Very iennaV Viennese Culture and LifestyleBeyond its Clichées

Power in TranquilityThe Chinese Diaspora in Vienna

Hands On, Minds On, Hearts On!Vienna’s Approach to Children’s Culture

One Night in ViennaThe City’s Vibrant and Unique Club and Bar Scene

Step by StepDiscovering Viennese Dancing Tradition

VeryVienna 3

Dear Readers,

Thank you for picking up this magazine and for your

interest. In connection with the May 2010 Austria-Day

at Shanghai’s World Expo, we are happy to send a

special greeting from Vienna, the capital city of

Austria, to every single reader. You may agree that

Vienna is famous for classical music, theatre, opera,

and for its wonderful imperial architecture. And, of

course, we are happy that you enjoy and admire all of

this. The world’s interest and admiration has given

Vienna got the reputation of being city of living

history. Having a good image is an asset, but being

nothing more than that which an image presents

would be bad for a city’s vital identity.

That is why we would also like you to know that

Vienna is more than just its history. On the founda-

tions of history, a culture of reflexion, of presence, and

also of openness to the future is flourishing. One might

forget that beyond the clichés and stereotypes, the

gorgeous art, a marvellous show can only be realistic

and credible if there is an intrinsically autochthonous

and authentic side to it: the “Very Vienna” side.

You may know that Vienna feeds from its local genius.

That, however, you may not know well: the dialectic

attitude in facing everyday life and wrestling with its

contradictions. This is called the ‘Viennese Mentality’

and it is a blend of opposites: humour and sadness, will

to live and desire to die, astonishing beauty and

triumphant mediocrity, open and wide horizons and

small minds, belief and scepticism, overpowering

sorrow and sometimes negligent carelessness, easily-

offended criticism and irrational empathy and warmth.

All this, and so much more, embody the psychology of

an urban society characterized by rich social and

cultural history, different cultural traditions, religious

programs, and worlds of knowledge. Freud himself

could not explain it.

In order to give you an insight into Vienna as it is for

itself and through itself, the students of the Depart-

ment of Communication at he Faculty of Social

Sciences at the University of Vienna tried to portray

Vienna as it is not shown in worldwide mainstream

media: as a space for creative art with a particular life

style. We also wanted to portrait the city as a place of

science and knowledge, but because there is only so

much space in this magazine, we had to restrict our-

selves to some small examples –those should, at least,

show that creativity also matters in science.

However, there are big differences between Vienna

and Shanghai, but there is at least one similarity:

Better City, Better Life!

Enjoy the magazine,

Warm Regards,

Dr. Thomas A. Bauer, University Professor at the

Department of Communication / University of Vienna

Very iennaVPage Content

4 Power in TranquillityThe Chinese Diaspora in Vienna

7 Chinese New Year’s Concertin Vienna

8 The First Chinese Lantern Festivalin Vienna

9 Step by stepDiscovering Vienna’ Dancing

Tradition

12 Light, Shadows and Motion Vienna’s Unique Cinema

Landscape

14 “Hands, on, Minds on,Hearts On!”Vienna’s Approach to Children’s

Culture

18 Poems, Enzi’s and Tomatoes Traces of Contemporary Art

in Public Space

19 An Urban InterventionSoho Festival at Vienna’s

Brunnenmarkt

22 One Night in ViennaThe City’s Vibrant and Unique

Club and Bar Scene

25 Falafel, Sauerkraut and DumplingsVienna´s Exotic and Lively Inner

City Market

26 Problems? No, Creatives Seize the OpportunityCreative People Giving &

Benefitting in a City Filled with

Possibilities

28 Richness of the 100 Voices100 Communities on TV to Show

Their Insights and Interests

30 Architecture Macchiato:Garnishing ArchitectureYoung Architecture Contributing

to a Vital Cityscape

34 The Baron and His HarnessAboard one of Vienna’s Famous

Fiaker Carriages

37 Death Must Be VienneseEurope’s Biggest Cemetry and

a Sepultural Museum

IMPRINTVery Vienna.Department of Communication,University of ViennaSchopenhauerstrasse 32,1180 Vienna, Austria

Editor-in-ChiefThomas A. Bauerthomas.bauer@univie.ac.at+43 4277 49336

Executive EditorAxel Mairederaxel.maireder@univie.ac.at+43 4277 49375

EditorsLaura BakmannJelena GucaninEdith HammerFabian KretschmerJosef LadenhaufJudith ListKatharina OkeAndreas RainerAmelie SpringerMichael Zita

English ProofreadingIphigenia Moraitini

Chinese TranslationsCelia Tsui

Graphic-DesignKarl-Heinz Maireder

The Magazine Very Vienna was produced

by students of the Department of Commu-

nication of the university of Vienna. The

department is the largest communication

education institution in the German-

speaking countries in Europe in terms of

students. Up to 6000 students are studying

in Bachelor, Master or PhD programmes,

each year about 1000 young people start an

undergraduate programme. Fields of study

include journalism, advertising, public

relations, media management, communi-

cation politics, media paedagogy, media

psychology, communication research and

much more.

The Department runs an exchange

programme with the Shanghai-based

Fudan University, Faculty of Journalism.

Each year, a dozen of Austrian students go

to Shanghai for a semester within the

Media Communication Master programme

MCM. In return, up to twenty students from

Shanghai stay in Vienna and Salzburg for a

couple of months.

Viennese Culture and Lifestyle Beyond its Clichées

4 VeryVienna

Power in ranquillity The Chinese Diaspora

in Vienna

25,000 Chinese live in Austria – most of them in Vienna.Four of them tell us how they live and why they think clocks are ticking slower in Vienna.By Jelena Gucanin

owner. “I’ve always loved food and cook-

ing.” The 47-year-old man was born in

Hangzhou, capital city of the Chinese

province of Zheijang. By the end of 1988,

he followed his sister Xie Fei Ru to

Austria.

According to “Statistik Austria” (2009)

there are about 10,000 Chinese people

living in Austria. “We definitely know

that there are about 25, 000. Most of

them live in Vienna”, counters professor

Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik of the

“Shall I put on my Chinese cap?” Simon

asks with a smile, before the camera

clicks. It’s 4 pm. At this hour there’s not

much going on here. The noises behind

the bar cover the room and the waiters

are chatting in Chinese. Neither dragons

nor golden ornaments decorate the

walls, dark red and white are the domi-

nant hues in the Chinese “On”-

Restaurant in the fifth Viennese district.

“I somehow slipped into gastronomy by

accident”, recounts Simon Xie Hong, the

T

VeryVienna 5

Sinology department of the University of

Vienna. “In professional jargon we call

them ‘sojourners’. They are people, who

have a more or less defined migrant-sta-

tus.” Many people do not call themselves

migrants, because they intend to some-

day return to China. Most Chinese immi-

grants hail from a few specific, once-poor

regions. In the case of Austria, this is

mainly the province of Zheijang.

As a successful restaurant-owner, Simon

doesn’t want to return: “Back then I got

the travel bug, I wanted to get to know

the world.” After he had finished his med-

icine degree, he worked at the university

hospital for one year, before making the

last-minute decision to move to Austria.

“I only knew Vienna from books. I read a

lot about its great musicians and writers.

It also happened that I read Freud in

Chinese, his works were considered to be

very elitist. That was Vienna to me.”

New home Simon isn’t the only one who owns a

restaurant in Vienna. “There are about

480 Chinese restaurants in Vienna”, says

the expert. “The Chinese locate them-

selves according to a pattern. At first they

work in a Chinese restaurant. With the

money they save they start their own. If

it works well, they aim to set up an im-

port-export business. They foster a close

tie to China by doing so.” Through the use

of global networks they contribute to

both the Chinese and the Austrian eco-

nomic development.

Simon Xie Hong (47),a successful restaurant-owner:“Just because Vienna is slow doesn’t mean it’s sleeping.”Jelena Gucanin

Liu Xiu Ming (53), a painter:“I love arts and Vienna is full of it.Also, the tranquillity is inspiring.”Jelena Gucanin

Lesheng Chen (24),a student of sinology:“I love the Viennese coffeeculture. If I have some free time, I enjoy itin coffee houses.”Jelena Gucanin

But success doesn’t allow Simon to have

a lot of spare time. He works seven days a

week: “Before, I used to work five days a

week. At the time when I couldn’t speak

German, I used to go to the cinema and

watch a lot of television. Not long ago I

met Karin Resetarits [a famous TV host

A/N] and said to her: ‘You were my first

German teacher.’ Back then I didn’t

understand a word, but her television

programme fascinated me so much that

my eyes were glued to the screen.”

Simon came to Vienna in the 1980s. “In

the 1970s and early 1980s, Austria

opened up to immigration”, explains

Weigelin-Schwiedrzik. “Chinese mainly

came as guest workers, but there were

students and people from international

companies, too.” Another wave of

migrants was caused by Austria’s entry

into the European Union: “For many

Chinese, Austria became a rest stop

before moving on into other European

countries.” Economic factors are still de-

cisive in migration today. Furthermore, a

lot of students come to Vienna in order to

study.

6 VeryVienna

Otherwise living here would be point-

less.”

An Invisible Minority?For Xie Fei Ru, all could have ended differ-

ently. “My life is full of lucky coinci-

dences”, she smiles. She came to Vienna

in 1986: “I worked at a friend’s restaurant.

The start wasn’t very difficult for me, be-

cause I instantly felt comfortable”, says

the confident 55-year-old woman. Later

she ran her own restaurant in Mistelbach

near Vienna – including a hotel and a

cinema. She successfully paid off the

debts of the former owner. “I enjoy being

able to make my own decisions”, notes

Xie. Today, she runs the “Association of

Chinese Women” in Vienna – a club, in

which Chinese women can organize

their spare time.

The organised functioning of the com-

munity is in some ways one of the rea-

sons for which it functions a little like an

“invisible” minority, according to profes-

sor Weigelin-Schwiedrzik: “Chinese don’t

attract attention in public, because they

have a tradition of self-organization and

make no political claims.” In contrast to

other big cities, there is no Chinatown in

Vienna. Locally seen, the centre of the

Chinese community is situated around

the Naschmarkt, the large farmer’s mar-

ket in Vienna’s fourth district. “In Vienna

you could solely eat in Chinese restau-

rants, buy in Chinese shops, read Chinese

newspaper and go to Chinese events –

and you wouldn’t have to meet any

Austrians at all”, the professor smiles.

“We don’t need any Chinatown in

Vienna”, Simon insists. It’s 5 pm. It’s get-

ting dark outside and the restaurant is

gradually filling up with people. Simon is

getting up several times in order to greet

his guests. Most of them know him by

his name. “Cultural exchange is impor-

tant”, he says. “I’ve lived here for such a

long time, people here are kind, friendly

and honest. We are all widely scattered

and that’s good. Why should we build a

fortress?”

One of them is Lesheng Chen. “I’ve been

in Vienna since 2001”, says the 24-year-

old student. At first glance she seems to

be very shy, but this is a false impression.

Her knowledge German is good, yet she

says, that she still has a lot to learn:

“Unfortunately nobody speaks English in

Austria ”, Lesheng laughs. She comes

from Qingdao and belongs to the new

middle class that emerged in China over

the course of the last decade. Her parents

sent her to Vienna to give her a competi-

tive advantage on the Chinese job mar-

ket. “Vienna is very musical and a little

bit old fashioned, too. That’s why my par-

ents chose Austria for me.” In addition to

her study she works as a waitress. She

hopes to graduate from university soon:

“I’m a bit lazy. I could still do more. But

that’s what I like about Vienna: I’m al-

lowed to take it slow.”

