Vienna Hygiene Exhibition 1906
The “General Hygienic Exhibition” in Vienna took place from May 12 to July 15, 1906 in the Rotunda , the largest exhibition hall and landmark of the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873 . A total of 13,685 m² was available to the exhibitors. The exhibition was open daily on 65 days from 9 a.m. to midnight. In the catalog, the following “goals” are named for the exhibition: dissemination of knowledge about the aids and achievements of hygienic science, conveying their high value as well as the diverse instruction of the people about the commandments and requirements of health care.
The first hygiene exhibition in 1906 was followed by two further exhibitions in Vienna in 1925 and 1937.
Concept of hygiene
In contrast to the current concept of hygiene , which mainly means cleaning, disinfection and sterilization to prevent infections or, in everyday language, simply cleanliness, modern hygiene of the 19th and early 20th centuries encompassed all conditions that affected the physical existence of humans and as a possible cause of illness or health. The concept of hygiene found its way into almost all areas of private and public life and affected housing, clothing and food, schools, hospitals and barracks, urban infrastructure, welfare, employment and much more. The subject of hygiene exhibitions could therefore be anything that contributed to the restoration, maintenance and strengthening of health and the prevention of illnesses and accidents.
carrier
The Vienna Hygiene Exhibition was supported by a wide range of international and national dignitaries and notables. The exhibition was under the protectorate of a member of the imperial family, Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria-Tuscany . The 300 or so members of various exhibition bodies included Vienna's mayor Karl Lueger , Vienna’s senior physician Theodor Szongott, Arthur Schattenfroh, director of the Hygiene Institute at the University of Vienna, numerous decision-makers from ministries and city administrations, members of the Reichstag, university professors, journalists, industrialists and members from chambers of commerce and trade as well as various cooperatives, architects and engineers as well as members of the nobility.
Exhibitors
A total of 1174 exhibitors were represented, 852 of them from Austria-Hungary and 322 from abroad (German Empire 245, France 28, Switzerland 22, England 6, Netherlands 8, Belgium 4, Portugal 1, Italy 1, Denmark 6, Turkey 1 ). A large part of the exhibition was done by commercial exhibitors.
- Public bodies / public health care providers: Provincial administrations of Lower Austria, Moravia and Silesia, municipalities (including Vienna, Brno, Troppau, Lemberg, Baden, Wiener Neustadt, Mödling), foreign municipalities such as Munich, Mannheim or Copenhagen, state ministries and authorities ( Ministry of Railways, Maritime Authority)
- Humanitarian associations and organizations
- Commercial interest groups, cooperatives
- Commercial providers: manufacturers, traders and craftsmen, publishers
- Sanatoriums, health centers and health resorts
- Liberal professions: doctors, architects, engineers, sculptors, pharmacists
- Unions and health insurance companies
- Scientific institutions, laboratories, university institutes and clinics
- schools
- Workers', children's, blind, holiday homes
Visitors
Within two months, the exhibition was visited by half a million people. The intention of the exhibition was to address the broadest possible audience. Prominent visitors included Emperor Franz Joseph I , Princess Therese of Bavaria and Abbas II , Khedive of Egypt.
The pricing of the tickets:
| on weekdays (except Thursdays and Sundays) | 60 lighter |
| Thursday | 1 crown |
| Sunday | 40 lighter |
| Worker cards (valid in the mornings on Sundays and public holidays) | 20 lighter |
| Children under 14 and military | 30 lighter |
| School classes | 20 lighter |
| societies | 40 lighter |
Structure of the exhibition in groups
- House and apartment hygiene
- Health and Nursing Care (Personal Hygiene)
- Public hygiene / Voluntary humanitarian and sanitary care of clubs and corporations for infants, children and adults
- Medical and rescue services in war and rescue services in peacetime
- Hygiene and accident prevention in trade, industry and mining
- Chemistry and pharmacy
- Food and beverage industry
- Clothing and linen industry
- Tourism and travel
- Sports and games
- Literature and graphic literature
Design and attractions
The central area of the rotunda had been converted into a garden with pavilions, which were uniformly designed in the "antique style" and housed various restaurants, coffee houses and taverns. The antique image was complemented by a colonnade with a music pavilion, the statue of the goddess Hygieia and a fountain. The entire exhibition was electrically lit and equipped with a post and telegraph office, a writing and reading room and a lecture hall. The exhibitions of the City of Vienna and the Red Cross were housed in their own pavilions.
Attractions
- Fully furnished tropical room to demonstrate the measures for "protection against the treacherous dangers of the tropical climate"
- a ship hospital of the kuk maritime authority
- a complete medical train of the kuk railway ministry
- a lifelike replica of the mountain tunnel, equipped with all measures to protect the mountain crews
literature
- Official catalog of the General Hygienic Exhibition Vienna Rotunde 1906, which is under the highest protectorate… Archduke Leopold Salvator. Ed. By Josef Gally, Vienna 1906
- Final report on the general hygienic exhibition in Vienna Rotunda 1906 , Vienna 1906
Web links
- The opening of the hygienic exhibition in Vienna (Vienna Pictures from May 16, 1906, page 4ff.)