Ubahn station

Everyday the residents of Vienna take the public transportation to work or to school, with a large share of these commutes taking place on the metro. Although the Viennese metro is world class, one element of the metro stations is notably prone to shut-downs: that is, the escalators. These are subject to regular maintenance that…

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…

We have told you a bit about Otto Wagner and his influence on Viennese architecture and design. Perhaps his largest project was the design of the Stadtbahn that today can be seen along the metro lines U4 and U6. An important station of the Stadtbahn was one located at Karlsplatz as it was the first…

It is likely that everyone in Vienna has heard about the „Schottentor“.  A famous spot for Vienna’s transport system, which brings together several tram lines and the metro U2.  The origins of the name may be a bit obvious for some and less so for others.  The “Scottish Gate” was the name of the gate…

The mysteriously missing U5 If you often take the subway in Vienna, you may have noticed that there are only 5 lines, but they are named the U1, U2, U3, U4, and U6. So can the Viennese just not count correctly, or what happened to the U5? In fact, ever since the early days of…

Recently we told you some of the secrets of the U2, but it is not the only underground line in Vienna with a story to tell. This time we will go underground with the U1, which was the first subway line to open in Vienna, and is currently the longest line at 19.2 km long. When it…

One of the things that makes Vienna such a highly livable city is the public transportation system. Although often taken for granted, even the seemingly mundane and pedestrian (ha!) Ubahn system has a story to tell; in this case, it is the story of the U2. Long one of the shorter and less frequented subway…

If you have been in the metro station Johnstrasse, it is likely that you also know the market that is connected to it, namely the Meiselmarkt. These two locations were inaugurated almost at the same time with the metro station opening its doors in 1994 and the market in 1995. They also share a common…

At one end of the Wollzeile street in the city center you will find yourself at a metro station, namely Stubentor. Similar to the Schottentor, the “Tor” refers to one of the city gates that were located in the area. The history of the Stubentor goes back to the 13th century and it was eventually…

The Schwedenplatz metro station was built in 1978/79 and is the connection of the metro lines U1 and U4; a vital intersection in Vienna’s public transportation system. Part of Vienna’s fortifications used to stand at the Schwedenplantz, but after the Kaiser decided to remove the walls, the fortifications in this area were demolished in 1858/59. One…