Wien, Bundesland#

Vienna: (Wien) area 414.953 km2; pop. 1,651,437; density of pop. 3,711 per km2; 153,693 buildings; 853,091 flats; 725,468 households; 23 districts, 9 court districts.

Vienna is the smallest province in geographical terms,

Geographical location: Vienna's development as one of

Landscape: Vienna's altitude varies between 151 m in

The numerous glacial terraces between the Vienna Woods and the Danube river afforded enough room for expansion during Vienna's first development phases. The medieval town quickly expanded outwards in a widening circles, enlarging the town area by the Baroque suburban towns and by the suburbs in the Age of Promotorism, with the old thoroughfares running through the town centre. The medieval town was situated on the town terrace about 10 metres above the level of the flatlands and extended within the walls of an ancient Roman camp. There is a considerable rise to the next level, the Arsenal terrace, which is followed by the Laaer Berg terrace. The construction of bridges across the Danube was not taken on until relatively late, in 1439, due to the breadth of the Danube flatlands, which is in some places as much as 6 kilometres. Floridsdorf, for example, was built at one end of a bridge in the 2nd half of the 18th century in the Marchfeld flatlands (in the north), and was integrated into the town area in 1904. The bulk of urban development, however, was headed west and south-west towards the Flysch hills of the Vienna Woods. The area north and north-east of the Danube was only systematically promoted and developed as a location for enterprises and as living area in the course of another expansion phase in the last few decades of this century.

The town area is divided into two parts which are

Climate: The climate of Vienna is determined by oceanic influences from the west, characterised by moderate summers, mild winters and high amounts of precipitation and by continental influences from the east, characterised by hot summers, cold winters, and moderate amounts of precipitation. This mixed climate brings varying temperatures and varying amounts of precipitation in the town. Climatic changes in the past few years have led to a drop in precipitation amounts, to prolonged dry periods and milder winters. The average air temperature in 1992 was 11.4° C (52.5° F), the precipitation average was 602 mm; summer was 61 days long, and there were 52 days of frost.

Population: In modern times, the population growth in Vienna has been determined by immigration. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, large numbers of Czechs came to Vienna, along with smaller numbers of people from various ethnic and religious groups from all parts of the monarchy. The disintegration of the Habsburg Monarchy after 1918 drastically reduced the area from which immigrants were drawn, and until the1960s (start of recruitment of "guest workers") it was de facto limited to the eastern parts of Austria, i.e. Lower Austria and Burgenland. Despite the city's geographical expansion (278 km2 in 1910, 414.95 km2 since 1954), the population of Vienna shrank continuously after the First World War (1910: 2,083,630). The decline was particularly dramatic between 1934 (pop. 1,935.881) and 1951 (1,616,125 ), caused by departures in the inter-war years and, after 1938, the expulsion or extermination of the Jewish population, which had tended to concentrate in certain districts (esp. Leopoldstadt). The naturalisation of German-speaking refugees, particularly from the Sudeten areas, and migration from the Austrian provinces could not fill the gap. A slight population growth between 1951 and 1961 and a slight decrease until 1971 were followed by another sharp fall in population numbers between 1971 (pop. 1,619,885) and 1981 (1,531,346). The situation improved slightly in the 1980s, a trend which grew more dynamic in the 1990s (1991: 1,539,848; 1992: 1,611,859; 1995: 1,636,399). Only a small proportion of this increase is due to a minimal rise in the birth rate since 1991, the major causes being a migration surplus vis-à-vis the provinces and the immigration of foreigners, which varies considerably from district to district. In 1995, a total of 6,841 foreigners living in Vienna became Austrian citizens. At the end of 1991, altogether 280,811 foreigners and legally recognised refugees were resident in Vienna, compared with 300,675 in 1995. They came mainly from the former Yugoslavia (91,620), from Turkey (52,095), and from Poland (19,421). In 1991, almost a fifth (19,6 %) of the Austrian population lived in Vienna. Although, according to the 1991 census, Vienna has the smallest proportion of children of all the provinces (13,9 % children aged up to 15 years; Austrian average 17,4 %; average fertility rate: 1,48), a slight rise in the birth rate since 1981 has improved the age ratio. The number of persons of working age has increased to 973,868 since 1981 (63,2 % of the population), the proportion of old people (over 60) is still high (at 22,9 % in 1991), but has decreased from the 1981 figure (25,2 %), making Vienna the only province with a shrinking number of elderly people. In 1991, average life expectancy was 71.7 years for men and 78.6 years for women. Another unique feature of the demography of Vienna is the high excess of women over men. Vienna has 15.5 % more females than males, more than twice the Austrian average (7.7 %). New social trends are more pronounced in the conurbation of Vienna and its environs than in other towns or in the rural areas. The proportion of married people, at 50.7 %, for example, lies below the Austrian average of 54.9 % and has declined since 1981, also people marry later and get divorced more often in Vienna (10,4 % of adult persons are divorced; 5,701 divorces in 1995). Vienna also counts the highest number of single-person households (296,100, i.e. 40 % of households in 1995) in Austria, with an increase of 8.2 % between 1981 and 1991.

