First published: 30/10/11.

Hubert 4.0

Vienna

Vienna (Inscribed)

Vienna by Hubert

Why another review about Vienna? Vienna is one of the WHS with the most visitors and most reviews on this website. The answer is: just to draw attention to a building, that is often overlooked by tourists who spend only a few days in Vienna. Of course, the city is mainly known for the Hofburg, the Opera House, the buildings on the Ringstrasse, and Schönbrunn. But there are also extraordinary buildings of Art Nouveau. Well known are the Vienna Secession and the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, mainly because they are located at tourist hotspots. The building, which I like in Vienna at most (if one can ever decide) is the Postsparkasse (Austrian Postal Savings Bank) built by Otto Wagner. The building covers an entire city block, and it is Wagner's most modern work. A characteristic feature is the façade with aluminium-covered iron bolts, which are reminiscent of a treasure chest. Wagner not only constructed the building, but also designed the complete interior: furniture, lamps, clocks, floor coverings, safes, etc. For example, a glazed prism floor was installed in the Banking Hall to light the rooms below., Both the façade and the interior perfectly illustrate his motto: What is impractical can never be beautiful. It is still used as a bank building, you can visit the Main Banking Hall from Monday to Saturday. There is also a small museum with a second, small Banking Hall.

There are some more Wagner buildings outside the WHS core zone that are worth a visit: two houses at the Wienzeile (near Naschmarkt), the Kirche am Steinhof, and two villas in Vienna-Penzing.

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