Rathausplatz (Vienna)
The Town Hall Square is located in the first Viennese district, the Inner City . It is named after the (new) Vienna City Hall that was built here. Due to its size, its design and the architecture of the buildings bordering the square, it is one of the most important squares in the center of Vienna.
history
In the area of today's Rathausplatz there was once the Josefstädter Glacis , a meadow area kept free as a field of fire in front of the walls of Vienna , and later the parade and parade ground of the imperial army. In the course of the construction of Vienna's Ringstrasse from 1858, this military area remained untouched for a long time until the army, after lengthy efforts by Mayor Cajetan Felder , renounced it and the city expansion fund was able to develop a building plan for the area. During this time, other locations were considered for the town hall.
Now the Rathausplatz was planned as the largest recessed space in the Ringstrasse zone. City gardener Rudolph Siebeck designed the northern and southern part of the square in 1872/1873 as the town hall park , while the central part of the square, the axis between the town hall and the Burgtheater, was kept free. In 1873 the foundation stone was laid for the construction of the New Town Hall . In 1874, construction began on the Burgtheater opposite the town hall on what was then Franzensring and on the parliament building adjoining the square to the south (northern side: Rathausplatz 6). From 1877 onwards, the new main building of the University of Vienna (south side: Rathausplatz 5) was built. There are a total of five blocks of houses with nine house numbers (No. 1 to No. 9) on the three built-up sides of the square, the fourth side is bounded by the ring.
Over the years, the name of the square has changed four times. In 1870 it was laid out as Rathausplatz, and in 1907 it was renamed Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Platz after the incumbent Christian Social Mayor . The Red Vienna , which had dominated since 1919, seemed inappropriate, as Lueger had prevented the universal and equal male suffrage, which was introduced throughout the state in 1907, in Vienna. Therefore, the Lueger Monument, donated by a private committee under Mayor Karl Seitz, was not erected on Rathausplatz, as intended by the committee, but in 1926 on a previously unnamed square on the corner of Wollzeile / Stubenring , and this square was Dr.-Karl-Lueger- Named place . The town hall square got its original name back. In 1938 it was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz again , which was reversed in 1945.
The large square between the town hall and the Burgtheater was used by all those in power for political rallies. Since 1921, although its current form dates back to 1929 and was interrupted from 1933 to 1945, the traditional final rally of the May rally of the Viennese SPÖ has taken place on May 1st on the Rathausplatz. The square is also used for most of the year for cultural and social events. The most important of these have been the Christmas market in November and December since 1975 , the Vienna Ice Dream in January and February, the opening of the Wiener Festwochen in May and open-air cinema screenings with classical music in July and August. The Life Ball in the Vienna City Hall also includes Rathausplatz. Traditionally, a large Christmas tree has been erected every year since 1959 by one of the federal states as a gift to the federal capital .
Location and characteristics
Rathausplatz is located between the extended Grillparzerstrasse in the north, the Universitätsring in the east, the extended Stadiongasse in the south and the extended Reichsratsstrasse in the west. With the exception of the ring, on which there are no buildings on this side of the street, the buildings on the square along these streets have house numbers of the Rathausplatz. Stadiongasse and Grillparzerstraße end in front of the square, Reichsratsstraße is interrupted by the square.
Around two thirds of the 40,000 m² space is taken up by the Rathauspark, which is divided into a north and a south half by a very wide access road between the Burgtheater and the town hall, which is closed to traffic and offers space for events. The Rathausplatz is lined with some of the most important monumental buildings in the Ringstrasse zone in the historicist style. There are a large number of monuments and statues in the square itself. This makes the Rathausplatz one of the most representative squares in Vienna.
The tram lines 1, 71 and D run over parts of the Ringstrasse and have stops at Rathausplatz at the Burgtheater and at the corner with the Parliament. Coming from the south and turning off the Ring, tram line 2 runs over the southern edge of Rathausplatz to Stadiongasse. Individual through traffic runs north on the eastern edge of the square on the ring road, in the opposite direction behind the town hall on the two-way line . Cycle paths run along the Ringstrasse, Grillparzerstrasse and Stadiongasse. The U2 subway line runs behind the town hall, with the Rathaus subway station as a feeder to the town hall and town hall square.
building
No. 1: Town Hall
The central building in the middle of the west side of the Rathausplatz is the Vienna City Hall , built by Friedrich von Schmidt from 1873 to 1883 as the New City Hall, since around 1970 just called the City Hall. The mighty building, which dominates the square, was designed based on the Dutch Gothic. It was supposed to express the political power of the bourgeoisie, who had strengthened against the monarch and the aristocracy.