The Viennese dialect is used mostly by the lower classes, but on a decreasing scale. Owing to the comparatively large share of the Viennese in the overall population and their position as inhabitants of the political, economic and cultural centre of the country, they have played a decisive role in forming the stereotypical characteristics considered by many foreigners as "typically Austrian", such as Gemuetlichkeit and love of life, artistic (esp. musical) talent, and also their propensity for grumbling.

Vienna's international renown was and still is due to

Economy: Vienna is the economic capital of Austria: In 1991, a total of 71,000 companies (mostly SMEs; 1981: 66,127) employed 744,516 people, about one fourth of all gainfully employed Austrians, among them 701,052 wage and salary earners. 18,317 enterprises (26 %) are run as family businesses and have no employees, 46 % (32,796) employ 1-4 persons. From among the bigger companies, 73 % employ less than 20 persons, 1,5 % more than 100, and 142 large-scale enterprises employ more than 500 persons. The percentage of foreigners as wage and salary earners decreased from 13.3 % to 12.6 % between 1991 and 1993; the unemployment rate in 1993 was 7.2 %. The majority of the Viennese, some 75 % or 555,008 persons, work in the service sector, which accounts for 85 % (60,157) of all jobs. Despite the declining importance of the manufacturing industry, a nation-wide trend, this sector comprised 8,081 plants or workshops and employed 135,964 persons in 1991, keeping Vienna at the top of the list of industrial centres. In 1991/92, the number of industrial enterprises in Vienna decreased by 77, the number of employed persons shrank by 3,753, and in 1993 another 6,740 jobs were lost. Many companies located outside Vienna have their headquarters in the city: 45 % of all industrial enterprises are managed from Vienna. The economy in Vienna is typified by a diversity of trades and by the production of consumer-orientated and high-quality finished products. The largest number of companies (2,926) operates in the metal production and metal processing industries, employing 74,278 people; the food and beverage industry ranks second, providing work for 16,769 persons in 907 companies, followed by the printing industry with 12,773 employed in 931 enterprises. Other important sectors are the production and processing of chemicals and rubber, oil and plastics, mechanical engineering, reinforced concrete construction, vehicle building, hardware and metal goods production, and the building and construction industry (48,573 gainfully employed persons). The value of industrial production rose by 1.8 % from ATS 133,000,000,000 to ATS 136,000,000,000 in the period from 1991 to 1993. Commercial firms and crafts enterprises in Vienna employed 121,504 persons in 13,907 enterprises in 1991. In the same year, 1,281 agricultural enterprises employed as few as 5,025 persons (owners, family members, permanent workforce), a number which diminished further to 4,700 in 1993, the year of the latest micro-census. An important factor for both the local and the national economy are the Vienna trade fairs and fairs open to the general public, such as the "Fruehjahrsmesse" (spring fair), "Interieur" (interior design), "IFABO" (office technology), "Auto-Salon & Zweirad" (automobiles and (motor) bicycles).

