Brände#
Fires: Almost every Austrian town has experienced at least one major fire in its history; almost completely destroyed were Lienz (East Tyrol, 1444), Gmunden (Upper Austria, 1450), St. Poelten (Lower Austria, 1474), Judenburg (Styria, 1504), Linz (Upper Austria, 1542 and 1800), Grein (Lower Austria, 1642) and Voecklabruck (Upper Austria, 1793). Major fires broke out at Schwaz (Tyrol) and Schaerding (Upper Austria) in 1809, at Baden (Lower Austria) in 1812, at Imst (Tyrol) in 1822, at Leibnitz (Styria) in 1829, at Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria) in 1834, at Knittelfeld (Styria) in 1842 and at Waidhofen an der Thaya (Lower Austria) in 1873. Only in the 20th century did fires become less frequent due to improved building techniques.
The largest fires in Vienna since 1880 have been: The fire at the
Ringtheater on December 8, 1881 (386 casualties); at the Justizpalast
on July 15, 1927 (arson during a demonstration); at the Rotunde (world
exhibition hall in the Prater park) on September 17, 1937; in the
Goldkabinett in the Belvedere on March 31, 1950; in the Stock Exchange
building on April 14, 1956; in the main hall of the Academy of
Sciences on February 8, 1961; at the Parkhotel Hietzing (two floors
burnt out) on January 7, 1963; at the Hotel am Parkring on September
29, 1977; at the Gerngross department store on February 8, 1979; at
the National Bank on September 28, 1979; at the Hotel am Augarten on
September 28, 1979 (25 casualties, largest ever hotel fire in
Austria); at the Steyr-Haus on the Kaerntner Ring on September 12,
1987; at the main building of the Zentralsparkasse on April 13, 1990;
in the Hofburg (Redoutensaele destroyed) on November 27, 1992.