So does the painter Liu Xiu Ming. For her,

the clocks in Vienna are ticking slower,

too: “In Vienna I can work calmly. In

China there’s so much motion every day,

it’s so exhausting sometimes.” At her

bright studio, which is full of books and

CDs, the 53-year-old woman admits that

her beginnings in Vienna haven’t always

been easy. In 1987, she came to Vienna on

the invitation of a married couple. She

studied at the University for Applied Arts

with Maria Lassning and later obtained

her Master’s degree at the Academy of

Fine Arts in Vienna, with Arik Brauer: “At

the beginning, not everybody was

friendly to me. Added to this, I had diffi-

culties with the language. However, it

happened that Maria Lassnig showed my

paintings in front of the whole master

class. From then on, I was respected”, she

remembers smilingly. Because of her

cheerful manner and of the leopard-print

blouse she wears, she looks about twenty

years younger than she really is. Drinking

Chinese tea, she reflects about Vienna:

“Vienna is full of arts and culture. In older

times, many Chinese thought Vienna

was in Australia”, she laughs. “However,

it’s very important to make use of the

many advantages this city has to offer.

S

VeryVienna 7

A hot cup of plum wine, blooming jas-

mine flowers and a fish tank with beauti-

ful koi-goldfish are the first things an

Austrian listener visualises, when the

Orchestra sets in for their first song.

Except for those, who have really experi-

enced China, all find themselves back in

the last Chinese restaurant they visited.

People who have been to the “Middle

Kingdom” might hear the whispering

wind in the cherry trees of Hángzhou

along with the gentle sound of the flutes,

visualise Guizhou’s Huangguoshu

Waterfall while listening to the beats of

the kettledrum and let the rhythmic

melodies evoke the paddle stroke of a

dugout canoe gliding through a rice

field, with the Great Wall curling over

hills in the background.

On the 12th of February 2010, the great

ABBA-Show is scheduled to take place in

auditorium D of Vienna’s town hall. And

even though a couple of Chinese fans,

known as karaoke lovers and fans of

ABBA might be attending that, most of

Vienna’s Chinese would head for hall F,

where a very special event was taking

place on that same evening: The annual

Chinese New Year’s Concert with splen-

did costumes, traditional music, original

instruments and more than eighty musi-

cians. This event became a remarkable

success shortly after it was first held in

1998. Back then, China’s Traditional

Broadcast Orchestra had performed on

the premises of the famous Musikverein

Wien, where the Vienna Philharmonic

Orchestra performs the annual Austrian

New Year‘s Concert. Since then, the Great

Chinese New Year‘s Concert has become

a tradition in Austria.

The well-filled -but not crowded- hall

was decorated with simple black and red

designs, whose only elements were four

chains, each carrying three lit lampions

that shone gold and red lights. The reper-

toire balanced Chinese traditional and

folk songs as well as contemporary

Chinese music. Between great sym-

phonic pieces, the significantly different

tones of diverse instruments shine

through, next to breathtaking percussion

solos. Many different nationalities and a

history spanning several thousand years

of tradition in music are the origin of

these amazing melodies and broad vari-

ety of styles.

Chinese listeners are coming every year

to attend the New Year’s Concert of the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and

some might already have tried Austrian

food in the Österreicher-Haus in

Shanghai as well. Echoing this, fans of

Chinese cuisine may in turn come to the

Chinese New Year’s Concert next year as

well.

with theChina’s Traditional Broadcast OrchestraBy Josef C. Ladenhauf

S tartingthe Year of the Tiger

The Grand Chinese New Year ConcertWu Promotion

8 VeryVienna

When the Confucius Institute invites all

students and friends to welcome the Year

of the Tiger, the ballroom of the

University of Vienna is crowded and

even the last seat is taken. More than 300

guests want to attend the multifaceted

performance of the 18 young artists, all

students of the Heilongjiang University

of Chinese Medicine.

After a warm welcome address by Wu

Ken, the Chinese ambassador to Austria,

the colourfully dressed performers pres-

ent traditional dances, different styles of

Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Wu Shu, a Beijing-

Opera Rap and a performance of the

Huangmei-Opera. When the artists offer

a short practical introduction of Qi Gong

the stage is immediately filled with

guests, all eager to stretch their legs and

arms in all directions,.

After a brilliant two-hour show, a tasting

of gourmet Chinese food is scheduled.

The guests had the opportunity to try, for

instance, the traditional sweet rice balls

known as ‘Yuanxiao’. The Confucius

Institute’s first Chinese Lantern Festival

ends with a relaxing glass of wine. It has

been truly an evening to remember and

repeat.

The FirstChinese

antern Festival in ViennaBy Judith ListL Traditional dances and

martial arts at the Chineselantern festival in Vienna.Judith List

VeryVienna 9

them seem quite nervous. Maybe it is the

first time they are opening a ball. Either

way, they have been practising for this

moment for weeks. The choreography

has been rehearsed many times, the

forms have been elevated to perfection,

and every movement was practice, so as

to be executed at the exact same time. All

eyes are on them and as soon as the mu-

The ballroom is illuminated, the guests

are looking fabulous and everybody is

tensely waiting for the opening cere-

mony. No matter if it is a less formal High

School ball or a traditional event, this pic-

ture is quite common for most Viennese

balls. More than a hundred ‘debutants’

are standing at the entrance, ready to

launch another wonderful night. Some of

tep by StepS Discovering Vienna’s Dancing Tradition

Looking at the tradition of dancing and balls in Vienna, some mightonly see a decadent way for the elites to spend money. And yet, withsuch a wide variety of events, there is room for every Viennese todance a night away in one of the many ballrooms.By Judith List

The debutants have to practice their stepsmany times. Sometimes weeks in advance of the ball-evening. Stefan Bugovsky

10 VeryVienna

Then, 19 years ago, Vienna’s gay commu-

nity founded the “Rosenball” (Rose-ball)

and appointed this day for it, establish-

ing a new tradition. While at the State

Opera, selected guests always dressed

“black tie”, with formal tuxedos and ex-

pensive floor-length ball gowns, the

guests at the Rose-Ball participate in a

huge unconventional party, which every-

one is invited to join. Aside from the Life

Ball, this is a colourful benchmark of the

annual calendar of gay events. Catharina,

who opened the last Viennese Opera Ball

as a ‘debutante’ has already made an ap-

pointment to visit the Rose Ball next

year. Contrasting with the traditional

white ball gown she is planning some-

thing different. ”I won’t wear jeans or

anything ‘normal’, although that is also

accepted. I still want to stick with ‘spe-

cial’, so I will definitely wear something

freaky, including hairdo and make-up”,

she says.

“Everybody can dance!”The many dancing possibilities may also

be why many Viennese learn to dance

early in their lives. There are almost 30

dancing schools in Vienna, offering ball-

room dancing courses for all age groups.

“People coming to our dancing school are

between 14 and 84 years old”, states

Georg, dancing teacher at the “Kopetzky”

dancing school, established in 1878. It is

now the second oldest dancing school in

Vienna. “It is important for dancers to

have fun and have the opportunity to

meet and connect with other people

sharing the same interests”, he says.

Meanwhile, a dancing course for seniors

is being held in one of their studios. “Back

– step – Cha Cha Cha” shouts the teacher,

and although the steps are far from be-

ing perfect, the senior dancers seem to be

having lots of fun. “Dancing is a hobby

we love”, a 75 year old participant states.

sic starts playing, they are marching in

step, parading into the huge ballroom.

The official Vienna Ball Season starts on

the same day as ‘Fasching’ (Carnival),

which is the 11th of November. It ends af-

ter ‘Faschingsdienstag’ (also known as

‘Shrove Tuesday’ or ‘Mardi Gras’). From

countless formal balls, for instance by

High Schools or professional groups, to

rarer, gigantic charity events like the “Life

Ball”, the season is a mixture of very dif-

ferent events. Carnival is when most tra-

ditional balls happen, although some

large events can occur during the rest of

the year.

Many of those are steeped in their own

long tradition. The “Wiener Opernball”

(Viennese Opera Ball) always takes place

on the last Thursday of the season.

Possibly the most famous world-wide

and thus the one that makes the most

imitations, it has already been copied

and exported to New York, Dubai, Zagreb

and Kuala Lumpur. Many High School

balls also claim specific dates and loca-

tions as “theirs”. Their annual balls are

usually organised there, coordinated by

the institution’s senior students.

Ball-tradition meets differentlifestylesThe Opera ball’s history can be traced

back to the 19th century and has always

been a highlight of the season for a spe-

cific segment of Viennese society. It is,

however, not the only event that makes

Vienna’s ball tradition so very special. It

is the diversity of the offerings that does

that. These grant all of Viennese society

nights of entertainment and were tradi-

tionally organised by various ethnic and

professional groups (the latter are the

successors of the ‘guilds’). For a long time,

Viennese Opera Ball was the only event

scheduled to take place specifically on

the last Thursday of the carnival season.

Everything but ordinary – the life ballannounces a new theme every year and many guests follow. Stefan Bugovsky

Even if the ball is intercultural, the sweets –the “Krapfen”, a kind of doughnut – are still a Viennese tradition. Stefan Bugovsky

VeryVienna 11

“We live next door and no matter what

the weather is like, we are here every

Friday. We also love going to balls. In fact,

you can never dance all the steps you

learned in class there, it is too crowded.

But still, it is fun and as long as we can

dance, we will.”

Everyone can dance, and there is no need

to be perfect. “In the past, it might have

been something of a requirement for a

specific social class. These days, our

courses have participants from all the

walks of life”, Georg remarks. “The tradi-

tion of dancing schools is about to

change. In the past century, the focus was

on etiquette; now, it is much more impor-

tant to create an area in which to spend

one’s rare spare time away from the

stress of daily life,.” He adds that dancing

might be the perfect opposite to the on-

line-world, in which the younger dancers

attending courses for teens are “living”.

“Nowadays, meeting new people some-

where, in bars or clubs, is very difficult.

This is why we want our dancing school

to be a colloquial place”. Incidentally, that

is how his parents met – in a dancing

course at “Kopetzky”. Looking at Viennese

dancing schools, it seems much easier to

find a life partner there than anywhere

else, and this irrespective of one’s age

group. Courses for singles are usually

booked out and quite often lead to more

personal pairings.

Many teenagers visit a dancing school

because their parents want them to. “My

parents took me to a ball once and when I

was unable to dance I decided it was time

to learn”, Catharina states and then

demonstrates her dancing skills.

Although she quit taking lessons after a

while, she loves going to balls now.

According to her, being a ‘Debutante’

“was a lot of fun and also has some sig-

nificant benefits. Firstly, since you go

with your dancing partner, you will al-

ways have somebody to dance with.

Second, you can debut at balls you would

otherwise never afford regular tickets

for.” Although there are several expenses

associated with attending a ball, she

thinks that everybody can do it if they

want. “There are some balls where you

need neither expensive gown nor tuxedo,

and for some events tickets cost ten

Euros. Going out to a club is sometimes

more expensive than that.”

Celebrating variety:wearing a “Dirndl”, a ball-gown or a costumeLooking at the annually published official

Viennese ball calendar this might be true.

The beginning of the 20th century fea-

tured the “Laundresses’ Ball” or the

“Coachmen’s Ball”. Today, professional

groups still have balls. While subway

drivers have their own ball at the town

hall, chimneysweeps celebrate at the

Parkhotel Schönbrunn and the pharma-

cists at the Hofburg. School balls or the

balls of several Universities are the stu-

dents’ number one choice. Very often, the

dress code requires a ball gown, but the

younger crowd also occasionally attends

in a cocktail dress or even the “Dirndl”, a

traditional Austrian costume. Strolling

through the crowd at the “Inte-

grationsball” (Integration Ball) one might

even spot guests wearing jeans and T-

shirts. Everyone can find his niche in the

Viennese dancing scene.

