Mariahilf, Bezirk von Wien#

Mariahilf, 6th district of Vienna, area 1.48 km2, pop. 30,298 (1991), situated on territory sloping sharply towards the River Wien (in former times made up of vineyards and clay pits); the lower stretch of the river was vaulted in 1895 and flows through a subterranean canal on which the Naschmarkt (one of Vienna´s most famous and biggest markets situated on the border to the 5th district) is located. From the Mariahilfer Stasse (street marking the border to the 7th district, Neubau), flights of steps lead down to the River Wien. The name of the former village of Mariahilf, which began to develop around the Barnabite cemetery in 1660, was derived from a miraculous representation of the Virgin (1660, a replica of a painting by L. Cranach the Elder at Passau), which today is housed by the church of Mariahilf In 1862 the suburbs of Laimgrube, Windmuehlgrund, Magdalenengrund (also called "Ratzenstadl") and Gumpendorf (first documented mention in the 12th century) were united with the territory of Mariahilf; some time afterwards the name of the latter was used for the whole district. Situated on the road to Schoenbrunn and the former post road to Linz, Mariahilf quickly began to flourish. It developed into a district of the lower middle classes, where many artisans and merchants (trading mostly in clothes, steel furniture, gratings, curtains, lace, knitwear, textiles and shoes) set up business. Due to the building of a big railway station, the Westbahnhof (Vienna Western Railway Station) in 1857 and the extension of the tram network to the 6th district in 1869, the Mariahilfer Strasse became increasingly vital for the development of the town. Towards the end of the 19th century numerous department stores had already opened up business in this street, which by then had became the most important shopping street for those living in the suburbs. Today Mariahilfer Strasse is one of Vienna´s main shopping streets with numerous department stores (Gerngross, Herzmansky and others). It is characterized by buildings dating from the Age of Promotorism, the period of the Vienna Secession Movement (famous artist´s association active at the beginning of the 20th century) and from recent times (e.g. the Generali shopping mall, C & A, the Peek & Cloppenburg clothing company). In 1993 the U3 underground line was extended as far as the Westbahnhof railway station, and Mariahilfer Strasse was redesigned (pavements were broadened etc.) - Parish church of Mariahilf, built by S. Carlone (1686-1689), redesigned by F. Jaenggl (1711-1715), ceiling paintings (1759-1760) by J. Hauzinger and F. X. Strattmann, altar by J. G. Dorfmeister. Near the church is a monument to Haydn (1887), a Salvatorian monastery (former Barnabite monastery, built between 1768 and 1777). Parish church of Gumpendorf (1765-1770; paintings by M. J. Schmidt); parish church of Laimgrube (1906/07, Baroque interior taken over from a church which had previously been built on this site); Protestant Gustav-Adolf Church (built to plans by L. Foerster und T. Hansen between 1846 and 1849). Monumental buildings: Theater an der Wien (1798-1801), Raimundtheater (1893), Semperdepot (stage decoration repository, first of the Imperial Theatre, then of the Austrian Association of Federal Theatres, 1877, built according to designs by G. Semper and C. Hasenauer, renovated in 1994-1996 and now used by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna); Apollo Centre (variety theatre in 1904; converted into Vienna´s first big sound-film cinema in 1929, turned into a cinema complex with numerous projection rooms and Austria´s biggest screen (34 x 18 m) in 1993); chemical labs and mechanical engineering workshops of the Vienna University of Technology, former Imperial Military Academy (completed in 1865, enlarged in 1873), multistorey building (1970) housing the departments of the Vienna University of Technology; vocational training centre (1911) and "Jubilaeumswerkstaettenhof" (provides apartments and office rooms and workshops for commercial enterprises, built by O. Richter and L. Ramsauer in 1909; erected on the occasion of Emperor Franz Joseph´s diamond jubilee as Emperor of Austria); hospital of the Sisters of Mercy. The flak tower (1942-1944) in the Esterházy Park, which served to detect enemy aircraft during World War II, was turned into a highly popular museum of marine fauna and reptiles (Haus des Meeres) in 1966.- Suburban buildings and outstanding housing estates dating from the periods of Historicism and Art Nouveau (e.g. house in which the famous composer J. Haydn lived and died, Haydn Museum, Bernhard-Ludwig Building, 1889,housing estates designed by O. Wagner, 1899). Naschmarkt, including a big flea market set up above the subterranean canal of the River Wien (parts of the market belong to the 5th district); Arik-Brauer Building (1994, situated at 134-136, Gumpendorfer Strasse).

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