The History of the Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)

1. The Vienna Rathaus (City
Hall)

2. In the year, 1316 Vienna-born Frederick the Fair, Duke of Austria and King of Germany, donated land for the first
Rathaus to the city of Vienna.
Over the course of the next several centuries, the city hall was built and rebuilt many times, taking its mostly final form
in the eighteenth century, executed in what might be called the municipal baroque style.
In 1893, the Altes Rathaus was the site of the founding of the Allgemeiner Österreichischer Frauenverein
(General Austrian Women’s Association) which fought for and eventually achieved suffrage rights for women in
Austria in 1918.
The Altes Rathaus now houses the municipal offices for the first and eighth districts of the city, the inner city's
local history museum and the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance.
The Allgemeiner Österreichischer Frauenverein in 1904
The First City Hall (Altes Rathaus)
Frederick the Fair

3. “Municipal Baroque” architecture of the first city hall on Wipplingerstraße

4. Interior of the Altes Rathaus
(Note the piano at the far end of the room — live music is appropriate everywhere in Vienna)

5. In 1868, German architect Frederich von Schmidt was chosen to design a new city hall. Originally, the building was to
occupy a space opposite the Stadtpark. But in 1870, Mayor Cajetan Felder argued and won approval for a new and more
prestigious site, over the protests of the military which used the land as a parade ground.
By 1883, construction of the new Rathaus was complete. Two years later, the city council held its last meeting in the old
city hall and moved into the new building.
1885 photo of the newly-completed Rathaus
Mayor Cajetan von Felder
Frederich von Schmidt

6. “The Rathaus (City Hall) was a symbol of municipal self-assertion in the
face of the state and members of the imperial family who were
dominating the city expansion scheme and pushing the Viennese
municipality into the background.”
— Andreas Nierhaus, “Observations on the Ringstrasse Architecture,” in Vienna’s Ringstrasse: The Book, page 98
The Meaning of Vienna’s New City Hall
Pen drawing and watercolor of the city hall by the architect, Frederich von Schmidt

7. “Brabantine Gothic”
The architect, in consultation with the mayor, chose what is termed “Brabantine Gothic” for Vienna’s new city hall. The
city hall of Brussels in particular was seen as an emphatic architectural statement of the importance and independence of
municipal authorities, after centuries of direct rule by the aristocracy. Moreover, the use of the Gothic vocabulary in a
civic structure added a sense of quasi-religious authority to the assertion of civic rights and responsibilities.
“Brabantine Gothic” in Vienna
“Brussels Town Hall of the 15th century, is one of the grandest
examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-
century town halls such as the Rathaus, Vienna.” -- Wikipedia

8. Vienna Rathaus Paris Hôtel de Ville
Schmidt was determined that the final form of the Rathaus would be as perfect as he could make it. After seeing and
evaluating the completion of the Mansard roof, he was dissatisfied with the result. And since the city council would not
grant him the funds for rebuilding, Schmidt paid for the rebuilding at his own expense.
Cultural historian Marvin Nathan has suggested that that corner towers of the Rathaus might have been incorporated by
the architect to avoid an overly-ecclesiastical look for his civic building.
The corner towers, Mansard roof, and row of small windows on the top floor of the Vienna Rathaus suggest
some additional inspiration from the city hall (Hôtel de Ville) of Paris.

9. Architect von Schmidt and Mayor Felder had one final obstacle to overcome in completing the design for the new Rathaus: Emperor Franz Joseph let it be known that he would
not allow the spire of the city hall to reach higher than the spire of the nearby Votivkirche, erected in his honor in 1853. Since the tower of Votive Church measured 99 meters
in height, Schmidt had to settle for a 98 meter tower for his city hall.
However, a scheme was concocted to increase the height of the Rathaus. The architect and the mayor persuaded master locksmith Ludwig Wilhelm to pay for the casting of a
medieval knight and standard-bearer, wearing the armor of the era of Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Flemish lands that included the town hall of
Brussels. Casitng a sculpture based on one of the most famous medieval Holy Roman Emperors was a shrewd choice, since the current ruler, Franz Joseph, could not well order
the removal of his illustrious predecessor.
Schmidt drew a sketch of the project, artist Franz Gastell made a plaster model, and then the sculpture was created from melted Russian copper kopeks by “art locksmith”
Alexander Nehr. Including the banner pole (which also serves as a lightning rod), the statue reached a height of 5.4 meters and weighed two tons.
Emperor Maximilian I

10. Rear Side (Rückseite) Entrance to the Rathaus
Counsel room on the other side of the rear facadeCounsel members could discreetly enter the stairway to
their meeting room from here.