Tourists are very welcome to join the

Viennese ball scene as well. One might

most often identify them at the bigger

and very exclusive balls at the Hofburg.

Wandering through the vaulted rooms,

looking at the pomp that characterises

these dignified premises, dancing a

Viennese Waltz in one of the countless

ballrooms they probably decide it is

worth visiting again.

At the “Bonbon Ball”(sweetmeat ball) thevisitors might meeta lot of differenttraditional Austriancandies in person.Stefan Bugovsky

Dancing teacher Georg is working 80 hours a week to fulfil his dream of a dancingschool for everyone. Judith List

Stanek Dancing School Stefan Bugovsky

12 VeryVienna

A normal Saturday evening at the Apollo

Kino, one of Vienna’s modern multiplex

cinemas: outside, huge placards advertise

the newest blockbusters; inside, there are

long queues at the cash box. To get to the

high-end cinema hall, one must traverse

a labyrinth. At the end, a mostly young

audience loiters, noisily eating popcorn

and sipping soda.

That is why Alex Schindler, a 24 year old

former film student, sometimes passes a

Saturday evening with a different cine-

ma experience. “For me, there is too

much claptrap inside multiplex cinemas.

It sometimes feels like a circus; that mis-

ses the point. In an arthouse cinema, it is

simply about watching a special film and

enjoying a more familiar atmosphere.”

Founded in 1905, the Breitenseer Licht-

spiele is only one of Vienna’s countless

arthouse movie theatres; but is stands

out as the oldest of its kind in Austria and

in the world. Today, it shows a different

kind of cinema. A normal Saturday

evening goes somewhat like this: Anna

Nitsch-Fitz, the 72 year old owner, sits be-

hind the little cash box by herself. On the

wall there is old film memorabilia –

super-8 cameras and posters – all of

which predate the 1970s. Inside the little

cinema hall, a handful of people are

sitting on wooden seats, staring at a

small screen, which has the look of the

original, the one that was set up when

the old, tented mobile cinema was made

permanent in 1909.

ight, Shadowsand Motion

Vienna’s unique Cinema Landscape

With roughly 40 cinemas, Vienna is one of Europe’s main film capitals.The cinema landscape is diverse: alongside modern multiplexes, Viennahas many unique and prestigious arthouse cinemas, as well as theoldest movie theatre in the world.By Fabian Kretschmer

The worldwide oldest cinemastill in useAnna Nitsch-Fitz’s relationship with the

cinema is a family affair. Her own grand-

mother owned one. When, in 1969, she

had the opportunity to take over the

Breitenseer Lichtspiele, she did not think

twice. “I bought the cinema at a time

when it would clearly not make much

economic sense. Television was increas-

ingly competing and audiences stayed at

home more and more. But for me, it was

like a childhood memory,” says Nitsch-

Fitz.

Another unique arthouse cinema is the

Stadtkino. Seen from the outside, it looks

a little bit plain. People on the street

might just pass by without noticing it.

But this impression is worn,g since the

Stadtkino is one of Vienna’s most remark-

able arthouse cinemas and the oldest of

it’s kind in Austria.

It was founded in 1981 as a communally

financed cinema. “The goal was not only

to show ambitious cinematic art, in its

original language with German subtitles,

L

The filmmuseum,where exhibitions“take place at thescreen”filmmuseum

VeryVienna 13

but also to provide it permanently to

society. We archive every one of our

films, acquire the rights and distribute

them to all of Austria,” says Claus Philipp,

the manager.

“We try to screen innovative new movies

which would not have the chance to be

shown elsewhere.” Claus Philipp’s profes-

sional philosophy is to realize his cine-

matic vision without any compromise,

which is of course not the best way to

turn a profit. “Two thirds of our films fail

to be profitable. But still we attract inter-

est. I would immediately quit my job if I

had to show movies which I think are so-

cially irrelevant” states Philipp who

started started out as a film critic.

Nevertheless, he does not regard the

Stadtkino as an elitist institution:

“Actually, every movie that we show

ought to concern everybody in this coun-

try”. The program of the Stadtkino in-

cludes international arthouse movies

from international directors such as Jim

Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismäki and Chris

Marker, as well as locals like Michael

Haneke, winner of the 2009 Cannes

Festival Golden Palm award.

The cinema as a film museumJust a stone’s throw away from the

Stadtkino, in the basement of the famous

Albertina, lies the filmmuseum, Austria’s

only museum of cinematic art. Unlike

other film museums, it does not exhibit

cameras, costumes or other film related

item but the films themselves. The slo-

gan next to the entrance should be taken

seriously: “The filmmuseum is a cine-

matheque. The exhibitions take place on

the screen”.

Nonetheless, the filmmuseum is much

more than “just” a cinema: “For the pub-

lic, it is not so obvious that a great deal of

our work goes into our archive. We

steadily collect and restore films, particu-

larly focussing on the avant-garde, Soviet

revolutionary cinema and German-

speaking exile cinema” says Alexander

Horwath who has been operating the

filmmuseum since 2002.

His goal is to provide a large outline of in-

ternational film history, so that every

generation of cinephiles might get in

touch with it. The exhibits take place in

the so called “invisible cinema”, a room

which is entirely black, except for the

screen. “We purposely abandoned every

decor that attracts attention. Nothing

should distract the viewer from the im-

ages” says Horwath.

He does not only curate film programs.

Indeed Alexander Horwath is truly an

allrounder: He holds lectures about cin-

ema for universities and schools and

publishes books and DVDs. Even interna-

tionally, the filmmuseum is absolutely

unique. Martin Scorsese obviously appre-

ciates this as well: In 2005, he gladly took

up the position of president emeritus of

the filmmuseum.

And yet, this Saturday evening, arthouse

fan Alex Schindler nevertheless decided

to visit the Apollo multiplex. “If you want

to watch the latest blockbuster with your

friends, you definitely should avoid art-

house cinemas” says the 24 year old. He

smiles and adds: “In most of them it is

even forbidden to eat popcorn and drink

a coke!”

AlexanderHorwarth,

director of thefilmmuseum

filmmuseum

The Stadtkino,Viennaís mostfamous art-house cinemaFabian Kretschmer

Anna Nitsch-Fitz,owner of Viennaísoldest cinema behindher counterFabian Kretschmer

H

14 VeryVienna

“Creativity has a high acceptance in our

society”, says Brigitte Rollett, Professor of

developmental psychology at the Uni-

versity of Vienna. “For children, creative

activities have to be fun and relate to

new knowledge. This leads to the so-

called ‘flow’ or ‘aha-experience’.” For

youngsters, entering a museum can be

like discovering a whole new world. A

world of new knowledge, exciting stories

museums and discovering the worlds

they contain. Offering Leander cultural

content to examine usually leads to

loads of new stories and adventures to

nurture his mind.

These days, many Viennese institutions

offer special programs for children, such

as workshops, often during school holi-

days. Meanwhile, famous institutions

like the Viennese State Opera stage plays

for youthful audiences. But few of them

focus on the needs of children as much as

the Dschungel theatre (jungle theatre),

where youngsters are at the heart of the

productions. In fact, the Dschungel has al-

ready staged many performances fac-

toring children into the action. It is quite

usual to find professionals developing

projects and working together with

young artists. An attempt is made to

coax the youngest into reflecting on

“ ands On,Minds On,Vienna has found a New Approachto Children’s Culture

Looking through children’s eyes, seeing what they want and puttingthat into practice is the secret and the policy of several Vienneseinstitutions aiming to prove that cultural activities can also be suitablefor kids.By Judith List

Kaspler, Pezi thebear and Dagobertthe dragon havebeen entertaininggenerations ofchildren.Wiener Urania Puppentheater

Youngsters visitinglectures for children

experience newcultures and gain

scientific knowledge.ZOOM

and lasting impressions, a place to study

the world, have fun and spend their

leisure time. Children are naturally more

curious and enthusiastic about discover-

ing and understanding the new worlds

that are contained in a museum. They

have the right to be seen as an important

target group for cultural offerings. That

is, for example, the case for Leander, a

four-year-old boy who loves exploring

Heart

VeryVienna 15

Children are eager to learn more about

the world, often far more than school

can offer. Focussing on this fact an

own University for school children

between 7 and 12 years was founded in

Vienna seven years ago. Youngsters

might also visit the Children

Museum’s lectures during the year.

Both organisations try to cover several

topics of different sciences, adapted for

the young audience. While at a normal

university usually the focus is on

knowledge transfer, lectures for

children also have to be fun.

How is it possible to catch the

children’s attention? “There have to be

topics which children are related to”,

says Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik,

Professor of Sinology at the University

of Vienna. She recently offered the

what is happening in the show, maybe

even finish thoughts or answer questions

that have not been addressed on stage.

Looking at the various productions, one

can easily recognise that this is not any

random theatre, but a place where un-

known worlds and cultures can be expe-

rienced. In fact, some of the plays are per-

formed by foreign artist groups.

Vienna’s ZOOM Children’s Museum also is

an environment created specifically for

children. Approaching the colourful win-

dows of the museum from outside, you

can already guess what this place is for.

Leander immediately wants to look at

the colourful badges. Inside, he cannot

decide where to turn and what to ex-

amine first. A little display, featuring a

submarine that can be guided up and

down by remote control buttons is so

interesting that he has to forcefully be

Teaching Children about Sciencesand the World

lecture “How do children live in

China?” Teaching children involves

different methods. “I had to show, that

things Chinese children do or play

with exist in their own world too, that

the border between their two cultures

is not stiff.” And how did she catch

their interest for a two-hours lecture?

By showing examples and by bringing

a Chinese colleague and his son she

involved the audience and even set off

the children asking questions.

While the Children’s Museum offers

lectures during the school year, the

Children’s University offers its

program during school holidays.

Visiting a children’s class might lead

into trying the new knowledge out

within another project or maybe even

into finding their later profession.

ts On!”

16 VeryVienna

European countries. In line with develop-

ments elsewhere, two projects emerged

first, the aforementioned ZOOM

Children’s Museum and the equally noted

Dschungel theatre. Nowadays, these in-

fluence the cultural scene for teenagers

and infants in Vienna the most. That

both institutions are now located cen-

trally, in Vienna’s ‘Museum Quarter’ cul-

tural hub, is a lucky coincidence.

Founding a new institution targeting a

young crowd offers many opportunities.

One of the main benefits is that the chil-

dren themselves can be the starting

point for all the projects. Thus, at the

ZOOM, everything is tacitly designed to

accommodate a different perception of

the world: that of infants and school-

children. “Children love to play, that is

how they acquire knowledge”, mentions

Elisabeth Menasse-Wiesbauer, the mu-

seum’s Director. “We think that those

who are led by their own interests are

more curious and this way they have a

totally different approach to the exhibi-

tions.” All displays and workshops are

hands-on programs where discoveries

can and should be made autonomously.

The “ZOOM Ocean” is one of those proj-

ects: designed for visitors of up to 6 years

of age, it sets itself apart by being acces-

sible and welcoming for toddlers. As

soon as he enters the dark blue and green

cave full of fish, Leander snuggles into

the cuddly water-snake toy. Clearly

everything is just right. The guide has

barely finished her introduction when he

sets off, practically running through the

first floor’s underwater world full of sea-

weed, sea anemones and coral reefs.

