Viennese glacis
The Vienna Glacis was an open space between the Vienna city walls and the suburbs that existed from 1529 to 1858 . It originally served the defenders of Vienna as a free field of fire against attackers from outside, but was later increasingly used for civilian purposes.
history
Since the 13th century, Vienna was enclosed by a circular wall. Small settlements existed in front of the walls, then called "Lucken". During the first Turkish siege, these were partly demolished by the Turks and partly by the defenders. After the Turks had withdrawn, the decision was made not to rebuild the settlements, but to create a free area, the “Glacis”. The word glacis comes from the Italian fortress architecture and means an embankment directly in front of a fortress. In Vienna and elsewhere, however, the entire open area in front of the fortress was called the glacis .
The building prohibition zone was gradually widened: On March 15, 1588, the width of the zone was set to 40 fathoms (95 m) by imperial order, on July 8, 1632 to 200 paces (150 m), on November 21, 1662 to 200 fathoms ( 380 m) and on the occasion of the second Turkish siege in 1683 at 600 paces (450 m). Not only did buildings have to be removed, but vineyards also had to be cleared. The outer boundary of the glacis was marked by landmarks. From this time on, the glacis coming from the Danube Canal was bordered by the following (today's) streets: Hintere Zollamtsstraße - Invalidenstraße - Am Heumarkt - Brucknerstraße - Karlsplatz - Treitlstraße - Getreidemarkt - Messeplatz - Museumstraße - Auerspergstraße - Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz - Landesgerichtsstraße - Garnisongasse - Schwarzspanierstraße - Berggasse, to the Danube Canal again.
Contemporary reports portray the glacis very differently. In warm, spring-like weather, the meadow was ideal for walks. On the other hand, crossing the glacis in bad weather and in winter is described as arduous to painful; in heavy rain it turned into a mud. In midsummer, when the grass was withered, a dusty desert formed. Many people had to cross the glacis every day, for example when they lived in the suburbs and worked in the inner city.
To improve the situation, Emperor Joseph II ordered the beautification ("regulation") of the glacis on January 17, 1770. Roads and sidewalks were laid out, and from 1781 3,000 avenue trees were planted, mainly linden and robinia . An avenue street circled the city - similar to the later Ringstrasse . It was 6,400 m long and 13.5 m wide, including part of the later Franz-Josefs-Kai . At right angles to the ring-shaped street, radial streets connected the city gates with the suburbs. Due to the construction of the streets, building activity began in the suburbs, so that the area around the glacis was soon built densely.
In order to better connect Leopoldstadt to the city, the “Neue Gasse” (today's Untere Augartenstrasse ) was laid out there. From there, a wooden yoke bridge was built over the Danube Canal to the Rossauer Glacis in 1782. It was called the "New Bridge" and its successors were the Maria Theresa Bridge and the Augarten Bridge . The Wien River, the northernmost part of which ran through the glacis, could be crossed over six bridges. The Elisabethbrücke , the Mondscheinbrücke, the Stubenbrücke and the Radetzkybrücke could be driven over with vehicles, the Kettenbrücke and the Karolinenbrücke were pedestrian walkways.
The green spaces newly created under Josef II were administered by the City of Vienna. The Glacis was soon accepted by the Viennese as a recreational area; it was increasingly referred to as the Esplanade . However, the glacis would have been a relatively dangerous place after dark; Therefore lanterns were erected in 1776. The water glacis, which is now the city park, was particularly popular .
The core of the city fortifications consisted of the bastions (called “bastions” in Vienna) and the city wall ( curtain wall ) between them. Upstream were Ravelins (called “Schanzen” in Vienna), free-standing structures that were supposed to protect the curtain wall from bombardment. In front of the Ravelins was a wall, the Contre-Escarpe , as the outermost part of the fortress. In 1809 Napoleon Bonaparte captured the city after a short artillery bombardment. It had been shown that stone walls were no longer effective protection for a city in the 19th century. In order to punish the city of Vienna, French troops blew up the castle bastion and four of the twelve ravelins. In 1817, Emperor Franz II revoked Vienna's status as a fortress. In the same year began to demolish the twelve Ravelins and the Contre-Escarpe. The area was leveled and greened, which increased the area of the glacis. In 1827 the work was completed.
The parade and parade ground of the army was laid out on the Glacis in 1783, directly in front of the Hofburg (today's Heldenplatz and Volksgarten ) . After the castle gate was destroyed by French troops, the area in front of the castle was redesigned. For this reason, the Paradeplatz was relocated to the Josefstädter Glacis, between today's Universitätsring and the then freight road. The area was approx. 200,000 m². If the military was here, the area was cordoned off; if the military was not at the parade ground, civilians were allowed to enter it, but vehicles were not allowed to enter it.
In 1858 the glacis had an area of exactly 2 million m²; 1.3 million m² of this were green and open spaces, 533,000 m² traffic areas, 74,000 m² built-up areas, and 96,000 m² was the Vienna River . The glacis and the city wall, including the moat, were under the sovereign's command for centuries. From 1817 it belonged to the Vienna Army Genius Directorate responsible for fortifications .
