!!!Bauwirtschaft

Construction Industry (Bauwirtschaft, in Austria covering all 
activities of the building and ancillary trades). Up to the 
19%%sup th/%  century, craftsmen (master builders, bricklayers and 
carpenters) were the main players in the building trade, and there 
were only few big construction firms. The army was frequently employed 
in the construction of roads, fortifications, etc. Big building firms 
grew only with the construction of railways and industrial sites, 
residential building continued to be dominated by the building trade.

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The construction of the road and railway systems stagnated in the time 
between the two World Wars. Only a few projects were carried out in 
order to create jobs (e.g. the Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse, 
Hoehenstrasse scenic road and Reichsbruecke bridge in Vienna). In 
Vienna, as in other cities, major communal structures were built. 
Large-scale projects were started after Austria's annexation by Nazi 
Germany in 1938 (hydroelectric power stations, motorways, industrial 
sites) and were only completed after the end of World War II.

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The need for rapid reconstruction led to emphasis on merely functional 
aspects, often without consideration of environmental and 
aesthetic/architectural principles. Attitudes in construction changed 
in the middle of the 1970s. Environmental and aesthetic concerns were 
increasingly respected, and materials such as wood, brick and natural 
stone were more frequently used. Big construction firms experienced a 
boom never seen before, which was due to the application of new 
methods (prestressed concrete engineering, use of prefabricated 
compound units, etc.) and major innovations such as the Austrian 
tunnel driving method that were exemplary in the whole world.

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Private home building was advanced through the capital created by 
means of savings agreements with home savings banks. Austrian 
construction enterprises are enjoying a good international reputation 
and have therefore also been able to expand their activities abroad.

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In 1995, the Austrian construction industry contributed some ATS 176 
bn to the GDP (approximately 8 %).

\\
 Bau Holding AG,  ERA-Bau AG,  Maculan Holding AG,  Mayreder, Kraus & 
Co Bauholdingges. m. b. H.,  Porr, Allgemeine 
Baugesellschaft A. Porr AG,  STRABAG Oesterreich AG,  TEERAG ASDAG,  
Universale Baugesellschaft AG,  Wiener Betriebs- und Baugesellschaft 
m. b. H., WIBEBA.


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