Where there is a whole universe to dis-

cover, explore and touch, where should

one turn first? While smaller toddlers

stay in the “under water” area down-

stairs, Leander climbs on the deck of the

ship, the better to catch fish, signal to the

Leander is trying to solve the underwater puzzle.Judith List

reminded to take his shoes off before en-

tering the exhibit’s area. “Look, look, it

moves!” he shouts, pressing himself

against the glass pane to study the tiny

sub’s movements.

These days, children’s voices echo

through a museum, saying “Show me! I

want to know how it works!” They are

voices proof that the entertainment of

youngsters has changed with time. This

would have been quite unusual in

Vienna 15 years ago. Of course, while

some possibilities to entertain children

did exist, they were both rare and most

often not attuned to their needs.

Vienna has a long tradition of puppet

shows, and one can still hear children

shouting for “Kasperl” and “Pezi” to come

on stage. These puppets were once popu-

lar features of shows meant for school-

children, and most Viennese older than

30 remember them clearly. The limited

number of available puppet theatres, like

the Urania or the Apfelbaum (apple tree)

and the Theater der Jugend (theatre for

youth), which mainly staged plays for

teenagers, were more or less the only

projects geared for younger audiences.

They remain features of the cultural

scene today.

In the 1990s, opinions concerning cul-

tural offerings for Viennese children

started to change. At that time,

Children’s culture became a political

question, and theatres for youths fol-

lowed the progression observed in other

VeryVienna 17

lighthouse, explore an Eskimo’s life or

look into a submarine. A tube-telephone,

which connects several parts of the sub-

marine, eventually becomes the star

attraction. After calling “Hello! Hello?

Can you hear me? Are you there?”,

Leander fairly squeaks with excitement,

because it ‘really works’. Meanwhile,

other children are hurrying from one

exhibit to the next. This seems difficult

for the adults to follow. However, this

area at least is not just for young visi-

tors. “Parents should have fun too. You

should never do anything you don’t like

with your children. Never start com-

plaining about the exhibition. You

don’t have to see the whole thing. If

two or three objects are fun, that’s the

best thing that can happen”, states

Brigitte Rollett, “Sometimes it is

On the ground level,toddlers explore the seabedJudith List

amazing for adults to find out what their

children like the most.” After one hour,

everybody has to go back through the

came to leave… Although, nobody really

seems to want to leave. “When do we

come again?” asks Leander, running back

into the underwater world. It is a good

thing that there are many more paint-

ings, films and displays on the way out,

to distract him from the fact that the visit

is over.

The willingness to share professional

creativity and knowledge with a young

audience might be the distinctive feature

of the Viennese cultural offerings for

children. While the “Dschungel” supports

projects with young performers and chil-

dren working together, the “ZOOM”

mainly employs young artists to teach

the workshops. “The main goal is not the

making of a perfect product, but tipping

over into the working process without

caring about what is happening around”,

indicates Elisabeth Menasse-Wiesbauer.

Stephan Rabl, Creative Manager and

Director of the “Dschungel” theatre sees

another benefit in working with and for

kids: “Children will be enriched, if they

have the chance to consume theatre. It

can activate the potential to reveal and

support creative processes or identifica-

tion”. Sharing a stage with artists may be

a good introduction into the field of

culture, especially for toddlers. Ent-

husiasm of this kind might lead to

dedication and eventually offer them a

lot more fun as they grow and mature.

According to Brigitte Rollett, there is a

huge lack of cultural reporting in the

media nowadays. As a result, children

need outside help to get a better under-

standing of these matters. “Children who

are in contact with culture benefit

doubly. They have discovered the artistic

world and therefore develop greater

imagination and creativity, which is why

they will never be bored.” While public

media do not support the creative devel-

opment and interest of our youngest

generation very much, most museums

and theatres in Vienna offer specialised

programs and are worth visiting. As

museums and creative institutions

increasingly see that children are their

future audiences, they realise that it is

worth investing time, creativity and

money in giving them strong cultural

foundations.

18 VeryVienna

Museumsquartier is also not to be

missed. It’s just five minutes’ walk from

city hall, and it’s the heart of Vienna’s

contemporary art scene. No matter if you

decide to go to an exhibition in the

Leopold Museum - famous for its collec-

tion featuring Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt

- or the MUMOK, which has a more con-

temporary collection, you won’t be disap-

pointed.

Cinema on Public SquaresAnother rather popular initiative in

Vienna is the promotion of arthouse

films. On squares in different districts,

the Volxkino takes place over the sum-

mer. People gather in the open to watch

alternative movies together for free.

Afterwards, Austrian and foreign artists

are given the possibility to show their

films, so as to meet a broader group of in-

oems, Enzis andTomatoes – Art in Public SpaceThe metropolis of classical music’s world is not only about violins andhorse carriages – Traces of contemporary art in Vienna By Josef C. Ladenhauf

P

Visitors listening to the live musiccoming from the store windowPhoto of a Band in a store window Götz Bury

You might imagine a standard city trip as

walking through the streets, sipping on a

soft drink, window shopping, or really

any activity you might do in your own

city – except in a new location. Com-

mercial messages and info screens sur-

round us, no matter where we are. But

what happens when the ads disappear?

When art leaves halls, museums and ex-

hibition rooms and infects public spaces,

many people feel lost. Art in public makes

us question what we take for granted and

what is new and unfamiliar to us. As a

means of awareness and consciousness,

it helps us to find out more about the

way we live our lives.

Insipring PlacesIn modernity, art is no longer exclusively

for wealthy, educated elite. It became

common to engage with the arts, no mat-

ter what background or social class one

might be from. Finally, art was not just a

pastime for the upper classes – it became

accessible to everybody.

It no longer celebrates the great master-

pieces only, but can happen in diverse

contexts anytime, anywhere. Anyone can

express themselves artistically. The City

of Vienna encourages art in public

spaces. Local politicians have set up an

annual fund of 800,000 EUR to support

art projects, such as the weekly Falter

magazine articles. At Rathausplatz in

front of the city hall, various events take

place all year round. If you look through

the city’s arts calendar (available online),

there are always cultural activities, such

as concerts, readings, or cabaret.

The courtyard of the Museumsquartier isthe place to meet on balmy afternoonsAxel Maireder

VeryVienna 19

Once a year, the upscale urban neighbour-hood around Brunnenmarkt in Vienna’smulticultural 16th district becomes the settingof a two-week art festival. Ula Schneider, itsinitiator and participating artist, describes itas “a project that concretely intervenes in thecity“. Soho in Ottakring is more than an artfestival; over the last ten years, it has becomethe setting of discussion and criticism. “It‘snot about harmonization, we also try to pointout conflicts“, says Mrs. Schneider. Local aswell as international artists come togetherevery year to present their works on open airstages or in empty shop windows andencourage visitors to participate in theprojects.

The topic of last year’s festival was “To workor not to work“. Among the many creativecontributions, the “Urban Yodelling Project”should be mentioned. The alpine tradition ofyodelling was brought to the city. Beforesunrise on the first day of the festival, allappointed singers, or “Juchezins”, gathered to

An Urban InterventionWhen Soho meets Vienna, a bustling neighbourhood becomes the stage for critical artBy Edith Hammer

let out a song that would echo from balconiesand roofs as it would in an alpine canyon. Inaddition, an exhibition explored the role ofwork songs around the globe.

Under the motto “Kick the habit“, this year’sfestival, to be held in May, approaches theproblem of racism as if it were just a common“bad habit“. One of the exhibits aiming tocounteract racism will be the “PrejudiceExtermination Machine”. Built out of boxes,wires and pipes in cooperation with localschools, visitors will be invited to feed it withtheir personal prejudices and then get rid ofthem by being “brainwashed”.

International artist and musician StephenMathewson initiated an “Informal ResearchLab”, where he and a team of other artistsreview and discuss a vast amount of materialon racism. The development of artisticreactions to this material – in the form ofmusic, exhibits, performances or other formsof artistic expression – is transparently opento all visitors. “We cannot avoid racism, but

we can look at it, feel it, and, learning fromthat, become aware of what we really aresuffering because of it“, Stephen Mathewsonexplains.“The Barbie Trap”, an exhibit by artistElisabeth Bakambamba Tambwe is pre-sented with the purpose of connecting withthe World AIDS Conference that is to behosted in Vienna later this year. It is com-posed of pink helium balloons that refer tothe artifices that define the feminine, in thecontext of HIV in Africa, and challenges theidea of women being dolls for men.

Soho in Ottakring transforms urban areainto a party zone, without losing track of theissues it aims to underline. In the words ofthe aforementioned festival creator, “A lot ofpeople come to hear musical acts or enjoythe crowds of visitors and some people startparticipating in the discussions and dealwith the topics. Receiving a response on thecontents of the festival is what I callsuccess”.

Initiator and participatingartist Ula Schneider Edith Hammer

Gardening in the CityVienna’s abandoned spaces are going

green! So-called ‘guerrilla gardeners’ are

planting tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs

and flowers in any spot that’s vacant. Is

this art? “It’s innovative, that’s for sure.

Something new - a movement - and it’s

growing,” says Claudia Bender, a twenty-

three year old guerrilla gardener. She

adds, “And of course it is art!” Claudia

considers guerrilla gardening to be a

rather progressive contemporary form of

art.

She suggests that different art styles

arise in a certain historical and social

frame, but is echoing a famous slogan of

Vienna. Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst

ihre Freiheit – “Each epoch shall have its

art and art shall have its freedom” - is a

slogan written on Vienna’s Secession

building. This museum and its gold-

plated cupola is one of the most famous

exhibitions buildings in Austria’s capital,

and a rather popular sightseeing spot for

tourists. Contemporary artists have been

exhibiting their paintings and sculptures

in this building for more than hundred

years now. The tradition of the Secession

goes back to Gustav Klimt and other

great artists in the times of the so-called

fin de siècle. As an Austrian saying goes,

“plenty of water has run down the

Danube” since the end of the 19th cen-

tury when it was built.

Poems on the BusOnly a few minutes away from the

Secession is Karlsplatz U-bahn station. As

in many European cities, the transit au-

thority has started posting poems for

commuters to read on their journey. In

Vienna, the so-called “post-it poet” is

even more popular. He writes one- or

two-sentence poems, and sticks them

randomly in public places. They have

been found on trees, walls, traffic lamps

and metro stations. Since 1974, he has

spread millions of his poems all over the

world, especially his hometown. He also

received a lot of threats and complaints,

terested spectators. Finally, the audience

shares a snack from the vegetarian buffet

and discusses the movies seen.

Brunnenmarkt in the sixteenth district is

a place worth visiting for anyone inter-

ested in art. It is a farmer’s market sur-

rounded by distinctive architecture and

unique shops. Brunnenmarkt hosts the

annual multicultural festival Soho in

Ottakring, which offers mind-blowing in-

sights into the work and lives of migrants

and artists in Vienna.

Deleting Advertising In June 2005, the Austrian art duo

Steinbrener/Dempf presented a work en-

titled “delete!” where they removed or

covered all advertising from Neubau-

gasse, an important high street in the

seventh district, for a period of two

weeks. Many people felt unsettled walk-

ing down a street with no advertising,

with yellow foil providing the colour usu-

ally given by posters, signs, lights and

banners.

VeryVienna 21

and occasionally was in conflict with the

law. Eventually, the Supreme Court de-

cided his poems are accredited art and

are to be protected. “I won’t stop, I will

continue,” Seethaler promises. “That is

my job, that’s what I will do.”

