Archive: Nov 2019

There are any number of things one might expect to fish out of the Donaukanal, but a crocodile? What could that possibly be doing there? But the Donaukanal has, in fact, been home to at least one such reptile. It is unclear how exactly he got there, but in 2001 a crocodile was pulled out…

Sometime ago, we told you the story of the Andrássy Villa.  A large house in the district of Döblig. At that time, we noted that the place was in pretty bad shape and we were wondering what would happen to it. We don’t know who owns the places now, but we passed by some weeks…

Perhaps you looked out the window last Sunday and saw a massive column of smoke rising from somewhere near the border of the 2nd and 20th districts and wondered what it could be. If so, you were in good company as the smoke plumes could be seen over much of the city. Sadly, it was…

If you have visited the Stephansdom, chances are that you have seen Emperor Friedrich III (Frederick III). Well, not him personally, but his tomb. Friedrich III was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until he died in 1493 making him one of the longest serving emperors. And he is also famous because of the letters “A.E.I.O.U.”,…

At the corner of the Universitätsstrasse and the Garnisongasse in the district of Alsergrund there is a house with a peculiar name: Hosenträgerhaus (literally the “suspenders haus”). The architect of the house was Otto Wagner, it was built in 1887/1888, and it appears that the origins of the nickname Hosenträger are found in the vertical…

Public pools and saunas are an indelible part of the Viennese cultural landscape; be it summer or winter, the Viennese love a good soak and a steamy sweat. Its a tradition that stretches back over the centuries, and was of particular importance in the days before people had running water and baths in their homes….