!!!Wien, Bundesland
Vienna: (Wien) area 414.953 km%%sup 2/%; pop. 1,651,437; density
of pop. 3,711 per km%%sup 2/%; 153,693 buildings; 853,091 flats;
725,468 households; 23 districts, 9 court districts.
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Vienna is the smallest province in geographical terms,
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Geographical location: Vienna's development as one of
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Landscape: Vienna's altitude varies between 151 m in
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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 2%%sup nd/% half of the 18%%sup th/%
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.
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The town area is divided into two parts which are
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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.
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Population: In modern times, the population growth in Vienna has been
determined by immigration. At the end of the 19%%sup th/% and the
beginning of the 20%%sup th/% 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 km%%sup 2/% in 1910,
414.95 km%%sup 2/% 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.
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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.
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Vienna's international renown was and still is due to
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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).
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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 %.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Ship traffic on the Danube has decreased substantially in
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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.
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Natural gas consumption in Vienna was around
2,038,000,000 m%%sup 3/% in 1996. To ensure sufficient natural
gas supply, the storage capacity was increased to 725 m%%sup 3/%
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").
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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.
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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 m%%sup 3/%. Water consumption was 1,280,000,000 litres
in 1995.
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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 m%%sup 3/% (main plant) and
19,900,000 m%%sup 3/% (plant at Blumental) of used water.
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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.
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A refuse storage dump is located at Rautenweg (22%%sup nd/%
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.
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Food and goods supply in Vienna is ensured by numerous
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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.
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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 m%%sup 2/%, 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.
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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.
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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
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Viennese Theatre plays a
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The City of Vienna supports the fine arts by providing
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Vienna's history has created a rich heritage of
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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, 23%%sup rd/% district) from the New Stone Age.
Finds on Leopoldsberg hill go back to a Celtic settlement (oppidum),
in Leopoldau (22%%sup nd/% district) and in the 3%%sup rd/% and
11%%sup th/% districts there is evidence of settlements from around
the middle of the 4%%sup th/% century B.C. The name of the River Wien
("Vedunia" = forest stream) goes back to the Celtic La
Tène-period. From the early 1%%sup st/% 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
12%%sup th/% century and were still mentioned in the 2%%sup nd/%
half of the 13%%sup th/%
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The settlement expanded again in the Carolingian era (9%%sup th/%
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
10%%sup th/% century. The Magyar threat still stifled settlement in
the 11%%sup th/% century, but signs of an expansion between
Baeckerstrasse street and Sonnfelsgasse street can be traced to the
middle of the 11%%sup th/% century.
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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
12%%sup th/% 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.
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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 14%%sup th/% century, the appearance of the town was
altered in
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Vienna was the residential town of the German Kings and of the Roman
Emperors (first in 1438, on a permanent basis from the early
17%%sup th/% 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 16%%sup th/% 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.
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The year 1529 marked the first of the Turkish Sieges of Vienna.
During the Reformation, most of the Viennese population converted to
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Music in Vienna flourished in particular during the Enlightenment (
Joseph II), ( Viennese Classicism, C. W. Gluck, J. Haydn,
W. A. Mozart), and
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In the 1%%sup st/% half of the 19%%sup th/% century, the bourgeoisie
became the major
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After the First World War, Vienna became the capital city
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The Uprising, February 1934, the dissolution of the Social-Democratic
Party and the proclamation of
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From 1945 to 1955, Vienna was occupied by the Allied
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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.
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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.
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From around 1960, municipal efforts were mainly focused
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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.
!Literature
Geschichte der Stadt Wien, ed. by Altertumsverein,
1897-1918, Nationalrat 1955ff.; Jahrbuch des Vereins fuer Geschichte
der Stadt Wien, 1938ff.; F. Walter, Wien. Die Geschichte einer
deutschen Grossstadt an der Grenze, 3 vols., 1940-1944;
Bibliographie zur Geschichte und Stadtkunde von Wien, ed. by Verein
fuer Landeskunde von Niederoesterreich und Wien, 4 vols., 1947-1958;
City of Vienna (ed.), Mttlg. aus Statistik und Verwaltung der Stadt
Wien, 1947ff.; R. Till, Geschichte der Wiener Stadtverwaltung in den
letzten 200 Jahren, 1957; H. Kuepper, Geologie von Wien, 1965; K.
Ziak, Wiedergeburt einer Weltstadt, Wien 1945-65, 1965; E.
Lichtenberger, Wirtschaftsfunktion und Sozialstruktur der Wiener
Ringstrasse, 1970; Austrian Academy of Sciences (ed.),
Theatergeschichte Oesterreichs, Wien, vol. III, 2 nos.,
1970, 1971; F. Starmuehlner and F. Ehrendorfer (eds.), Naturgeschichte
Wiens, 4 vols., 1970-1974; D. Bernt, Der Erholungsraum der
Wiener, 1972; F. Czeike, Wien und seine Buergermeister, 1974; F.
Baltzarek, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft der Stadterweiterung, 1975; E.
Lichtenberger, Die Wiener Altstadt, 2 vols., 1977; Kammer der
gewerblichen Wirtschaft, Vienna section (ed.), Wiener Wirtschaft,
1977ff.; E. Lichtenberger, Stadtgeographischer Fuehrer Wien, 1978; H.
Matuschka, Sozial- und Gesundheitswesen, 1978; O. Harl, Vindobona,
1979; F. Czeike, Geschichte der Stadt Wien, 1981; P. Csendes,
Geschichte Wiens, 1981; R. Schediwy, Gruen in der Grossstadt, 1982; E.
Bodzenta, Strukturverbesserung fuer Wien, 1983; P. Marchart, Wohnbau
in Wien 1923-83, 1984; City of Vienna (ed.), Wien und Grossstaedte
Europas, Statistische Mttlg. 3/1986; H. Jeglitsch, Die Industrie in
der Ostregion Oesterr., 1987; E. Lichtenberger, Stadtentwicklung und
dynamische Faktorialoekologie, 1987; Federation of Austrian Industry
(ed.), Wiener Industrie, 1987; City of Vienna (ed.),
Bevoelkerungsbewegung und -struktur 1956-86, Statistische Mttlg.
2/1987; K. Arnold (Federation of Austrian Industry, ed.), Wiener
Industrie-Atlas, 1988; J. Auer, Klima von Wien, 1989; City of Vienna
(ed.), Der Wald in Wien, Statistische Mttlg. 1/1989; N. Nemetschke and
G. J. Kugler, Lexikon der Wiener Kunst und Kultur, 1990; E.
Lichtenberger, Stadtverfall und Stadterneuerung, 1990; City of Vienna
(ed.), Neue Entwicklungstendenzen fuer Wien, Statistische Mttlg.
1/1990; F. Czeike, Historisches Lexikon Wien, 1992ff.; Magistrat of
Vienna (ed.), Statistisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Wien, 1995; City of
Vienna (ed.), Die Entwicklung der Umweltsituation in Wien,
Statistische Mttlg. 3/1993; F. Czeike, Wien in der 2. Haelfte des
20. Jahrhunderts, in: J. Rauchenberger (ed.), Stichwort Demokratie,
1994; Magistrat of Vienna, section MA 18 (ed.), Stadtentwicklungsplan
fuer Wien (= Beitraege zur Stadtforschung, Stadtentwicklung,
Stadtgestaltung, vol. 53), 1994; Magistrat of Vienna,
Verkehrskonzept Wien. Generelles Massnahmenprogramm (= Wiener
Verkehrskonzept, no. 9), 1994.
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