Gazing out the window on an afternoon ride on the #6 tram, depending on which side you are sitting on, you may slowly roll past a large and impressive social housing building on the Margaretengürtel. It looks much like other social housing buildings, though the size and style of it captures the attention more than…
Pharmacies. Nothing special about them until we need them. In 2017, the city had 326 of them and some of these pharmacies have beautiful interior and exterior designs, excellent service, and many of them sell also more than just medication. And there are pharmacies that are pretty old. Not using the original name or location,…
In order to find out more about the mood in Vienna at the end of 1955, this SV explorer searched the archives and found a long ‘Letter from Vienna’ sent by the correspondent of The New Yorker magazine to his American readers back home in November 1955. From this letter we find out that the…
400 years ago, the Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi put everything at risk as she wrote history for being among the first women to express experiences with sexual violence through art. The story might be more significant than ever since in today’s times more and more women reach out and share their traumatic experiences of assault…
Have you ever heard of Caspar Zumbusch? Not really a household name, but kind of a big deal. He was a sculptor born in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1830 and starting in 1873 he worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. To make a long story short, he is responsible for monuments that most…
When walking around Vienna, it’s always a good idea to look up and admire the beautiful building facades that are so easily overlooked. One building that can hardly be overlooked is the DC Tower. The name stands for Donau City Tower, and since its completion in 2014, it has been the tallest skyscraper in Austria…
Some time ago, we told you the story of the Donnerbrunnen: The fountain located in the Neuer Markt that features a partially nude reclining statue of Providentia surrounded by allegorical figures symbolizing the main rivers of Austria. The nude figures of the fountain were deemed a scandalous affront to public decency and were removed in…
From bike flea markets and repair stations to concerts and general nightlife, the WUK has become a much-loved and indelible part of the Viennese landscape. Sadly, it wasn’t always so, and its survival was by no means ensured. The WUK originally served as a factory for machines and locomotives from the time it was constructed…
The Imperial and Royal Library at the Josefplatz is a well-known museum not only because it is located in a well frequented street, but also because of its beautiful interior. And perhaps one of the first things that catch a visitor’s attention is the group of figures in the center/top of the façade. Have you…
In many cities one can find some places that were forgotten or lost for a long time only to be found again at some point. One such example in Vienna is the “Virgilkapelle” (The Virgil’s chapel), which was built in the 13th century and was situated under another chapel, namely the Magdalena chapel, which used…
