What makes the federal states tick? This time: Vienna, the smallest federal state with the most inhabitants, benefits from its diverse historical heritage.
Are the Viennese proud of their country, of their city? No question about it! But the people of the capital have not been anything “better” for a long time. Abroad, you still get admiration when you explain that you come from the federal capital: “Vienna, how beautiful!” “From Vienna, so so,” is something you hear more often in the other federal states. Because the federal capital is the place where federal politics are made, which people often disagree with. And the city dweller is difficult to grasp: there are too many different countries of origin for the two million people.
Please tell us who you are:
A: I am under 30B: I am 30 or older
The Viennese have a bit of an identity problem anyway. The “real Viennese” alias Mundl, as portrayed in the well-known TV series “A real Viennese doesn’t go under”, is not very common in real life anymore. But one should ask oneself what a real Viennese actually is – after all, almost all of them have their roots in the former crown lands, in the first generation or in subsequent ones.
All roads lead to Vienna
Vienna has always been a city of immigration. Even in the Middle Ages, the trading city on the Danube saw a lively exchange and passage of many nations. As the city of the emperors, Vienna was a meeting place for many languages, many famous personalities from the fields of music, literature and science. “Vienna was the residence of the monarchy, the economic, political and cultural centre. The road and railway network converged here, all routes led here and away from here,” says historian Werner Schwarz.
The nobility came from Spain, Italy or Germany. Around 1900, Vienna became a metropolis with two million people, after London and Paris. In the 19th century, immigrants came mainly from countries of the monarchy, from Bohemia, Galicia (now Poland) or the Alpine countries. “After 1945, asylum seekers came from communist countries such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia or Poland, but also from Uganda or Chile. In the 1990s, Bosnians fled the war to Austria,” says Schwarz.
Until the end of the 1980s, Vienna was the only European capital to shrink. “Many people moved to the surrounding areas, to Lower Austria or to the west, and the birth rate fell.” After the fall of the Iron Curtain and the eastward expansion of the EU, Vienna became attractive to immigrants again and grew strongly. Later, there were refugee movements from Afghanistan and Syria.
The green and social city
Vienna is one of the greenest cities in the world: the many parks in the city and the Vienna Woods ensure good air. In the east and south there are large agricultural areas, which ensure the supply of grain, fruit and vegetables. The Danube flows through the city and offers swimming pools, bars and leisure facilities, especially for young residents. “Vienna offers many people relaxation for relatively little money,” says historian Schwarz. In general, Vienna is a city that has always tried to create good living conditions for the socially disadvantaged.
Vienna has been red since 1919, with interruptions during Austrofascism and National Socialism. The SPÖ brought social housing to the capital, the famous municipal buildings and allotment gardens on the outskirts of the city. “More than half of Viennese people live in social housing.” This is also what distinguishes the city from other capitals. In Berlin, for example, municipal housing was sold on a large scale. “A lot of things have been preserved in Vienna that have disappeared elsewhere,” says Schwarz. The old coffee houses are still there too, where Arthur Schnitzler and Friedrich Torberg met and were inspired over a Melange and Kaiserschmarrn.
Annual international rankings show that Vienna is still a magnet. The federal capital has been in the top positions for years: this year, Vienna followed Brussels as one of the most livable cities in the world in terms of stability, health system, education and infrastructure. And Vienna is still the largest university city in the German-speaking world.
Vienna has a bit of everything: villas on the outskirts, single-family homes, terraced housing developments, the Alt-Erlaa residential park, municipal and cooperative buildings, the historic city center. The high-rise zone on the Donauplatte creates a metropolitan feel. New districts are being created, such as Seestadt Aspern. With the Greens in the city government as a small coalition partner from 2010 to 2020, a bit of a bike path and a bit of a meeting zone were added.
“A good coexistence”
The residents of the capital secretly consider themselves lucky. If something bad happens in Vienna, it is “much worse somewhere else”. In Vienna, a poor person can still live in the 1st district with peacetime rent and a rich person in a council housing. Cultural and educational opportunities are low-threshold, whether school classes in parliament or senior fitness equipment in the park. The Bobo lives in the country on his cargo bike in the inner districts, the farmer comes by car and delivers to the Viennese markets. “Good coexistence is what defines Vienna,” says historian Schwarz.
How much longer?
By and large, the motto is live and let live. But that is exactly what is causing problems in Vienna, this comfortable way of life. Vienna’s schools are overloaded due to a lack of integration measures. The mixing of students from different countries of origin does not really work. At 48 percent, the proportion of those born abroad is highest in the 15th district. But the proportion is also high in other districts and you quickly notice that Vienna’s corners are very different.
The issue of integration also plays a role every five years in the Vienna state elections. In 2010, the Reds lost their majority and governed twice with the Greens and currently with the Neos as a small coalition partner. The FPÖ, which caused a stir in 2005 with the election slogan “Vienna must not become Istanbul”, is currently in second place in polls. In 2020, the Reds managed to win again because the Freedom Party lost votes a year earlier due to the Ibiza scandal. At the next state election in 2025, the SPÖ will probably have to put its solutions for integration on the table if it wants to continue to ensure “good coexistence”.
If you particularly liked this article or have suggestions for us, tell us your opinion at feedback@wienerzeitung.at. Do you want to help us make our entire product better? Then register here.
Information and sources
Facts and figures
-
This is how Vienna voted in the 2019 National Council elections: 27.1 percent SPÖ, 24.6 percent ÖVP, 20.7 percent Greens, 12.8 percent FPÖ, 9.9 percent Neos
-
Vienna has almost 2 million inhabitants.
-
Vienna is the second largest municipality in Austria after Sölden.
-
Vienna consists of 23 districts. The oldest residents (on average) live in the 1st district Innere Stadt, followed by Hietzing (13th district) and Döbling (19th district). The youngest residents can be found in Simmering (11th district), Favoriten (10th district) and Leopoldstadt (2nd district).
-
In Vienna, the city council is also the state parliament. The mayor is also the state governor.
-
The SPÖ (formerly Red Vienna) has been the mayor since 1919. The current mayor is Michael Ludwig.
-
State election 2020: SPÖ: 41.6 percent, ÖVP: 20.43 percent, Greens: 14.8 percent, Neos: 7.4 percent, FPÖ: 7.1 percent
-
State elections 2015: SPÖ: 39.5 percent, FPÖ: 30.7 percent, Greens: 11.8 percent, ÖVP: 9.2 percent, Neos: 6.1 percent. The 21st district and the 11th district were blue.
-
State election 2010: SPÖ: 44.3 percent, FPÖ: 25.7 percent, ÖVP: 13.9 percent, Greens: 12.6 percent
-
State election 2005: SPÖ: 49 percent, ÖVP: 18.7 percent, FPÖ: 14.8 percent, Greens: 14.6 percent
-
In the 15th district, Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, only 56 percent of the population are eligible to vote in state elections.
Conversation partner
Werner Schwarz, historian, Vienna Museum
Celebrities from Vienna
-
Former Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, painter Oskar Kokoschka, writer Elfriede Jelinek, former Federal President Heinz Fischer, former Mayor of Vienna Michael Häupl, behavioural scientist Konrad Lorenz, pop star Falco