Economic life on the Glacis
There was always a brisk economic life on the Glacis. The area was mainly used by commercial enterprises to carry out work outdoors that would be problematic indoors. It was here that printers prepared their colors, and varnish cookers their products. Carpenters and stonemasons work on the glacis outdoors or in wooden huts. Fruit and fish dealers, cheese cutters and second-hand dealers had stalls. There were a large number of buildings on the glacis, from small market stalls to large halls. The military mostly tolerated this, as all buildings were made of wood and could be quickly demolished or burned down in the event of a defense.
In the area of today's Wickenburggasse / Florianigasse intersection, there was a large plant for the production of saltpeter , the so-called " Saliterey " , from 1806 . Saltpetre was mainly used for the manufacture of black powder and was obtained from plants that contain nitric acid . The complex consisted of huts and 142 earth pyramids and was a strange sight. The odor nuisance from the Saliterey was so intense that the system was moved to the outer edge of the suburb of Schottenfeld , close to the line wall , in 1826 .
Some of Vienna's most important markets were located on the edge of the glacis. For the large number of livestock and mounts in the city were large amounts of hay required, at Haymarket were traded. It was located roughly at today's addresses at Am Heumarkt 13 to 25. Most of the hay came from Hungary and was delivered to Vienna once a week.
At the Tandelmarkt - similar to today's flea market - used clothing and all kinds of junk were traded. It consisted of 300 wooden stalls and was located on the Glacis at today's Karlsplatz from 1730 to approx. 1821 . Before 1730 this market was located in Leopoldstadt , which the Tandelmarktgasse reminds of. After the Tandelmarkt had come to the Glacis, it was given the address Tandlerplatz . Around 1821 the market had to vacate its place, as the Imperial and Royal Polytechnic Institute was built here , the core of today's Technical University ; the Tandlerplatz was renamed Technikerstraße . The Tandelmarkt moved to Spittelberg, then to (today's) Schwarzenbergplatz and finally to Neu-Wien in Alsergrund, where its existence ended in 1945.
The Kärntnertormarkt was connected to the Tandelmarkt, and at first mainly dairy products were traded there; it was located on the westernmost part of today's Karlsplatz or Girardipark . "Roasters", from which the sausage stands later developed, and so-called "Knödelhütten" were soon established . In the course of the renovation of the Freihaus between 1786 and 1790 and the regulation of the Mühlbach there, the square was leveled; In 1793 it was ordered that all fruit and vegetables brought to Vienna on wagons were to be sold at the Kärntnertormarkt. The name Naschmarkt became established for the market around 1820 , although the origin and meaning of the name are unclear. In the course of regulating the Vienna River, the Naschmarkt was relocated to its current location at the turn of the century.
To the west of it was the Getreidemarkt , at the location of today's intersection of Mariahilfer Straße / Getreidemarkt. In the immediate vicinity, but already in the suburbs, was the municipal grain store until 1900. Until 1747 there was a military place of execution on the Getreidemarkt. The market disappeared in 1864 as a result of the construction of the Ringstrasse, leaving only a street name.
The Rossauer Glacis was the central location for the timber trade in Vienna. The wood market extended from Berggasse to today's Schottenring. The area was called "Holzgestauten"; the eastern part of today's Berggasse (from Servitengasse to the Danube Canal) was called Unter den Holzern in 1357 and Holzstraße from 1784–1862 . The wood was partly stored outdoors, partly in countless sheds. Two particularly large wooden halls, called "Holz Magazin", were located at the site of today's Votive Church .
In the 19th century, wood was still the most important source of energy in households, and there was also a great need for construction timber. The delivery took place mainly by means of rafts or ships on the waterway, mainly on the Danube and the Vienna rivers . The unloading of the ships was done by the “wood slicers” who were supervised by “wood setters”. The wood storage areas had to be demarcated by stakes and placed at a safe distance from the residential buildings; Open lights and even smoking were strictly forbidden. Until 1830, the Peregrini wood market was held between the lower Berggasse and the Danube Canal every year from April 24th to May 8th , and a two-week wood market, also known as the vintage market , took place from September 23rd. From 1270 to 1788, the Rabenstein , the "Viennese High Court", was located in the middle of the wooden structures . The place of execution consisted of a round brick terrace on which the convicts were judged. In its place is now the Palais Schlick at Türkenstrasse 25. Immediately to the east of the wooden structures was the Imperial Danube Bath , later called the Imperial Bath , on the Danube Canal . In its place is now the Schottenring underground station .
A rather unusual institution was on the Glacis in the area of today's Academic Gymnasium on Beethovenplatz , the Verbrennhäusl . In a pavilion there was the “State Papers Eradication Oven”, in which no longer valid securities and banknotes were destroyed.
Especially after the beautification of the Glacis under Josef II, numerous catering establishments emerged, from simple stalls to classy coffee houses. The water glacis was particularly popular with the public. In 1788 there was a coffee tent here, in which Turkish music played in the evenings. In 1822 a massive wooden coffeehouse was built in which, among others, Johann Strauss (father) and Johann Strauss (son) played.