Where ever you are in Vienna, try to go to

the city centre and listen to music stu-

dents playing the violin on “Michaela

Platz”. There, you will get the feeling that

art is not something that stands on its

own. It is a product of history, of the art

that came before it - of our own develop-

ment. The old masters and the young

artists of today are using the same tools,

playing the same instruments, and

telling the same stories - all that differs is

the final work.

Poems at the BusstopOnly a few minutes of walk away from

the secession at Karlsplatz for instance

one might discover writings on the wall

of the metro station such as „more and

more violence is shown, more and more

people see violence, until they´ve seen it so

often, they want to be seen themselves

showing violence” or „the less one has

than the other, the more she prentends to

have more than the other”. These are

pieces of Helmut Seethalers artwork. He

is the so called “post-it poet” of Vienna,

writing tiny poems, often only one or

two sentences, just a thought, sticking

them anywhere in public; at trees, on

walls, traffic lamps or metro stations.

Since 1974 he spread millions of his po-

ems all over the world, especially his

hometown Vienna. He got a lot of threats

and complaints, even got into conflict

with law several times because of that,

but finally the supreme court decided his

poems are accredited art and shall fur-

thermore be protected. “I won´t stop, I

continue”, Seethaler promises. “That is

my job, that’s what I will do.”

Where ever you are in the city that’s said

to be “different“ and has a lot to offer

besides classical arts, come also to the

center of the town and listen to the violin

playing of a music student at “Michaela

Platz”. There you get the feeling: Art is

nothing that stands on it’s on. It is and

has never been isolated to anything, to

history, to other kinds of art, to our own

development. The old masters and the

young artists of today are drawing the

same lines, playing the same tunes,

telling the same stories – just with

different means.

The pink pieces of city furniture “Enzi” inMuseumsquartier are perfect for arelaxing afternoon.Axel Maireder

22 VeryVienna

One ight in ViennaEverybody knows Vienna as thehome of art, culture and SigmundFreud. However, not many outsideof Vienna are aware of the fact thatVienna offers a very vibrant andunique club and bar scene for theyoung at heart.By Andreas Rainer

At four in the morning, Fayola is having

her first bites of a Viennese Käsekrainer,

a fried sausage made with small chunks

of cheese, which doesn’t exist in her

home country of Kenya. Anna from

Germany is sipping a can of beer, while

Konrad, the only Austrian in our group, is

having a conversation with strangers on

how to solve the economic crisis.

We are in the first district of Vienna, at a

Würstelstand, a place that sells sausages

and cold drinks and that acts as a gather-

ing point for the rich and poor, party

victims and street workers of the city.

“In Kenya, all the clubs look pretty much

the same and play similar kinds of music.

In Vienna, there is a club for every kind of

music,” Fayola says of the night that lies

behind us - a night which started more

than six hours ago at the Schikaneder.

Watching a movie, Viennese styleThe Schikaneder is a mix between a cin-

ema, a club and a bar, one of many places

in Vienna with a unique concept where

one can start a Saturday night. At ten in

the evening, the place is already crowded

with people who came for the movie

that was shown before and are now en-

joying a drink at the bar. A group of

people are sharing a huge birthday cake,

one of them offering a piece to Anna,

apparently confusing her with someone

else. “Lots of students, intellectuals and

artists come here to watch an artsy

movie and get drunk afterwards,” Konrad

explains to the non-Austrians in the

group. As on most nights, a DJ is playing

right in front of a wall on which a car-

toon movie is projected. The sound of the

movie is muted and the projection serves

only as the visual backdrop for the club: it

is not to be confused with the actual

cinema, which is in a separate area.

When the Museums close, Vienna’s Clubs and Bars open their Doors for the Partiers.

N

Who said Austriansdon´t dance?Michaela Schwarz

VeryVienna 23

There is a dance floor next to the DJ, but

nobody is dancing. The Viennese in

general are not too eager to dance, espe-

cially the Schikaneder crowd. Listening

around, the topics of conversation are

music, movies, art projects and, of course,

a lot of complaining, the favourite pas-

time of the Viennese.

All the seats are already taken, the most

sought after being right next to the

entrance, where a few canvas chairs are

standing on a little stage that is perfectly

visible from the outside, through the

glass window pane. “The Schikaneder is a

place where people go to in order to be

seen by other people. There must be

something regal about people-watching

while sitting on a stage. It is funny how

the Viennese are so eager to be seen by

strangers yet don’t want to get to know

them,” Konrad adds by way of explana-

tion.

Looking around the Schikaneder, every-

body is holding a wine glass or a beer

bottle in their hands, and for most people

it is definitely not the first drink of the

night. It gets more crowded by the

minute, so our group decides to move on

to another place that is within short

walking distance. On the way there, two

men in medieval uniforms hand us some

flyers. “We would like to invite you to

come to our session tonight. We will talk

about communist ideals and how to re-

implement them into today’s society,”

one of them explains. We politely

decline.

Clothes shopping at midnightWe arrive at our destination, a place

called Mon Ami. It looks like an average

club at first sight, but is much more: at

the back of the club, a door leads to a

clothing shop that is part of the club.

Acting on the First Read

Smoking is still allowed in many clubs in Vienna

Michaela Schwarz

It could have been any moment in a rehersal;

actors are standing on chairs with papers in

their hands and reading out : “It is a Test!”

“A Test?” “Don’t you realize, all the Cameras,

they’re watching us!” However, given the

large audience watching and voting for their

favorites, the event seems to be of a diferrent

nature: It is Drama Slam again.

Jimi Lend, the concept’s creator, presents this type

of theatre as follows: “Authors write short plays;

actors will read up to ten different plays each

night. This is different from thousands of other

performances because the actors have never seen

the scripts before, they play ‘prima vista’. This

way, every performance is a masterpiece of im-

provisation.” It sounds experimental, but its suc-

cess speaks for itself. The idea has already started

to spread around the world, with performances

in Berlin, Saint Petersburg and Graz.

The City of Vienna became aware of the success

and is now sponsoring the organization that initi-

ated the process: The ‘Vitamins of Society’, an as-

sociation founded in Moscow with the following

straightforward motto: “Artists are the vitamins

Drama Slam since 2007: When PoetryMasters meet Actors ArtBy Michael Zita

Artists, the Vitaminsof Society, playscripts never seenbefore © Nick Albert

of society and hence important in

everyone’s life.”

[www.dramaslam.eu]

Wuzzler: Austrians suck at soccer but theyrule at the foosball table Michaela Schwarz

24 VeryVienna

People can browse through handbags,

mittens, t-shirts and many more articles

of clothing while sipping a glass of wine

and listening to a DJ. Anna insists on

buying a red wool beret. “It matches my

glass of red wine very well,” she says, jus-

tifying the price - probably the double of

what the beret costs at a regular clothing

store. Her friend from Berlin backs her up

on this: “You can’t put a price tag on

shopping at midnight while enjoying a

glass of Chateau, I guess. That is what

fascinates me about Vienna. You don’t

find these kinds of places, even in Berlin.

Vienna always manages to put an artsy

side into everything.”

At half past one, it is time to turn up the

heat a little bit and finally move to a

place where even the Viennese dare to

dance.

Balkan fever in ViennaIn Club OST, the locals mingle up with an

eastern European crowd, who are so ea-

ger to dance and party that even the

Viennese can’t continue hiding behind

their beer bottles. They start hitting the

dance floor. The music seems to be ex-

actly the same on every weekend: Balkan

beats mixed with electronic music,

everything that gets people moving, per-

formed by DJs and one or two bands,

DJ and supportMichaela Schwarz

Buying the perfectparty outfit whilepartying Michaela Schwarz

Fusually from Eastern Europe. Club OST is

enormously popular, probably due to

Vienna’s proximity to the East and the

fact that the city is home to many immi-

grants from the Balkan region.

Tonight’s band comes from the Ukraine

and features an especially unusual per-

formance: it includes the band members,

all of them in their late 40s, getting

naked on stage, cheered on by enthusias-

tic chanting from the audience. What’s

more, they address the crowd after al-

most every song - in Ukrainian. “I guess

language barriers vanish as long as the

music is good enough and the alcohol

doesn’t run out,” Konrad yells over the

screaming guitar riffs.

Every night comes to an end, and ours

ends rather early by Viennese standards

at the Würstelstand. Anna just ordered

another round of beer and Konrad and

his new friends still haven’t figured out

how to solve the economic crisis.

Long before the Würstelstand closes, we

make our way home using the conven-

ient Nightline system, which on Satur-

day night seems more like another club

than a means of public transport. It never

takes long to get home, which reminds

us again that while Vienna is big enough

to get lost in for a night, it is always small

enough to find your way out again.

VeryVienna 25

It is a sunny Saturday morning in

Vienna. The trams are filled with families

on a weekend excursion. On the touristic

and crowded Karlsplatz, bunches of peo-

ple are snapping pictures in front of the

opera. Not far away, in a little pedestrian

area right between two main roads, lies

the Naschmarkt. Even for tourists who

lost their map on the way it is not diffi-

cult to find Vienna´s biggest inner city

market: Just follow your nose!

Entering the 2,153 hectare area feels like

entering another world. Small, narrow

alleys, with little market booths on both

sides, all of them stocked with countless

kinds of food and drinks, vegetables,

spices, herbs and wine, for instance. The

innumerable passers-by are talking in a

colourful mixture of languages. Every-

where, merchants praise their goods and

argue noisily with their customers about

the price.

A literal translation of Naschmarkt

would be “snack market”. And indeed,

many go to the Naschmarkt to taste

some fruit, wine or special pastry. But on

the other hand, many cof the Nasch-

markt’s customers go there just to stroll

around, take pictures and enjoy the

atmosphere.

One of them is Vanessa. The 26-year old

biology student moved to Vienna two

years ago: “One of the places I appreciate

most in this city is the Naschmarkt. I

come here every Saturday or almost.

Most of the time I don´t even buy any-

thing but just take a walk” says Vanessa.

Like her, lots of people treasure the urban

and multicultural quality of the Nasch-

markt, whose history reaches back into

the 18th century, when it was a farmer’s

market.

Mustafa is a 39 year old man of Turkish

origin. For four years now, he has worked

at the Naschmarkt selling Dönerkebab, a

flatbread filled with lamb, salad and a

special yogurt-based sauce. With instinc-

tive expertise Mustafa holds his long-

bladed knife and cuts the meat from the

rotating skewer. The snack, originally a

Turkish specialty, became popular in the

German-speaking world, and is now

among a favourite dish in Vienna too.

Mustafa likes his work area mainly for

one reason: “Something is always going

on. I never felt bored since I started work-

On Vienna´s seventeen markets you can satisfy all your culinary desires.The most famous of all market is the Naschmarkt, a truly internationaland urban place feature which is appreciated by locals as well as tourists.By Fabian Kretschmer

and DumplingsVienna´s biggest Inner City Market is an exotic and lively Place

ing here. And most of the people coming

to the Naschmarkt are really friendly and

nice.”

A great deal of the shops around the

Naschmarkt area is Chinese. Many

Viennese even call the neighbourhood

“Little Chinatown”. The streets are full of

Asian supermarkets as well as Chinese

restaurants in which serve a wide range

of traditional Chinese dishes. “The most

popular dish is probably Beijing duck”

says Liu Bing, who works as a waiter in

one of the restaurants vis-à-vis to the

Naschmarkt. But Chinese dishes in

Vienna are nevertheless a little bit diffe-

rent. “We have to pay attention that the

food doesn´t become too spicy” Says Liu

with a smile. He then ads “Because most

Europeans are not used to that”.