The town hall has no main entrance or direct access to the arcade courtyard on Rathausplatz; these are located on the side of Felderstrasse and Lichtenfelsgasse, and another entrance is on the rear on Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz. From the town hall square itself, the so-called Volkshalle on the ground floor of the town hall is essentially accessible via an outdoor staircase (entrances in the middle under the town hall tower and left and right of it). The Volkshalle is occasionally used for exhibitions. The exit to the Rathauskeller is on the corner of Felderstrasse.
No. 2, 3 and 4: arcade houses
The city block north of the town hall was built by Franz von Neumann in 1880–1883 . The plan was to equip the buildings of the arcade houses (as on the west side of Reichsratsstrasse , in the course of which they are located) on Rathausplatz with arcades. The houses in the old German style have remarkable corner projections with domes. On the central risalit, which is now contrasted in color, there are balconies on hermes. The attic floor is adorned with female stucco relief figures. The cross-rib vaulted arcades are painted with grotesques by Franz and Carl Jobst and equipped with cast iron lanterns. The foyers at No. 4 / Grillparzerstraße 1–3 (and Ebendorferstraße 6) are particularly important, as are the foyers at the back of the block at Ebendorferstraße No. 4 . Frieze reliefs show the allegories of trade, the arts and commerce. A large ceiling painting depicts the apotheosis of Vindobona . Lanterns and railings are made of wrought iron. The house on the corner of Rathausplatz 2 and Felderstrasse 2-4 (and Ebendorferstrasse 2) suffered severe damage in the Second World War. After years of discussion, it was not renewed until 1961 to 1964 according to plans by Erich Boltenstern and has been called the Felderhaus ever since . The upper part of the building presents itself as a new building in the style of moderate modernity, but the arcades have largely been restored. From 1967 to 1979 the Felder-Haus was the provisional official seat of the UNIDO before the UNO-City could be opened.
Municipal offices are in office in the Felderhaus, and Café Einstein and the company kindergarten for federal employees of Kinderfreunde Wien are located in No. 4 . The building is a listed building .
No. 5: University of Vienna, main building
On the north side of the Rathausplatz is the side of the main building of the University of Vienna . The main work of the late phase of strict historicism was built by Heinrich von Ferstel in 1873–1884 . The 29-axis side facade is structured several times by risalits and by half and full columns. Statues by Anton Schmidgruber and Franz Koch are related to the philosophical faculty. The building does not have an open entrance here.
No. 6: Parliament
On the south side of the Rathausplatz is the side of the parliament building , which was built as the Imperial Council building for Cisleithanien . This is the most important work by the architect Theophil von Hansen , which he built from 1871–1883 based on ancient Greek models. Parliament has a covered side entrance on Rathausplatz, originally a car driveway.
No. 7, 8 and 9: arcade houses
South of the town hall is a block of houses with arcade houses (Rathausplatz 7–9 / Lichtenfelsgasse 1–3, sides Stadiongasse 2 / Bartensteingasse 16), which were built in 1877/1878 by town hall architects Friedrich von Schmidt and Franz von Neumann in old German forms. These were the first arcade houses in the Rathausviertel, which received building consensus on March 28, 1878. The domes on the corner projections and central dome, bay windows, balconies, putti friezes and statues of Venus and Mars on the facade are dominant . In the cross-ribbed arcade there are gates with half-column portals and acroter figures. The foyers are richly decorated with stucco ceilings and grotesque paintings. The side entrance at Lichtenfelsgasse 1 with its richly furnished foyer is remarkable.
At number 8 under the arcades you will find the Sluka café-confectionery, well-known in town hall circles. The building is a listed building .
Rathauspark
At the request of Mayor Felder, the Rathauspark was created as a supplementary recreational space in the Ringstrasse zone. It is a strictly historicist park, which, like the city park, was created by city gardener Rudolph Siebeck . The green area is laid out to the north and south of a connecting road from the Burgtheater am Ring to the town hall, which expands like a square in front of the town hall. In each of the two parts of the park there is a rondeau with a fountain , which is intended to indicate the two Viennese spring water pipes and was financed by the building contractor Antonio Gabrielli.
Under the old trees of the park there are five trees that are designated as Viennese natural monuments . A linden tree in the southern part of the park was planted on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1898, and an oak, also in the southern part of the park, in 1906 for the then incumbent mayor Karl Lueger . Winding paths lead through both parts of the park. The garden fence is still originally historic. There is a large children's play area in the northern part of the park. A weather house built in the southern part of the park in 1890, destroyed in World War II, was renovated in 1955 with mosaics by Maria Biljan-Bilger . The modern toilet facilities were designed by Luigi Blau .
Monuments
The Town Hall Square is the site of a number of monuments; they are described here starting from the ring road.