Tourism: Having been the political and economic centre of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Vienna is a historic and cultural capital with a wealth of sights, and tourism, which already counted around 200,000 visitors in the year 1883, is of particular importance for the economy of the city. Following the end of the Second World War, Vienna re-gained its leading position in Austrian tourism as a city with a unique choice of cultural assets and events. In the year 1995, a total of 6,064 establishments were active in the hotel and catering trade, 340 of them hotels (13 5-star hotels) and other providers of accommodation, providing 20,796 rooms and 41,144 beds. In the same year 6,111,568 overnight stays of foreign guests were registered, compared with 938,142 of domestic tourists. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain the number of tourists from Austria's eastern neighbours has risen dramatically, but most of these tourists are day-trippers and thus not included in the statistics. As is characteristic of city tourism, most guests stay for an average of 2.5 days; bed occupancy for the summer season is 52,2 %.

Transport: Vienna occupies a key position in Central European air and inland traffic networks. In 1994, the public transport system comprised 35 tram lines and 5 underground railway lines (1,412 tractive units and passenger carriages, 237 km of tracks built, 759 km operational length) and transported 506,300,000 passengers, while 120,400,000 people used the 75 bus lines (516 coaches, 617 km total line length). Alongside these, the 68 coach lines operated by the Postal Administration and by the Federal Railways transported 24,200,000 persons to and from destinations outside Vienna. The railway system (passenger traffic and goods transport taken together) had an operational length of 178 km and 32 railway stations, and sold 8,900,000 tickets in 1992. In short-distance traffic, the Schnellbahn suburban railway network makes the area around Vienna accessible, extending also into the provinces of Burgenland and Lower Austria, and accounts for the bulk of daily commuting traffic (around 180,000 commuters per day). The "Verkehrsverbund Ostregion" transport association, whose central areas of operation are the Vienna city area, large parts of Lower Austria and the northern section of Burgenland, was established in 1984.

During the Second World War, all the railway stations in Vienna were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed by bombs. Among the major stations that were rebuilt or altered are the Western Railway Station (Westbahnhof, rebuilt in 1951, altered in 1993/94 in the course of works to extend the U 3 underground railway line and to re-design Europaplatz square) and the Franz Joseph railway station (integrated into a multipurpose office building). The Western and Southern Railway stations (the latter including the former Eastern Railway station) handle most long-distance and international transport, while the relevance of Franz Joseph, Vienna-Nord/Praterstern, and Vienna-Mitte stations lies in domestic and regional transport.

Vienna's road network is some 2,800 kilometres long, with around 680 km being heavily used roads (autobahn, federal roads, main roads) accounting for around 85 % of total traffic (14,400,000 car kilometres). The network of bicycle routes totalled 545 kilometres at the end of 1995.

In Vienna there are 5 road bridges and 2 rail bridges across the Danube: Nordbruecke bridge (part of the northern gateway into the city), Floridsdorf bridge, Nordbahn bridge, Brigittenau bridge, Reichsbruecke bridge, Prater railway bridge (constructed simultaneously with the south-east beltway A 20), and Stadlau Ostbahn railway bridge. The Danube Canal is spanned by 23 bridges and footbridges, including the 800 metre-long Guertel bridge (1962-1964) and the Erdberg bridge, which was constructed between 1969 and 1971 when the south-east beltway was widened.

The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 citizens rose from 94 to 434 between 1961 and 1995. In 1995, 710,827 motor vehicles were registered in Vienna, rendering it difficult to find a parking space in the densely settled town. The southern beltway (B 301), which is a much-used connection between autobahn A 2 and autobahn A 4, is intended to take pressure off residential areas and give access to important locations, such as the Danube river port Albern and the Metzger-Werke freight terminal.

