for sale; and until a buyer was found, the area was used as an advice center for the Office for Youth and Family.
On July 11th and 12th, 2008 the building was occupied by activists who, according to their own statements, wanted to create a self-managed housing project with children and an open social and cultural center. According to the city, the building was sold to a private person shortly before, after which the occupation was peacefully ended. After several intermediate owners, it was finally sold to China in 2013 for € 21 million. Extensive renovation work began in 2019 so that the building could be used as the "UN Embassy China" from 2020.
Usable area
The Villa Hohe Warte has six floors as well as an east and west wing; those large apartments, which were located at the end of each wing, had a living space of at least 150-200 m². One reached the respective apartment via a large staircase and a long hallway; Each wing was followed by three separately accessible rooms that were used as classrooms.
On the ground floor there is an entrance cabin for the porter and a small bedroom for the porter. On the 1st floor, directly above the entrance, is the former management with an associated secretarial room. The former care room of the home psychiatrist is located on the 2nd floor directly above the management. The “ballroom” is located on the mezzanine between the ground floor and the first floor - a large hall that was equipped with a small stage, spotlights and other accessories at the turn of the millennium.
The spacious property includes a concrete soccer field with brackets for soccer goals and basketball hoops as well as two soccer fields, one of which is on a small hill. There are also three covered garage spaces and a small gym, and there are over 10 parking spaces in the entire courtyard. The land area is estimated at over 10,000 m².
Status
The facade of the listed building is only in need of slight renovation; after the six residential communities moved out, the residents left it in a corresponding condition. The concrete soccer field is already showing signs of wear and tear. The condition of the roof is unknown.
literature
- Dehio-Handbuch Wien X. to XIX. and XXI. to XXIII. District . Verlag Anton Schroll & Co, 1996. ISBN 3-7031-0693-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ heute.at: Döblinger Children's Home becomes Chinese UN Embassy - Vienna. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Hohe Warte: Schandfleck becomes a message for UN officials. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
Coordinates: 48 ° 14 ′ 42.9 ″ N , 16 ° 21 ′ 18.9 ″ E