- (Closed) access from the Burgtheater to the town hall
At the beginning of this driveway, facing the Ringstrasse, is
- left the monument for Theodor Körner , mayor, then Federal President of the Second Republic, by Hilde Uray , bronze statue, 1963,
- on the right the monument to Karl Seitz , first head of state of the First Republic, then mayor of Red Vienna , by Gottfried Buchberger, bronze statue, 1962.
In 1902, eight stone monuments of important personalities from the history of Vienna were erected directly between the two parts of the park, four on each side of the park opposite one another. They were erected in 1867 on the balustrades of the then Elisabeth Bridge over the Wien River on Karlsplatz . When the bridge was demolished in 1897 because of the construction of the city railroad and the associated arching of the Wien River in this area, the eight monuments were initially erected along the new city rail line on Karlsplatz, which was then still in the cut, but where they were heavily soiled by the soot from the steam locomotives and eight chimney sweeps were popularly called. Therefore they were transferred to the Rathausplatz a little later:
- left (south side):
- Margrave Heinrich II. Jasomirgott from the house of the Babenbergs, by Franz Melnitzky
- Duke Rudolf the founder from the House of Habsburg, by Josef Gasser
- Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg , defender of Vienna (second Turkish siege), by Johann Baptist Feßler
- Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , Baroque architect, by Josef Cesar
- right (north side):
- Duke Leopold the Glorious from the House of the Babenbergs, by Johann Preleuthner
- Niklas Graf Salm , defender of Vienna (first Turkish siege), by Matthias Purkartshofer
- Archbishop Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch , spiritual leader of Vienna (second Turkish siege), by Vincenz Pilz
- Joseph von Sonnenfels , Maria Theresa's judicial and administrative reformer , by Hanns Gasser (replaced by a statue of the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck during the Nazi era in 1939 , re-erected after 1945)
- next to the town hall (tower), outside of the southern part of the park: replica of the Viennese town hall man at the top of the town hall tower on a scale of 1: 1, by Fritz Tiefenthaler, 1985
- Southern part of the Rathauspark (towards the Parliament)
- At the park corner of the Ring / Parliament, facing the Ring: Karl Renner , first State Chancellor of the First and first Federal President of the Second Republic, portrait head by Alfred Hrdlicka on a monument structure by Josef Krawina , 1965–1967
- Josef Popper-Lynkeus , social ethicist, stone bust by Hugo Taglang, 1926. Since the artist and the portrayed were Jews, the bust was removed in the Nazi regime in 1938 and restored in 1951 using the plaster model.
- Johann Strauss (father) and Joseph Lanner , statues by Franz Seifert , 1905, Art Nouveau; the bronze sculptures stand in front of a curved marble wall with reliefs of ball scenes and a poem by Eduard von Bauernfeld . This conception and the architecture were created by Robert Oerley .
- Northern part of the Rathauspark (towards the university)
- Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller , marble monument by Josef Engelhart , 1913, Art Nouveau
- Ernst Mach , physicist, by Heinz Peteri, 1926
- Adolf Schärf , Vice Chancellor, then President of the Second Republic, bronze bust of Alfred Hrdlicka , 1985
- The youngest monument in the park, erected in 1993, commemorates the war destruction in Vienna in 1945 and was created out of stone by Hubert Wilfan under the title Yesterday - Today .
literature
- Federal monument (ed.): Dehio-Handbuch Wien. I. District - Inner City . Verlag Berger, Horn 2003, SoA
- Peter Autengruber : Parks and Gardens in Vienna . Promedia, Vienna 2008, SoA
- Gerhard Hofer: The festivalization of the city. Using the example of the Vienna City Hall Square. Diploma thesis, 2008 ( PDF, 5.6 MB , othes.univie.ac.at)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=nfp&date=19380313&seite=8&zoom=2
- ↑ The Christmas tree is already on the Vienna Rathausplatz in the standard from November 7, 2012 on November 8, 2012
- ↑ a b Arcade houses at the town hall. Vienna 1, Rathausplatz 2, 3, 4 and 7, 8, 9. In: Peter Haiko, Renata Kassal-Mikula: Friedrich von Schmidt. (1825-1891). A Gothic rationalist (= Historical Museum of the City of Vienna. Special exhibition 148). Museums of the City of Vienna, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85202-102-2 , pp. 134–141.
- ↑ Unido quarter next to the town hall. No decision yet, but almost certain: "Felder-Haus" will be Unido official seat . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 13, 1967, p. 1 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ Rathausplatz 4 (BKDG f. Bundesbed.). kinderfreunde.at
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 37 " N , 16 ° 21 ′ 31.6" E