Ship traffic on the Danube has decreased substantially in

Public Utilities: The public utility enterprises are mainly owned by the municipality of Vienna and comprise Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, or Wiener Linien (public transport), electric power plants (Wienstrom), gas works (Wiengas), and funeral services (Bestattung Wien). In 1995, these companies employed 15,118 persons, which made them one of Austria's major employers. Wienstrom provides electricity for the city of Vienna as well as for 110 Lower Austrian municipalities. The power plant at Simmering started operation in 1902 and today comprises 4 sections with a total capacity of 973 MW, 630 MW of which is fed into the district heating system. The power stations at Donaustadt and at Leopoldau can together produce a maximum of 480 MW electrical power and 170 MW long-distance energy. Following extensive environmental protection measures, the emission of nitrogen oxide was reduced by 87 % and that of sulphur oxide by 99 % between 1980 and 1996. Alongside its thermal power stations, Wienstrom also operates its own hydroelectric power stations at Gaming and Opponitz and holds the right to import electric energy from the power stations at Greifenstein and Freudenau. In 1995, the total energy consumption of Vienna was 9,385 GWh, half of which was generated by Wienstrom in its own stations, while the other half was supplied by "Verbundgesellschaft" (association of energy suppliers). For the supply of electric power, different networks with different voltage levels are in operation. The transport network uses a maximum voltage of 380 kV, while the distribution networks operate at 110 kV, 20 kV or 10 kV, and 230 V. There are 40 substations and more than 11,000 transformer stations, and the link between producers and consumers comprises around 21,000 kilometres of cable or aerial lines, as well as safeguarding installations ensuring the safe transport of electric energy.

Natural gas consumption in Vienna was around 2,038,000,000 m3 in 1996. To ensure sufficient natural gas supply, the storage capacity was increased to 725 m3 in 1993. The natural gas is supplied from domestic production as well as by Russian and Norwegian companies. The pipeline network of the Wiener Stadtwerke is around 3,345 kilometres long and supplies 725,415 consumers (figures from 1996). A high-pressure gas line of 15.5 kilometres length was constructed between Aderklaa and the steam power station at Donaustadt ("Ost 2").

In 1994, the total energy consumption of the federal capital was 31,689,44 gigawatt-hours. Use of solar energy is promoted through investment incentives.

Drinking water in Vienna consisted of around 97 % springwater in 1995. The remainder came from underground water from pumping stations in and outside Vienna, a small portion of treated surface water (Wiental water pipeline), and stored water. A number of institutions are engaged in the public water supply: the Vienna "Hochquell" water mains 1 (134 km) and 2 (200 km), 7 subsoil waterworks, 14 pumping stations, 9 pressure-raising stations, 1 treatment facility, 11 hydroelectric power stations, and a water pipeline network of 3,176 kilometres. 34 water containers can store a total of 1,465,870 m3. Water consumption was 1,280,000,000 litres in 1995.

In 1996, the Vienna sewage network comprised 2,134,776 metres of street conduits and 5,554,625 metres of house conduits; the two sewage treatment plants purified 198,000,000 m3 (main plant) and 19,900,000 m3 (plant at Blumental) of used water.

The annual fuel consumption of Vienna varies considerably. Most of the heat supply today is ensured by central heating systems in houses, by gas heating or district heating systems. In 1996, the proportion taken up by district heating was around 25 %, production capacity was 2,534 MW; 13 production units fed electricity into the Verbund electricity network. In 1995/96, the Heizbetriebe Wien Ges. m. b. H. sold 4,598 GWh and provided 157,787 homes and 3,467 large-scale users with heat; the district heating network is more than 735 kilometres long. The demand for district heating in Vienna is usually satisfied by the waste heat produced by the electric power stations at Simmering (installed production capacity of 280 MW and 350 MW in 1996) and at Leopoldau (170 MW), by the OMV refinery at Schwechat (170 MW), by the waste disposal enterprise at Simmering (40 MW), and by the domestic waste incinerators at Floetzersteig (50 MW) and Spittelau (60 MW, biggest district heating plant in Austria). Peak consumption is covered by oil and gas power stations at Leopoldau, Spittelau (395 MW), Arsenal (326 MW), Kagran (176 MW), and Liesing (340 MW). The role of mineral fuels (brown coal, hard coal, coke) for heating private houses is becoming less and less important.