[http://www.wienernaschmarkt.eu/]

alafel,Sour Crowd

FShopping at Vienna’s big

‚snack market’ theNaschmarkt, the place for

all kinds of delicaciesFabian Kretschmer

26 VeryVienna

Have you ever seen an advertising pillar,

but with a single big screen instead of a

multitude of posters? That is possible,

although current systems – such as the

one presented by the Fraunhofer

Institute – need several projectors. The

prototype presented in Vienna only

requires one. Was it a multi-million dollar

company that brought experts from

various fields together to develop such a

employs over 120,000 people, and this

number is growing continuously.

Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Manager of

the Viennese Departure fund [www.de-

parture.at] – an instrument of the City of

Vienna intended to strengthen Creative

Industries - says: “Vienna’s Creative

Industries haven’t had to hide behind the

creative sectors of any other metropolis,

perhaps because New York and London

are too far for that. Our strategy is using

innovation to make up the difference.

Departure considers itself a partner in

the development process from creative

idea to an economic success.” Since its

foundation, Departure has sponsored no

less than 259 projects in 43 project calls.

The digital advertising pillar, one of

Departure’s sponsored projects, was

developed by the brothers Thomas,

David and Gregor Lechner, who moved

from Lower Austria to Vienna to start

their studies. The brothers appreciated

the broad cultural foundations offered by

Vienna, particularly the multiple univer-

sities and colleges with artistic and musi-

cal curricula and the a wide range of his-

torical objects of artistic value, architec-

ture and music loved and respected

Creative People giving

& benefitting in a City

filled with

Possibilities

The Power of Networks, Cultural Inspiration and Ideas is the strengthof the Vienna based Creative Industries. Small firms can realize thatway projects that are elsewhere made by much bigger units.By Michael Zita

system? No, it was three brothers – a mu-

sician, a graphic artist, and a web deve-

loper – and their small enterprise,

“Phoenics” [www.phoenics.eu].

The Economical Importance ofCreativityCreative Industries already amount to

more than ten percent of all Austrian

companies. In Vienna, the creative sector

roblems? No, Creatives

Seize the Opportunity

P

VeryVienna 27

worldwide. On the other hand, the city

also possesses less famous cultural offer-

ings in the fields of electronic music and

modern art. On the other hand, the less

famous cultural offers in the field of elec-

tronic music, modern art and especially

creatives in the fields of visualization,

web technology and other small niches.

Soon, the brothers found their own niche

next to their studies of musical composi-

tion and graphic design by forming

“Phoenics”, which in its first incarnation

is an Electro-Jazz band.

But let us go back to the first steps in the

creative business and the smallest unit of

creativity, the single entrepreneur:

Marion Korwik [www.kwikart.at] com-

pleted her master’s degree in multi-

media. Today, she develops web pages,

illustrates print products or stands be-

hind large video cameras, filming events.

Her network of contacts, originally her

college friends, allowed her to start out as

a self-employed professional. She says:

“Every finished project is a business card

for new customers, as a satisfied

customer is the best recommendation

you can have.” A network of partners,

good experiences with these and some

inherent organic growth seem to be the

keys of success in the creative field.

Looking for the perfect solutionBut being creative requires more than

just business opportunities. Chances and

possibilities to find new solutions are re-

quired, or, in most cases, problems that

need to be solved. Five years ago, Michael

Diwald [www.stream-it.at] was sitting in

a bar at midnight with a glass of good

red wine. The music was fine until a com-

pletely different style of music followed

this one great song. Diwald thought that

this was just wrong, went to his home in

the second district of Vienna and started

to write down ideas in his basement

study. The basis, simple but complex to

handle, is to mix great music in a style-

and genre-consistent way and distribute

this via the Internet to bars, shops, shop-

ping centres or even hotel rooms.

With connections from former jobs, he

found a business angel who invested in

his idea. Hence, Diwald and his team

could develop the idea to sellable product

and meet all the legal challenges (e.g.

rights to mix music and perform in pub-

lic space), technical difficulties and other

Many great ideas have no happy end. Often there is

not enough money to develop them further. Here

departure comes into play, the city of Vienna’s lift-

off service for the creative industries. With multiple

project calls each year, departure sponsors projects

with up to 60 percent, or to a maximum of 200.000

Euro of the development costs. This may be money

needed to develop a prototype, or for necessary

specifications and processes for serial production.

The sponsoring depends on the size of the project

and the specific nature of the project call.

But this not all what departure does. Departure also

tries to establish project connections with indus-

trial partners, hence supporting creative folks in

finding their missing counterpart needed to turn

ideas into sellable products. Besides projects, depar-

ture arranges events that generate attention, show

different and new possibilities, or connect different

forms of arts, in a new way called intercreativity.

Why should a book only be read as an audio book if

you can visualize it as well, like a VJ does it for a DJ?

[www.departure.at]

Sponsoring CreativeIdeas to theirEconomical SuccessBy Michael Zita

Changing perspectives make successful solutions /Making Creativity sound like Music: Harmonic actsfitting in the world at large phoenics

28 VeryVienna

of TV production at very low prices, with

additional discounts for Okto show pro-

ducers and students. They cover all sorts

of technical skills as well as the needed

knowledge of media law, presenting and

speaking on TV, video journalism, impor-

tant intercultural aspects that are ad-

dressed in community TV.

12 chances: popular or notBarbara Eppensteiner, Okto’s Director for

Programme says: “Every programme

should have an equal opportunity to be

seen.” To ensure this, every programme is

repeated along a fixed and well-con-

trived pattern. For instance, each episode

of the aforementioned architecture pro-

gramme can be watched on Monday

nights and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,

twelve times all together. Okto pro-

grammes can also be watched in

Germany as the channel has partners in

Hamburg and Berlin as well. Every week,

Okto broadcasts about 90 minutes of

programmes from these German part-

ners, which is meant to help pro-

grammes reach more people.

With one hundred groups making regu-

lar programmes, Okto has 3 hours of new

programming every day, one more than

is needed for an Austrian private TV li-

cence. A fourth hour of daily material

comes from the New York programme

Democracy Now! And this is achieved

with a yearly budget of only one million

EUR, largely sponsored by the City of

Vienna. The community TV broadcaster

is not allowed to air commercials, but

programmes can be under the patronage

of a company – for instance the WKO, the

association of Austrian corporations,

runs a programme called “bUnter-

nehmen Wien”, about businessmen and

Monday night at the Schikaneder, a small

alternative club in Vienna. Next to a bar

and a dance floor, one can find a small

cinema with big, comfortable couches.

But today there are no students, clubbers

or kissing young couples watching an art

movie in the 50-seat auditorium. Today,

three architects from Arbeitsgruppe 4

are on the programme for admirers of ar-

chitecture. The programme is called Akku

[www.okto.tv/akku] and produced for

community broadcaster Okto by a group

of architecture enthusiasts. They make

the ‘only’ architecture programme in

Austrian TV. Felicitas, editor of Akku

adds: “This programme is only possible

because there is a TV broadcaster like

Okto – offering a channel and the equip-

ment to make this kind of TV.”

Okto is a TV Broadcaster that bases itself

on the participation of committed people

and communities, mainly based in

Vienna. They make their own pro-

grammes to show their interests and

views to others and produce TV for their

communities. These communities in-

clude – among others – austro-africans,

fans of heavy metal music or students

who are on TV or making TV pro-

grammes for the first time. If a group has

a realistic concept and can commit to

producing at least 15 minutes every two

months, it can make its own TV pro-

gramme.

Since nobody is born a television profes-

sional, Okto offers courses on the basics

ichness of the 100 Voices100 Communities on TV show theirInsights and Interests Okto, a Community TV Broadcaster, gives Communities a platform tospeak to their own. This commitment helps make other opinions andcultures visible.By Michael Zita

obstacles that had to be overcome, partic-

ularly in marketing and communication.

After a long line of happy customers and

again significant word-of-mouth recom-

mendations that rendered adverting un-

necessary, the next step is in sight: a

large investment by a big firm, which

would allow him to pay out his first

investor and take his idea to a larger

market: Stream-it will pass the borders of

Austria and come to all of Europe.

The rebirth of the PhoenicsThis also happened to “Phoenics”. The

musical performances got them contacts

who needed websites, so the band soon

morphed into a creative studio. These

projects yielded recommendations and

The beautiful anchor woman of Latino.tvpreparing for the next broadcasting. Michael Zita

RElektro-Jazz Band Phoenix Phoenix

VeryVienna 29

–women with a migrant background.

The programme is probably the only way

to reach this particular target group.

Colour and interest, or fame and glory?But what inspires people to create televi-

sion programmes for free? It can’t only be

for fame and glory. Alejandro, editor of

Latino.tv [www.latinotv.at] tells us:“For a

single 30-minute episode, one needs 7

man-days of work on average.” The mak-

ers of Latino.tv, a programme for the

Spanish-speaking Austrian community

see the need to cover Austrian topics in

Spanish. They address the community in

two ways, firstly by approaching topics

that are interesting for Spanish speakers

with an immigrant background and sec-

ond by keeping to a completely ‘Spanish’

format for the shows: Spanish-Speaking

lating stress”, say the creators of Latino.tv

during a studio visit. It could be stretch-

ing to achieve a slightly better quality in

every episode, which is what each small

production unit is aiming for. When you

see that your work makes a difference,

you will wish you had a little more time

to devote to it.

[www.okto.tv]

soon, a network of partners and new

customers was established. Something

like this is probably only possible in a city

with plenty of small business units and

potential customers willing to invest in

creative solutions, and at the same time

only feasible thanks to a network of

creative people who inspire and help out

with recommendations, small aids and

cooperation. A city with both cultural

history and inspiration, but at the same

with the technical infrastructure and

possibilities. In other words, a city

neither too big nor too small – like

Vienna. But then, the Phoenics was re-

born again.

3D panorama photography was a hobby

for the Lechner Brothers, a hobby that

presented them with a simple problem:

that such photography is not best dis-

played in print. As there was no device,

someone had to invent it. With their own

money, they built a prototype and ap-

plied for sponsoring. There is always

money for great ideas, and today,

Phoenics has received a grant from the

departure program which allows the

brothers to take on fewer jobs and con-

centrate on developing the idea of a digi-

tal advertising pillar. This in essence per-

fects the “Litfaßsäule”, the German name

of the advertising pillar. Over 150 years

ago, a Mr. Litfaß invented it, and advertis-

ing took an important step in its history.

Perhaps someday, Phoenics will be

known to have done the same.

TV is more colourful and has its own

ways to explain things. The proud show

producers see their programme as “help-

ing to make Austria the new home,

through culturally targeted information

and presentation, that feels like the long-

abandoned Spanish-speaking home”.

In fact, that is exactly the mission that

Okto’s founding Publisher association

had in mind: To make quality TV, to give

groups that are neither seen nor ad-

dressed by mainstream media a voice, so

that they can participate in Austrian cul-

tural and social life. Topics should be dis-

cussed from different perspectives,

bringing new views and aspects to is-

sues.

How can this goal be reached? In prac-

tice, with much volunteer work on Friday

nights. “Friday Nights that could be fun

and interesting while also full of stimu-

Barbara Eppensteiner, Director for Programme gives everyprogramme an equal chance to be seen. Okto

Okto show peoplehow their voice canbe heard. Okto

30 VeryVienna

On Vienna’s Ringstrasse, monuments

like the opera house and the Hofburg

take you back in time. Besides these em-

blems of past glory, memorials for

renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize lau-

reates like Hans Hollein and Jean Nouvel

enliven the cityscape. New, magnificent

buildings like the Donau City skyscrapers

are the new signatures of Vienna’s archi-

tectural landscape.