11. Wide-angle Panorama of the Rathaus Council Room
Maria Theresia Mural over the Left Side Mezzanine, Municipal Authority over the Right Side Mezzanine

12. Maria Theresia Mural
Acknowledging the role of counselors and generals who informed and assisted the Empress during her reign from 1745-1765

13. Historical Mural: the Passage of Municipal Authority from the Emperor and Church to the Citizens of Vienna

14. View of Rear Mezzanine and Murals

15. Rear Mezzanine Murals and Coffered Ceiling

16. Allegorical Representations of the Foundations of Viennese Society
“Handel und Verkehr”
(Trade and Transportation)
“Kunst”
(The Arts)
“Soziales”
(Foundations of Society: Sustenance, Motherhood,
Care for the Aged)

17. Council Room chandelier, created by the Viennese firm of Dziedzinski and Hanusch, brought
back inside a wooden frame to Vienna from the 1878 Paris Universal Exposition

18. The Rathaus was the first Ringstrasse building to be lighted by electricity. Though the entire Counsel
Chamber was decorated and designed in traditional forms, the lighting itself represented the truly
spectacular potential of modern technology allied with established forms and new civic intentions.

19. The chandelier is so enormous that special planks had to be installed inside the fixture so that workers
could access the light bulbs and electrical wiring.

20. Stairs to the Festsaal

21. The Rathaus Festsaal

22. The Rathaus Festsaal

23. Festsaal Detail

24. Ever since the openingof the Rathaus in 1885, the Festsaal has beeen used as a venue for somee of the most splendid
balls in Vienna. As a ballroom, the Festsaal is the largest dance venue in Europe.
City of Vienna Ball in the Festsaal, 1904, oil painting by Wilhelm Gause

25. Dance card for the Ball der Stadt Wien (Ball of the City of Vienna) held in 1897, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of
Franz Schubert. Inside the card was a listing of the dances with places for ladies to inscribe the names of their dance partners.

26. Blumenball in the Festsaal, 2016

27. The Vienna Rathauskeller
There are five separate restaurants in the Rathauskeller complex.

28. The Rittersaal

30. The Grinzinger Keller

31. The Lanner / Lehár Saal

32. The Augustiner Stüberl

33. Salon Ziehrer

34. Vienna Rathauskeller Restaurants in the Past

35. Dining in the Festsaal Upstairs

36. From Festivities to Scholarship in the Vienna City Hall
The Vienna Library (Wienbibliothek Im Rathaus) in the city hall specializes in the research and documentation of Vienna’s
history and culture, housing more than 550,000 publications, 250,000 individual autographs, 100,000 musical manuscripts
and 250,000 posters.

37. The Rathausplatz and Park
For many visitors to the Rathaus, one of the main attractions is the
surrounding park and the spacious Rathausplatz in front of the
building. The park provides the comfort of growing greenery in an
area dominated by imposing buildings, and the plaza in front of the
city hall provides a generous open space for public events.

38. Not all critics were pleased with the Rathausplatz when it was first built. Viennese architect and
theorist Camillo Sitte (1843-1903) believed that Brussels embodied the ideal setting for a city hall,
providing city dwellers with a comfortable enclosure apart from the swirling traffic of the streets.
43-1903) argued that a monumental city hall such as the Rathaus should be fronted byba square
enclosed by lesser builldins, such as the area in front of the city hall of Brussels:
The rathaus architect believed otherwise, and gave the Viennese Rathaus not only a wreath of green
parkland and an open plaza for public events and celebrations, but a striking view across the
Ringstrasse to the Burgtheater.
43-1903) argued that a monumental city hall such as the Rathaus should be fronted byba square
enclosed by lesser builldins, such as the area in front of the city hall of Brussels:
Brussels Town Hall and Plaza Vienna Rathaus and Rathausplatz

40. Water for Vienna
— https://www.wien.gv.a

41. Christmas Decorations and Marketplace in the Rathausplatz

42. Crowd in the Rathausplatz viewing a ballet video

43. Taken as a whole, the Vienna city hall realizes the nineteenth-century ideal of a gesamtkunstwerk: a single work that embodies the high
ideals of architecture, politics, music, dance, scholarship, painting and sculpture, plus the added human enjoyments of feasting and
dining.
The Rathaus expresses the soul of Viennese culture.