A refuse storage dump is located at Rautenweg (22nd district). In 1995, the amount of refuse produced in Vienna was 822,000 metric tons, 37 % of which was collected through the refuse separation system, 54 % collected as bulk waste and incinerated, 9 % stored.

Food and goods supply in Vienna is ensured by numerous

Vienna's social system constituted a leading example for many cities in Europe even in the inter-war years. Support is provided in the form of pecuniary assistance and social services (domestic helpers, home care for sick persons, "meals on wheels" delivery service, visiting service, family assistance). Vienna has a number of senior citizens homes and nursing homes, institutions providing advice and assistance, day centres and hostels, as well as hostels and workshops for the disabled. In 1995, 1,908 disabled persons were cared for, 3,915 children and young people asking for assistance were helped, and 4,511 children were in psychological care in homes. In the same year, 60,400 children were entrusted to the care of 1,356 children's day-care centres. Owing to a high percentage of senior citizens in Vienna, facilities for the aged were greatly expanded. In 1995, 19,388 seniors per day received care in 80 old-age homes (30 run by the City of Vienna), providing a total capacity of 20,233 places. Furthermore, there are 4 homes for disabled persons in Vienna, 13 asylums for homeless people, 2 family hostels, and 2 hostels for women in difficult family situations. In 1995, the City of Vienna spent ATS 23,500,000 for social services and housing promotion, which accounts for 16 % of the total budget.

The health sector employed 10,519 physicians in 1995. In 1994, Vienna had 56 hospitals with 20,849 beds, 5,143 doctors and 19,720 nursing staff; the City of Vienna operated a hospital and 4 nursing homes outside Vienna, providing treatment for 464,131 in-patients. 27 hospitals are managed by the City of Vienna, while 29 are run by other institutions. The usable floor space of the Vienna General Hospital (Wiener Allgemeines Krankenhaus, AKH) is 345,000 m2, it comprises 45 departments and institutes of the University of Vienna, 2,184 beds, and around 5,800 staff, including some 1,000 doctors and other university graduates. The AKH was built at a cost of around ATS 37,000,000 over a period of 35 years, went into operation in several phases and was officially opened on 7 June, 1994. The most recent hospital in Vienna is the Donauspital at the SMZ-Ost centre (built from 1992 to 1994). In 1995, the City of Vienna operated 7 centres for medical check-ups, 3 advice centres for pregnant women, and 906 outpatient departments (independent or part of a hospital). The Vienna ambulances transported 359,802 persons in 1995. In the same year, ATS 27,200,000 were spent in the health sector, that is 19 % of the total budget.

On 21 September, 1923, the Vienna City Council adopted a 5-year construction programme, providing for 25,000 apartments to be built from tax revenues, a measure intended to alleviate the situation of the poor who often lived in overcrowded conditions (in 1910 there were 92,994 subtenants and 75,473 persons renting beds, 25 % of apartments consisting of a kitchen and one room housed 5-10 persons). Between 1925 and 1934, 337 housing estates with 64,000 council flats were built by the City of Vienna. Building activity stagnated between 1934 and 1945, and by 1945 war damage had rendered 86,875 houses uninhabitable. In 1954, the basis was laid for the construction of 100,000 new council flats, most of which were finished by 1958. Between 1945 and 1993, another 150,000 council flats were constructed. In June/July of 1994, 220,000 council flats (more than a quarter of all flats in Vienna) were managed by the City of Vienna, making the latter the number-one house owner in Austria. An extensive renovation programme for council houses got under way in the middle of the 1980s. In addition to that, the public authorities partly financed the activities of non-profit building associations and the construction of freehold flats. Between 1950 and 1980, some 300,000 new homes were built in Vienna, particularly on the outskirts of the city, while between 1980 and 1990 building activity receded with only around 6,000 new homes coming on the market every year.