When you leave buzzing Lerchenfelder

Gürtel for Wimbergergasse, you walk

down a small street lined with

Wilhelminian style buildings. You could

easily feel as though you had stepped

into a Vienna of the past until you dis-

with modern converted attics, it is fre-

quented by Vienna’s young profession-

als.

According to the City of Vienna and its

architecture exhibition entitled Young

Viennese Architects, which recently

toured Europe, everybody under 45 is a

young architect.

“Young architecture is young by heart,”

says Michael Anhammer, one of the

founders of SUE Architekten, who are all

in their thirties. Architects could still be

“young” when they reach their fifties, he

says. To him, young architecture is sim-

ply experimental when it comes to prob-

ing what buildable architecture can be.

“Some young architects operate in the

margin between graphic-design, indus-

trial design and architecture,” says Volker

Dienst from Architecture in Progress. The

Enzis, designed by young architects, ex-

emplify this blurring of the boundaries.

rchitecture Macchiato:Garnishing Architecture

Vienna – A capital city of youngarchitecture which contributes to a vitalcityscape that combines old and new.By Katharina Oke

Acover an artistically decorated residential

building in the midst of the historic fa-

cades. It is this mixture, flavoured by

young architects, which is Vienna’s spe-

cialty.

Young architects at the end of the tunnel“In Vienna, young architects design

small, affordable pieces for young peo-

ple,” says Marion Kuzmany from the

Architekturzentrum Wien (Architecture

Centre Vienna).

An urban room for guests called Schon

Schön (inherently beautiful), designed by

SUE Architekten (sue architects), is an ex-

ample of young architecture in Vienna.

Schon Schön is an all-in-one living com-

plex which includes a restaurant, a hair-

dresser and a boutique. Located in the

seventh district, where Wilhelminian-

style residential buildings are capped

Young meets old at historic Karlsplatz:A façade inspired by the idea of a fence whichgrants protection, yet still allows adequateillumination.Katharina Oke

VeryVienna 31

Every summer, the oversized, flexible fur-

niture turns Museumsquartier, the

Viennese cultural district, into a public

recreation area.

The Networkers“We know each other quite well, and help

each other,” says Michael Anhammer

about the young community in Vienna.

It is a movement characterised by trust

and appreciation. As an example of this

confidence, young firms meet once a

month for the ironically named Fight

Club. There, they present projects they

are currently working on to other archi-

tects, and listen to the criticism of other

professionals.

In the 1990s, young Viennese entrepre-

neur-architects started to get together.

Most of this group had worked in estab-

lished architectural firms for a while be-

fore starting their own businesses, and

they wanted a forum to exchange new

ideas. They created platforms like

Architecture in Progress and ig-

Architektur, a community for architects.

Their aim is to foster innovative architec-

ture, encourage new entrepreneurial

projects and channel the interests of

young architects. The community is

united by similar challenges, which only

the small and medium-sized firms tend

to face. The young architects make use of

their network, for example by referring

each other to useful resources and con-

tacts in other firms. In this way, they use

the know-how of a larger group, while re-

taining the flexibility of smaller firms.

The time of the lone fighters in Austrian

architecture seems to be over. The young

firms are formed out of 2-4 architects.

“They often have boyband-like names as

Silberpfeil (silver arrow), propeller z and

x-architects. Furthermore they have flat

The building combines new, young architecturewith the historic urban rail network designed by Otto Wagner. Katharina Oke

Young architects in the starting blocks:Adam Orlinski, 22, and Bika Rebek, 24,studying architecture in Vienna.verena

32 VeryVienna

5 March 2010:Communication Dayat the IPKeurope

Communication is a paradoxical

word. On the one hand, everyone

communicates all the time, more so

now than in centuries past; and yet,

in our day and age, we have finally

come to recognise that the fact that

we talk, does not mean we are in any

way adept at communication. There

are two parts to a successful

exchange: the speaker, and the

listener. Overlooking the importance

of either to the proper transfer of a

message is unlikely to result in

successful communication.

That is one of the messages that a

pannel of experts sought to establish

at the headquarters of IPKeurope on

5 March 2010. On this day, a press

conference was held and streamed

live online, concerning an innovative

certification which covers four im-

portant issues: Communication, Self-

Marketing, Teamwork and Conflict

resolution. The programme itself is

known as the „European

Communication Certificate“ (Eco-C),

and has already developped a

following in Austria. But what is the

Eco-C? In the words of the pannelists

present that day, it is a way to gain

some kind of certification in an area

where competency is otherwise

difficult to attest. It is a label of

quality for employers to seek out

when recruiting, especially in the

young and newly-qualified whose

soft skills could otherwise be brought

into question. It implies a desire to

help people understand the dual

nature of the process, and benefit

from this understanding.

Together, the pannelists represented

the academic world (Prof. Thomas

Bauer) as much as the professional

world (Mr. Christopher Leitl).

In addition, the attendance of

representatives from Austria’s

national employment agency (AMS,

represented by Mrs. Inge Friehs and

Marion Carmann) conveyed a strong

endorsement by the Austrian state,

but the presence of the EU-coordina-

tor (Mrs. Karina Kaiblinger) and the

person responsible of the Hungarian

program (Mr. Laszlo Kovacs) further

suggested that this program is

already transcending the boundaries

of the country.

“Taking the Eco-C course

taught me a few things.

For instance, I know now that being

shy – like myself – does not

necessarily mean that a person

is a poor communicator, nor does

being chatty make someone

a good communicator”Brian Kroll, Programmer

“The important Thing in the Economy is People”Christopher Leitl

VeryVienna 33

STEP 05, which provides a planning tool

aiming to ensure the establishment of

Vienna as a metropolis in south-central

Europe.

Residential buildings, historically a defin-

ing aspect of architecture in Vienna, are

also part of STEP 05. Marion Kuzmany

has determined that new, innovative

concepts are being applied when it

comes to construction activity. New

references to public space, common

rooms, and approaches to new work en-

vironments (such as working from

home) are reflected in modern residen-

tial buildings. These concepts attract ar-

chitects from all over Europe to study in

Vienna.

Other areas, like the Karmeliterviertel,

are experiencing gentrification. In

Vienna, this process can be described as

gentle urban development, and commu-

nity participation is a keyword in the po-

litical and urban planning of this process.

Converted attics and new bars, designed

by young architects, already enrich the

Karmeliterviertel: some cafés are even

serving designer coffees, which were un-

seen in this area until recently.

“Vienna could use many more people,”

says Marion Kuzmany. “This way schools

and flats would be needed, and this

would lead to jobs, and more interesting

projects.” The self-confident students are

ready. Bika proclaims: “We would build

anything.”

hierarchies,” says Volker Dienst from

Architecture in Progress.

“We are a pack of architects,” laughs

Adam Orlinski, 22. He is studying at the

University of Applied Arts, which is one

of three universities teaching architec-

ture in Vienna. (Approximately 4,800

young architects study at the University

of Applied Arts, the Academy of Fine Arts

and the Technical University Vienna.)

Adam Orlinski and his colleague Bika

Rebek, 24, appreciate learning from

world-famous architects like Zaha

Hadid, Gregg Lynn and Wolf Prix – and

they call these distinguished artists by

their first names.

“In class, nothing is right or wrong,” says

Adam about the way they are taught.

“We are trained to find our way in differ-

ent situations and solutions to different

problems. Everything is very dynamic

and based on dialogue.” Bika adds, “You

have to defend your own opinion.” The

students apply these soft skills not only

in class, but also when they work with

well-established firms on small-scale

university projects like Architecture Live.

Shaping ViennaThis year was ushered in with a wreck-

ing ball in Vienna. The station concourse

of the Südbahnhof rail station was re-

moved in order to make space for a new

hybrid train station – Vienna’s Main

Station. It is one of the core components

of Vienna’s Urban Development Plan

Architecture in ProgressArchitecture in Progress serves as aplatform for young and innovativearchitecture. Its aim is to foster con-temporary, high-quality architecturein Austria and abroad. Architecture inProgress organises events andprojects in the field of architecture.http://www.architektur-inprogress.at(German only)

AzW – Architecture Center ViennaThe Austrian architecture museumserves as a meeting place fordevotees of architecture. It offersexhibitions, as well as being a centreof knowledge and research and asource of information on the field.On Sundays, it offers excursions tothe newest architectural sights ofVienna and the surrounding area.http://www.azw.at/

Y.o.V.A. – Young VienneseArchitectsThe exhibition serves as a platformfor young Viennese architects. Its aimis to showcase projects by individualsand groups who form part of Vienna’syoung, urban architecture scene.Exhibition and catalogue in Germanand English.http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/13571 (on Y.o.V.A. in 2009)

Vienna style: A 3m2 gazebo serves as an accessi-ble enlargement of a museum in the midst ofwilhelminian style facades. Katharina Oke

34 VeryVienna

Vienna, Stefansplatz. Twelve horse car-

riages are waiting for customers. Hardly

anyone is interested in them. Twelve

parked horse teams on a wintery day.

Now and then, some children stop to pet

the animals, which pleases neither the

horses nor their drivers. While the former

flatten their ears and snap at each other,

the latter abruptly tells the animal lovers

not to touch the horses.

The place smells of horse urine. A man

with a long ponytail, wearing a top hat

and a beard of the kind you hardly see

nowadays crosses the square with a

dustpan and a broom: “The others don’t

care about the cleanliness of this place.

Me, I am a born coach driver, I do the

dirty work, I even remove cigarette stubs

and horse droppings , ‘cause there once

was a graveyard underneath this square.

I have respect for the resting souls. My

colleagues are lazy; dirt on the ground

Behind the Scenes of Vienna’sfamous Carriages ‘Fiaker’

Fiaker belong to Vienna like to Gondolieri to Venice. Looking behindtailcoats and top hats, the coachmen can tell a lot of stories of classical Vienna. Especially a special character like Georg Fasching,Vienna’s self proclaimed Fiaker Baron.By Laura Claire Bakmann

BThe aron and His Harness

VeryVienna 35

does not bother them at all. I am an aes-

thete though”.

Wolfgang Fasching talks about himself

with a touch of roguish pride. He is

Vienna’s carriage Baron, and that is the

only way one can refer to him. After

greeting every horse by its name, he

sweeps away their droppings. Though

they wear their so-called poop-bags

which are supposed to collect the ma-

nure, some of the horses are so devious

that they always manage to aim else-

where. That is because our four-legged

friends like to stand in a certain posture,

called “Schieldern” in German, so as to

rest one or the other leg. Nearly all the

horses are dosing. Some are pawing the

ground, as if they wanted to eat some-

thing. Others are nibbling on their neigh-

bour’s harness and rubbing their throats

against each other, much to the annoy-

ance of the coach drivers.

Fried fish, Shoemaker and SmithyWe are sitting in Vienna’s longest operat-

ing carriage. It has been in use since 1866.

The coaches are originals or replicas built

after archetypical Polish plans. The inte-

riors are lined with velvet or leather. In

winter, additional blankets are offered. A

sudden jerk and the coach is moving. It

makes for the bank of the Danube, along

Rotenturm Street, and eventually turns

left onto ‘Fleischmarkt’ (originally

Vienna’s meat packing district).

The coach Baron has given numerous in-

terviews in the past. With a smile on his

face and a sparkle in his eye, he speaks of

his occupation as “the most beautiful job

in the most beautiful city in the world.”

The 43-year-old is a unique Viennese

coach driver for the last thirteen years.