At the Glacis, in today's Volksgarten, was the "Ochsenmühle", a grain mill operated by oxen who went in circles. In its place, the restaurateur Johann Evangelist Milani erected a coffee house tent called the Ochsenmühle in the 18th century . Business was bad and was taken over by Peter Corti in 1808. From 1820–1823 he had his Cortisches Kaffeehaus built by the architect Peter von Nobile , in which in 1867 Johann Strauss (son) first performed the instrumental version of the Danube Waltz . The semicircular building still exists, but has been heavily expanded and now serves as the Volksgarten disco .
From the beginning of the 19th century, shipping was also operated on the Glacis. In 1803 the port of the Wiener Neustädter Canal was laid out on Erdberger Glacis , and it went into operation on April 21. Hard coal and other goods could be transported inexpensively through the canal from the area in the south of Vienna to the capital. From 1842, the canal faced increasing competition from the Southern Railway , and in 1857 the port was filled in. In its place is now the Wien Mitte train station .
Construction of the glacis
.jpg)
There was a great lack of space in the city of Vienna, while a huge area lay fallow immediately in front of the city. As a result, there have been repeated attempts to convert parts of the glacis into building land. Emperor Franz II released a small part of the outer edge of the glacis (at today's Resselpark) for construction, which enabled the construction of the Imperial and Royal Polytechnic Institute , the first technical university in the German-speaking area , from 1816 to 1818 .
In 1809, French troops blew up the castle bastion, several ravelins and part of the city wall. The rubble was cleared away in the years 1816 to 1819 under the direction of Archduke Johann as head of the "Geniedirektion". From 1821 to 1824 the new outer castle gate was built by Luigi Cagnola and Pietro Nobile at some distance in front of the Hofburg . This created the area later called Heldenplatz , flanked by the Volksgarten and the Burggarten (then: Kaisergarten). A new city wall was laid around the entire area. As a result of this “small city expansion”, the city of Vienna increased in area for the first time.
The kk Hauptzollamt was built on the Erdberger Glacis north of the canal port by the architect Paul Sprenger in 1840–1844 , which also housed the kk Cameral slope administration and the kk Central books revision office. The Federal Computing Center is now located in its place at Hinteren Zollamtsstrasse 4.
On the Landstraßer Glacis, immediately east of the confluence of the Wien River in the Danube Canal, there was a large flour magazine. It was demolished in 1852 and the 4,600 m² area was auctioned. City architect Anton Ölzelt bought the entire building site and built eight apartment buildings on it. Today the Federal Office building in Radetzkystraße is located here.
At the beginning of the 1850s, the War Ministry needed a lot of money to build the arsenal and the Franz-Josefs-Kaserne . In September 1853, the Imperial and Royal General-Genie-Direktion des Heeres moved the border of the Glacis by almost 100 meters to the south, up to today's Türkenstrasse. The space thus gained between Berggasse and Türkenstrasse was parceled out and auctioned. The area was called New Vienna .
On February 18, 1853, Emperor Franz Josef escaped an assassination attempt . Shortly afterwards, a brother of the emperor, Archduke Ferdinand Max (who later became Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico), developed the idea of having a "votive church" built as a votive offering . On October 25, 1855, the emperor approved the construction, although there was still a military construction ban on the glacis; this was canceled retrospectively on February 25, 1856. In 1856 the construction of the votive church began .
In the course of the city expansion and the construction of the ring road from 1858, the glacis disappeared; only the Paradeplatz remained in existence until 1870. On July 1, 1870, the city expansion fund bought the area and subsequently built the parliament , the town hall and the university there . The military built a parade ground on the Schmelz to replace the parade ground .
Today no part of the glacis has been preserved in its original state; the green areas on the ring road were newly laid out. While some high-rise buildings of the city fortifications have been immortalized in street names (e.g. Mölker Bastei , Stubentor etc.), no traffic area is named after the glacis today. In the 19th century, several streets at times bore the name Am Glacis , namely the Hintere Zollamtsstraße, the street Am Heumarkt, the Technikerstraße, the Museumsplatz, the Landesgerichtsstraße , the Auerspergstraße and part of the Berggasse.
literature
- Elisabeth Springer: History and cultural life of the Vienna Ringstrasse . Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1979. ISBN 3-515-02480-8 . (Volume II by Renate Wagner-Rieger (Ed.): The Vienna Ringstrasse. Picture of an Era. (Volume I - XI) . Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1972–1981. ISBN 978-3-515-02482-2 )
- Kurt Mollik, Hermann Reining, Rudolf Wurzer: Planning and implementation of the Vienna Ringstrasse zone . Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1980. ISBN 3-515-02481-6 . (Volume III by Renate Wagner-Rieger (Ed.): The Vienna Ringstrasse. Picture of an Era. (Volume I - XI) . Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1972–1981. ISBN 978-3-515-02482-2 )
- Felix Czeike : Historical Lexicon Vienna. Volume 1: A – Da. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-218-00543-4 .
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 16.7 " N , 16 ° 21 ′ 45.7" E