the removal fromthe single-storey building, in the Hietzing district, of all additions that post-date the Klimt period. This includes the large house that was built above and around it following the painter’s death. Several years ago, a portion of another studio complex used by the art nouveau painter was demolished tomake way for an apartment block. Over in the Landstrasse district is
one of Vienna’s great overlooked treasures, the Sofiensäle. This imposing, early 19th-century “bathing palace” was, in its later incarnation as a concert-and-dance hall, a favourite venue of Johann Strauss. Heremany of the famous Viennese waltzes and polkas were given their first airing. Empty, it caught fire in 2001 and, badly damaged though repairable, has stood a blackened shell ever since. Plans have been submitted for the
demolition of the remains of the Sofiensäle and rebuilding as a hotel – retaining only the frontage. “It’s a very, very important building for the culture of Vienna,” saysMarkus Landerer. “But now they want to remove everything apart fromthe façade.”
EvenMozart has fallen victimto Vienna’s lacklustre heritage protection enforcers. An early 18th-century house on Tiefer Graben street, within the UNESCOprotected zone, was home toWolfgang Amadeus in the 1770s. The house had two stories added some 20 years ago, built inmodern motel style. Despite the outcry, the city government took no action, and the floodgates opened to create one of Vienna’s heritage campaigners’ greatest headaches – “topping” historic buildings with several floors of modern apartments. The ID group hopes to spark alight a
T
passion for heritage which has long been dormant in Austria and its capital. “People do like old Vienna,” says senior paintings conservator and IDmemberMaria Ranacher. “In a study by national government
here,” she says, “it was shown that 80 per cent of people appreciate and like historic buildings, and think they are important, and that they should be protected – but the government
66 Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 2 2011
hough listed, the Sofiensäle appears to have eluded the care of the city government. It is not the only old building to have slipped through the net.
Far left, the Schubert house scandal has featured on the cover of the ID conservation group newsletter – along with the architect’s vision of the site when finished. Above, Klimt at his studio, one of three he used in Vienna. Left, the Sofiensäle – pride of Viennese popular music heritage, yet a blackened shell for 10 years
‘AUSTRIANS ARE VERY KEEN ABOUT
AUTHORITIES… AND PEOPLE
A BIG CULTURE OF BELIEVING THE
EVEN YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT THERE IS
BUILDINGS, HISTORIC
DON’T READILY EXPRESS
THEIR VIEWS OPENLY’
didn’tmake public this part of the study’s findings. “Austrians are very keen [about
historic buildings], even young people, but there is a big culture of believing the authorities…and people don’t readily express their views openly.”
AND so the battles continue. Latest concerns for ID include the imminent destruction of a large andmuch-loved mansion block, built in the Biedermeier period, on Sigmundgasse in the Neubau district – on the grounds that the building “does not meetmodern standards in respect of earthquakes and other safety factors”. Though only a short walk fromthe
historic city centre, and within a designated conservation area, consent has nevertheless been granted by the city government for the demolition of the Sigmundgasse building and its replacement with yet another apartment block. As a concession to architecture campaigners, the façade of the proposed new block will be a faithful version of the old one –
“Disneyland”, as one campaigner said. Even within the historic centre,
apparent breaches of listing law can take place. In 2007 a large, 19th- centurymansion block, a key feature of theWipplingerstrasse area and listed, was pulled down tomake way for an annexe to the headquarters of the oil producing nations’ body, OPEC.Official justification for the demolition changed throughout the course of the planning application. “Since the construction industry
moves quickly,” saysMarkus Landerer, “buildings absolutely worth protecting are disappearing each and every day. “In 50 years, if everything goes
on like this, then what would be left of old Vienna will be an island in the middle, with tall new buildings crowded all around the edge of the UNESCO-protected zone.” At least Vienna’s new wave of
heritage campaigners are determined to fight for every old building. And in the long run, theymight even win.
More information at
www.idms.at
Far left, construction work at and beside a home of Schubert (left, middle) – how much original fabric now remains is unclear. Left, a house occupied by Mozart has been ‘topped’ with new apartments. Below, a Klimt studio ‘compound’ before demolition (left) and, below right, what has replaced it
ALBERTINA MUSEUM AND GALLERY, VIENNA
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