Before that, he used to work as a waiter.

“Legendary coachmen such as ‘Bratfisch’

(Fried fish) Josef, and the personal driver

of crown prince Rudolf, ‘Schuster’

(Shoemaker) Franz, and ‘Schmied

(Smithy) Hansl also had the honour of

wearing a top hat.” Nowadays, the Baron

is the only coachman in the entire of

Vienna who wears one. During the

summer he is dressed in a vest and a sack

coat, but in winter, warmth comes before

beauty.

I ask him what kind of changes his pro-

fession has undergone. In reply, he states

that “in older times the coach-driver was

an alcoholic with a criminal record. But

things have changed. Nowadays, most of

the drivers do not drink at all, and blood

alcohol levels are not allowed to exceed

0,8 per cent.” About 30 years after the

first licence had been granted, the

Parisian word ‘Fiaker’, or‘Fiacre’, which

means coach or carriage in French, was

adopted. Originally, the term was named

after an innkeeper in the Rue de Saint-

Fiacre, who lent out carriages. Since 1984,

female carriage drivers are also offering

trips.

Around 9 a.m. you can see carriages hur-

riedly making their way to the inner part

of the city. When they move through

morning traffic, they are even faster than

usual: all long reins, flowing manes and

upraised heads. They come from the sur-

rounding areas, the fields of the Prater

and head into the first district, their best

route.

Austrian operettas in JapaneseA majority of passengers are weekend

tourists, business people, and vacation-

ers. “If my customers are Viennese, they

are usually celebrating a birthday, or a

A ‘Fiaker’ roundtrip alwayspasses the Hofburg, Vienna’simperial palaceAnna Gonzáles Martí

Vienna’s most famous coachman Georg Faschingis a Fiaker with his body and soulAnna Gonzáles Martí

36 VeryVienna

wedding, a company anniversary or re-

tirement.” The coachman’s trained eye

recognizes tourists from the way they

move, their clothing, and their appear-

ance. “Locals walk at a more determined

pace; they barely look around.” In nine

out of ten cases he can tell in advance

whether someone is interested in taking

a tour.

Furthermore, he often has a feeling for

people’s nationalities. Origins can be pin-

pointed through fashion. This winter, for

example, Russian women prefer fur hats

á la Dr. Zhivago. Arabs, on the other hand,

are often in a hurry. “In the carriage, their

children jump around, eat, and do not

care about cleanliness. Sadly, most of

them are not all that interested in

Vienna’s architecture.” Every nation has

its peculiarities. “There are Germans who

start singing the moment they sit in the

carriage. On one occasion, I had Japanese

customers who sang Austrian operettas

in Japanese. I was deeply impressed.”

It is up to the coachman to decide what

stories to tell passengers during the trip.

“I have such a vast store of knowledge

that if I were to tell customers everything

I know, I would have to walk with them,

stopping on each corner for ten minutes.”

There are different types of customers.

“Some of them are mainly interested in

dates and facts. Others prefer the histori-

cal anecdotes. Still others enjoy the tour

in silence.” Good coachmen realize this

by the time they reach the second street

corner. The Baron never gets tired of

talking enthusiastically about the city

and its main historical characteristics.

Meanwhile, the coach roughly moves

past the Hofburg, across the bumpy sur-

face of Michaelerplatz.

Accused by a fur coat“In thirteen years, I have overheard seven

proposals, none of which was refused.

That is the heartblood of my profession.”

The baron is discreet. When he realizes

that someone intends to propose, he will

secure the carriage and take a moment to

smoke a cigarette on a street corner. That

is how he occasionally happens to see

men kneeling in front of his carriage,

while their sweethearts weep out of

sheer emotion. His favourite events are

golden and silver wedding anniversaries.

“Suddenly old people become young and

are deeply in love again. Now and then, a

pair also chooses to take a trip in a closed

carriage, also known as a ‘Porzellanfuhr’.

Although some of the cabs have a win-

dow between the coachbox and the car-

riage, in those cases, utmost discretion is

called for: no turning around at all.

Nothing else should be of interest. And it

isn’t.”

During the interview with the Baron,

other coach drivers are resting, eating in

covered carriages, or having a smoke

with colleagues. Rarely do they display

any sign of affection towards the horses.

They only communicate with them to

harshly warn them to stand still. These

working animals seem to have adjusted

to the daily routine of urban traffic.

Nevertheless, some residents feel an-

noyed by the tradition. Their complaints

concern animal abuse, odour- and noise

nuisance and obstruction of traffic. The

Baron says that, on one very cold day

(about -10°C), a woman in a fur called

him an animal abuser! Witty as he is, he

responded: “at least my animals are still

alive. Those you are wearing around your

shoulders are already dead.” By now he

only smiles at these kinds of accusations.

The Baron personifies patience, and that

is the quality that his colleagues as well

as his horses appreciate the most.

Being a Fiaker is a tough jobLaura Claire Bakmann

VeryVienna 37

“Death must be Viennese” is the title of a

famous song by Georg Kreislers. The

quest to understand the unique relation-

ship between Vienna and death leads to

the Sepulchral Museum of Vienna’s

Funeral Services, located in the Gold-

eggasse.

This museum was established 1967 as

the first of its kind. “The visitor’s ages

eath must be Viennese

It is said that Viennese People have a rather unconventionalrelationship to death. In this context words as morbid, macabreand bizarre are often used. This special attitude of the metro-polis located at the Donau is supposable due to an easterninfluence. The Viennese famous Zentralfriedhof is, according tothe number of dead bodies, the biggest cemetery in Europe.From Laura Claire Bakmann and Amelie Springer

DFuneral art in Vienna’s sepultural museumAmelie Springer and Laura Claire Bakmann

38 VeryVienna

deeply. Consequently, in 1785, Emperor

Josef II commanded that a ‘Sparsarg’

should be used. This special coffin made

of wood had a flap so that the corpses,

which had been sewn into a linen sack

before, were falling through the open-

ings into their graves. This manner had

the advantage that the coffin could be

reused. Now, the people felt that a fu-

neral was an event and wished to cele-

brate the procedure. This caused the idea

of the ‘beautiful corpse’ to take root. Thise

term is commonlyonly used in Austria.

This describes the pomp and parade-like

nature of a funeral. One example thereof

is the following: People, who owned or

rented a flat in a spot with good visibility,

rented their window spaces for quite

some money. These ‘lodge seats’, from

which one could watch the procession

while enjoying coffee and cake, were in

high demand. That was said to have been

a custom until the death of the last

Austrian Empress, Zita, in 1989. In the old

Vienna, cemeteries were located in the

inner city, since relatives wanted to be as

close to their deceased loved ones as pos-

sible. But with grave arches cramped

since the time of the Black Death,

Emperor Joseph II eventually forbid fu-

nerals under churches in the city centre,

for reasons of hygiene and sanitation.

My friend the deathIn the catacombs of St. Stephen, under

the Viennese Stephansdom, a tomb bur-

ial vault holds the preserved entrails of

the Habsburgers as well as skulls and

bones piled up like firewood. Her-

metically sealed to prevent decay, copper

coffins contain corpses of bishops. Since

that space gradually dwindled, the

creation of cemeteries provided an out-

let. A few decades later, Vienna having

expanded steadily, those cemeteries

were in the middle of the city. In 1874, the

Zentralfriedhof was founded in Simme-

ring, one of the outer districts of Vienna.

Today, this cemetery is one of the largest

in Europe when it comes to the number

of buried corpses. It hosts about 3 million

corpses of people who, in life, followed

different religions, in an area of almost

2.5 square kilometres. The Art Nouveau

architecture and a great many graves of

distinguished persons make the Zentral-

friedhof to one of Vienna’s most famous

sights.

Death also has found its way into fa-

mous Viennese songs, mainly as the

Grim Reaper. Another example of the

unique relationship of Austrians with

death can be heard in the locally well-

known song by Wolfgang Ambros “Es

lebe der Zentralfriedhof”, written in 1975.

range from three to 90 years. You cannot

start dealing with dying early enough. In

the end, you would not have the time to

do so anymore”, says Mag. Dr. Wittigo

Keller, the curator of the museum, with a

whimsical smile. Keller is a short man in

blue jeans and a leather jacket. He wears

his greying hair in a ponytail. With his

sparkling smile and positive spirit, he

really does not look like a person who

engages with death every day. While

guiding us around the exhibition he

almost shines. Listening to the words of

this artist, cultural anthropologist and art

historian may surprise you, as he

explains how vivid the end of a life can

be. Once a year, the museum offers a

special event, where visitors can actually

test the coffins themselves, though of

course without dying first. According to

Keller, lying in one of those coffins is a

special feeling. “There’s nothing like

angst… Instead, you feel relaxed”, so

Keller.

The beauty of the corpseAt the end of the 18th century, corpses

were speedily transported through an

underground pipe connecting the city

centre to a collective tomb. While this

kind of mass grave was due to reasons of

efficiency, it shocked the Viennese

Zentralfriedhof, Europe’s biggest cemetery in terms of corpsesAmelie Springer and Laura Claire Bakmann

VeryVienna 39

The title translates as “Long Live the

Central Cemetery”. According to the

song, “Death is no enemy to the Vien-

nese”; it always accompanies one like a

shadow, a friend with which one goes to

a pub.

This goes against the medieval belief

that Death would come to take people

away against their will, rich and poor

alike. Instead, an hourglass filled with

sand appoints the moment of one’s

death. The Grim Reaper realises when

this time has come and ‘harvests’ the

person at the right moment.

Apparent deaths and specialwishes for burialsIn the course of exhumations, corpses

could be found in different poses or with

broken fingernails. This caused a lot of

agitation, as people assumed that the

state of the corpses proved that the de-

ceased had not been dead at the time of

their burial. Many inventors tried to save

people from these apparent deaths. The

most famous invention was the “rescue

alarm”. Before a burial was allowed, the

corpse would be stored in a mortuary for

about 48 hours, for observation. In

winter, those were even heated. The

deceased got a sling around their wrist,

linked to the rescue alarm. It would ring

in case of any movement and alert the

cemetery guard who lived next to the

storage area. The alarm never stopped

ringing. This was not due to masses of

still-living people, but to corpse decay:

the developing gases cause bodies to

contract, and hence, move.

Another absurdity from today’s point of

view is the first photo studio for corpses,

which opened in the 1850ies in Vienna.

Applied glass eyes and retouching made

dead bodies seem alive. Bodies in rigor

mortis where simply bent into their

photo poses. To get to the studio, the

surviving family members drove in a

carriage sitting next to the corpse the

deceased. Again, for hygiene reasons, this

was prohibited later on.

Another interesting oddity: a special

series of postcards printed featuring the

dead Franz Josef II. Friends and relatives

could thus receive a greeting from

Vienna depicting the ‘beautiful corpse’ of

the emperor.

Another interesting item are black

cigarette packets with the inscription

‘smoking secures jobs, your sepulchral

expert Kunz’, which can be found in the

Sepulchral Museum.

For his own burial, Keller wants to invite

surviving artist friends to embellish his

coffin by drawing on it with an airbrush.

“This shall be accompanied by didgeri-

doo music.” His favourite dish will also

come be put in the coffin with him.

When speaking of his own death and

burial, his eyes once again shine. “You

can be scared of dying, but not of death

itself.”[http://www.bestattungsmuseum.at]

Wittigo Keller, director of the sepultural museum in front of a coffin for sitting bodiesAmelie Springer and Laura Claire Bakmann

This magazine was edited bystudents from the Departmentof Communication of theUniversity of Vienna.