Arts, Culture, Science: Vienna is home to the Austrian Academy of Sciences and numerous universities, such as University of Vienna, University of Technology, Vienna, University of Agricultural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Akademie der bildenden Kuenste (Academy of Fine Arts), a School of Music and Performing Arts, and of

Viennese Theatre plays a

The City of Vienna supports the fine arts by providing

Vienna's history has created a rich heritage of

History: Owing to its favourable geographic location (downstream of the Danube river gap, on the eastern slope of the Vienna Woods, traversed by numerous streams and rivers), settlements were established in the Vienna area (Hornstein mine at Antonshoehe hill in the Maurer forest, 23rd district) from the New Stone Age. Finds on Leopoldsberg hill go back to a Celtic settlement (oppidum), in Leopoldau (22nd district) and in the 3rd and 11th districts there is evidence of settlements from around the middle of the 4th century B.C. The name of the River Wien ("Vedunia" = forest stream) goes back to the Celtic La Tène-period. From the early 1st century A.D., the Romans chose Carnuntum, a settlement in a favourable location on the Amber Route, as the central town of the province of Pannonia and also established a camp at Vienna to protect the western flank of Carnuntum. The first parts of this settlement were at the limes road (now Rennweg street), and under emperor Domitian a horsemen's camp was positioned where the city centre is now located (A.D. 81-96). Under the emperor Trajan (98-117), a fortified legion camp was established in the same place, which was called "Vindobona", a name taken over from the Celtic language. Its walls were partly in use until the 12th century and were still mentioned in the 2nd half of the 13th

The settlement expanded again in the Carolingian era (9th century), including the area around St. Peter's. The threat to Vienna by the Magyars is first mentioned in 881, and after the defeat of the Bavarian Count Liutpold at Pressburg (Bratislava) in 907, the settlement remained in the hands of the Magyars until the end of the 10th century. The Magyar threat still stifled settlement in the 11th century, but signs of an expansion between Baeckerstrasse street and Sonnfelsgasse street can be traced to the middle of the 11th century.

Under Margrave Leopold III, the Babenbergs, a reigning dynasty in Austria from 976, acquired Vienna, which was first described as a civitas (self-governing municipality) in 1137. Heinrich II Jasomirgott, Duke of Bavaria and Margrave, from 1156 Duke of Austria, moved his residence to Vienna around 1150, where he established a palace at Am Hof and founded the Schottenkloster monastery. He also initiated the process of making Vienna a chartered town. From the late 12th century, the town expanded, and a new outer city wall was built on the site now occupied by the Ringstrasse boulevard. The reign of Duke Leopold VI (1198-1230) is regarded as a golden era in the history of Vienna. Not only did he found numerous monasteries, he also granted Vienna the status of a town and the staple right, which meant that foreign merchants were obliged to deposit their goods in Vienna to enable intermediate trade (1221). Trade flourished in those days, and trading relations were established with Venice in 1200.

In the course of the power struggle between Emperor Friedrich II and Duke Friedrich II the Warlike, Vienna was made an imperial town (1237) but soon lost this status again. Following the death of the last male Babenberg in 1246, Vienna came under the rule of the Bohemian King Otakar II (1251-76), under whom the city experienced another economic upswing in spite of several devastating fires. During his last years as ruler, Otakar, who was favoured by the Viennese over Rudolf of Habsburg, started construction of the Hofburg Imperial Palace. In a peace treaty concluded in November 1276, Vienna was awarded to King Rudolf, from 1282 it was ruled by his sons. The hostile attitude Vienna exhibited towards the new town lords and rulers of the country over many years culminated in an uprising in the year 1288, which ended with the loss of important privileges. Tensions eased only when town status was again granted in 1296, but Vienna had to give up a certain degree of autonomy to the new rulers. In the course of the 14th century, the appearance of the town was altered in

Vienna was the residential town of the German Kings and of the Roman Emperors (first in 1438, on a permanent basis from the early 17th century) and was in this capacity home to some of the authorities of the German Empire as well as to the central authorities of the Habsburg Empire, which was on its way to becoming a Great Power. From 1485 to 1490, the town was under the rule of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. Until the early 16th century, tensions and upheavals were rife as different sides favoured different pretenders to the throne and the Estates fought for more rights, a fight during which several mayors of Vienna were put to death (K. Vorlauf in 1408, W. Holzer in 1463, M. Siebenbuerger in 1522). The victory of Ferdinand I brought Vienna new town regulations (1526), stripping the city of numerous privileges and greatly reducing its autonomy.

