Wieden

Wieden, 4^th district of Vienna, area 1.83 km², pop. 31,410 (1991), formed in 1850 through the merger of the 3 suburbs of Wieden, Schaumburgergrund (suburb since 1813, the name stems from the Counts of Schaumburg, who had been owners of the land since the 15^th century), and Hungelbrunn (documented mention in the 14^th century, originally only vineyards, housing construction began in 1801). The first settlement at Wieden emerged in the 2^nd half of the 12^th century; stretching along the River Wien to Karlsplatz Square. It was documented as "Widem" in connection with the erection of a Hospital of the Holy Spirit ("Widum" means the foundation and furnishing of a church) in 1211 and was later known as "Vienna Suburb on the River Wien". The suburb, already densely settled in those days, was burnt down twice (1529 and 1683) in the wake of the Turkish Sieges of Vienna. The main construction phase took off in the 18^th century (Saint Charles´s Church, palaces of noble families), and the district grew continuously. Margareten was detached and made an independent district (5^th district) in 1861, the parts of Wieden lying outside the "Gürtel" ring-road were detached in 1874 and turned into today´s 10^th district Favoriten. Main road and major arterial road to the south is the Wiedner Hauptstraße.

Churches: Saint Charles´s Church (Karlskirche); early Baroque Barnabite church (Paulanerkirche), erected between 1627 and 1651 as abbey church, (abbey pulled down in 1797/98); St. Thecla church (built 1754-1756 by J. Gerl); St. Elisabeth church (1857-66).

Secular buildings: Theresianum (former Favorita); Schönburg-Starhemberg Palace (1705/06, more storeys added in 1841); University of Technology, Vienna (built 1816-1818, annexes 1971-1982, main library 1984-1987); Protestant school (1860-1862, by T. Hansen); French Embassy (1906-1909); Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien; "Kunsthalle Wien" exhibition hall on Karlsplatz Square (1992); radio broadcasting building (1935-1937, by C. Holzmeister); building of the Vienna Chamber of Labour (1957-1960); Franz Domes hostel for apprentices (1952, by R. Rainer); Adolf Czettel education centre (1985-1989, incl. theatre Akzent); House of Sports; building of the Merchants´ Organisation on Schwarzenbergplatz square (1905); building of the Wirtschaftskammer Österreich; monuments to J. Brahms, J. Ressel, F. Madersperger, S. Marcus, and G. R. Donner, angel fountain, Mozart fountain, children´s fountain, Henry Moore sculpture (1978).

Diplomatic Academy; embassies; Red Cross Society building.

Literature: F. Czeike, Wieden, Wiener Bezirkskulturführer, 1979; K. Lohrmann and F. Opll, Regesten zur Frühgeschichte von Wien, 1981; F. Czeike, Historisches Lexikon Wien, 5 vols., 1992-1997.