The year 1529 marked the first of the Turkish Sieges of Vienna. During the Reformation, most of the Viennese population converted to

Music in Vienna flourished in particular during the Enlightenment ( Joseph II), ( Viennese Classicism, C. W. Gluck, J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart), and

In the 1st half of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie became the major

After the First World War, Vienna became the capital city

The Uprising, February 1934, the dissolution of the Social-Democratic Party and the proclamation of

From 1945 to 1955, Vienna was occupied by the Allied

Reconstruction was concluded under F. Jonas as mayor (1951-1965). In the 1950s, the focus was on town enlargement, and new housing estates and housing blocks were built, while from the middle of the 1960s re-vitalisation of old and dilapidated buildings was promoted more intensively. From that time onwards, Vienna was also more closely linked with the surrounding regions of Lower Austria and northern Burgenland through the "Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region" transport association, with Vienna as the cultural, economic and socio-political centre of the region. The political scene was marked by great stability: Until 1996, the Socialist Party (SPOe) held the absolute majority of seats in the municipal council (largest number of seats: 66, in 1973). The Austrian People's Party (OeVP) supplied a deputy mayor for several decades, but lost participation in the town government from 1973 to 1996; since then, the People's Party has again been entitled to the positions of one deputy mayor and one municipal councillor. The Communist Party (KPOe) has not had any representatives in the municipal council since 1969, whereas the Freedom Party (FPOe) has been represented since 1959, the Green Party since 1991, and the Liberal Forum since 1996.

Not long after 1955, Vienna began to establish itself as an international conference venue (meeting between J. F. Kennedy and N. Khrushchev in 1961, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) and as the seat of international organisations, and it saw itself as a mediator between East and West.

From around 1960, municipal efforts were mainly focused

Provincial Constitutional Law: The 1921 Separation Act made Vienna an independent Province coterminous with the City of Vienna as of 1 January, 1922. The 100-member municipal council, elected for a 5-year term, is at the same time the provincial legislature (Landtag), the 13-member town senate (figures from 1995) is simultaneously the provincial government, the mayor's dual function is that of mayor and provincial governor (Landeshauptmann), and the city authority is also the office of the provincial government. The town senate comprises one mayor, 2 deputy mayors and a number of city councillors and is elected by the municipal council for a 5-year office term. The decentralised administrative offices are headed by an elected chairman and elected representatives. Vienna has 11 seats in the "Bundesrat" (Federal Council), and 41 in the "Nationalrat" (National Council). Since 1945, the provincial governor has been recruited without interruption from the SPOe. The provincial government is composed of 7 SPOe members, 4 FPOe members, 2 OeVP members, and one member from the Green Party.

Vienna is an archdiocese with 20 deaneries, 163 parishes and numerous local offices in schools and hospitals; 57,8 % of the population adhere to the Roman-Catholic faith, compared to 81,6 % in 1961. 5,4 % of Viennese are Protestants, and the Protestant Church in Vienna is composed of 20 parishes adhering to the Augsburg Confession and 3 adhering to the Helvetic Confession. Besides these two main groups, there are 6 parishes of Old Catholics, 4 of Methodists, 7 of the Russian, Rumanian, Serb-Orthodox and Greek-Oriental Churches, and 2 places of worship of the Buddhist Religious Community; the Vienna Jewish Community counts 6,600 members, the Islamic Religious Community has 62,300 members; around 304,600 citizens of Vienna are without denomination, the religious affiliation of 100,700 Viennese (1991) is unknown.

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