As
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, the capital of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
is both a city and a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
, the 100 members of the Municipal Council (''Gemeinderat'') of the city of Vienna also act as members of the
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
(legislative assembly) of the state of Vienna. Members serve for five years.
While the municipal council and the state parliament consist of the same members, they meet separately, complete with separate presiding officers: the chairman of the Municipal Council and the . This is because the Vienna City Constitution requires city and state business to be kept separate. When the deputies meet as the Municipal Council, they can only deal with matters of the city, but not the affairs of the state. When the deputies meet as the
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
, they may only deal with the matters of the state, but not the affairs of the city. Thus, the legal situation in Vienna is different to that in other city-states such as
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
or
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
.
Gemeinderat of Vienna
The Gemeinderat, formed for the first time after the revolution in 1848 on the basis of the provisional municipal law of March 17, 1849, issued by the imperial patent, was correspondingly enlarged in the following decades. After the incorporation of
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...
in 1904/1905 the ''Gemeinderat'' comprised 165 representatives until 1923. The legal provisions for this were decided by the
Landtag of Lower Austria
The Landtag of Lower Austria is the state parliament of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It exercises the state legislation (legislature). The seat of the Landtag is in St. Pölten in the Landhausviertel.
The Lower Austrian Parliament is compo ...
as the State Law.
The municipal council could only be elected by all citizens living in Vienna after 1918. Before then, the leading classes of Vienna and Lower Austria had prevented the general right to vote, realized for men in
Cisleithania
Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...
in 1907, in the municipal and state policy.
In the Vienna city constitution, the Gemeinderat is mentioned before the Landtag, as was decided by the
Federal Constitutional Law
The Federal Constitutional Law (german: Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, abbreviated ) is a Federal law, federal constitutional law in Austria serving as the centerpiece of Constitution of Austria, the Constitution. It establishes Austria as a democrac ...
, which entered into force on the same day as the city constitution. It is, therefore, the municipal council that is the supreme collegial body of the
statutory city of Vienna.
In 1923, the number of representatives in the Gemeinderat/Landtag was reduced to 120, and in 1929 (first applied in the 1932 election) to 100 (the number it still has today).
In the
Austrofascist dictatorship of 1934-1938, the municipal council was replaced by the parliament of Vienna.
The Gemeinderat has elected the mayor (who since November 10, 1920, also serves as the
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol an ...
, or governor of the state of Vienna) and the (executive) city councils since June 1, 1920. These have also functioned simultaneously as members of the Viennese regional government since November 10, 1920. In addition, the Gemeinderat controls all other community bodies and decides on budget and clearance (including the state budget, which is not separate). It also decides on all the city's major expenditures, the city plan, the service plan and the business division for Wiener Stadtsenat and the Viennese provincial government. It is, therefore, a very busy body, also with the municipal councils for the individual business groups of the magistrate. The municipal council is to be understood legally as an organ of the executive branch, since municipalities in Austria do not have their own legislation, but have to implement federal and state laws.
Since 1918, the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
have been the largest party in the Municipal Council/Landtag at every free election. The only break in this tradition came from 1934 to 1945, when the democratic form of government was interrupted and the mayors were appointed by the government (by the
Austrofascist Federal State of Austria
The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...
from 1934 to 1938, and by the Nazis from 1938 to 1945). The pre-1934 legal situation was restored with the return of peace in 1945.
Landtag of Vienna
The Municipal Council of the city of Vienna has also functioned as the Landtag of the State of Vienna since November 10, 1920. On that day, the
Federal Constitution passed by the
Austrian Constitutional Assembly on 1 October 1920 entered into force, which defined Vienna as a separate federal state and laid down rules for the legal and economic separation of Vienna from Lower Austria. The "municipal council as a state parliament" passed the Viennese city constitution that is essentially valid up to today
LGBl. f.
/ref> on November 10, 1920, which was promulgated in the first edition of the state law gazette for Vienna. On 1 January 1922, the "separation law", which had been resolved by the Viennese and the Lower Austrian Landtag on 29 December 1921, entered into force. After long negotiations, the property of the former state of Lower Austria was divided between the two new states.
The Landtag has the right to legislate for provincial and constitutional laws; state competencies are determined by the Federal Constitutional Law
The Federal Constitutional Law (german: Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, abbreviated ) is a Federal law, federal constitutional law in Austria serving as the centerpiece of Constitution of Austria, the Constitution. It establishes Austria as a democrac ...
. Legislative drafts can be introduced as government bills, by means of initiative motions (supported by at least five regional deputies) or by referendums to the Landtag. Like the other state parliaments in Austria, the Viennese state parliament is hardly active intensively, since the provincial legislature has only a few competencies. The existence and size of the state parliaments have therefore led to controversial discussions for several years. The controversy has little interest in the Viennese parliament, however, since its deputies are mostly active as municipal councillors.
Meeting place
Until June 20, 1885, the Gemeinderat met in the meeting room in the Altes Rathaus, which is now used by the District Authority of the 1st District, Innere Stadt
The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expa ...
. Since then, the Gemeinderat has been meeting in the (New) Rathaus, completed in 1883, and as the Landtag since 10 November 1920. The city hall was originally equipped with its own carriage ride from Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz. From it (today one of the council entrances) the stairs 7 and 8 lead directly to the sitting room on the first floor. Upstairs are the accesses to the visitor gallery of the meeting room.
See also
* Distribution of seats in the Austrian Landtage
The Austrian Landtage are the unicameral legislatures of the nine Austrian states, according to the Constitution of Austria deciding in all matters unless explicitly subject of federal legislation. On federal level the ''Landtage'' are represente ...
References
External links
Informationsdatenbank des Wiener Landtages und Gemeinderates
Wiener Gemeinderat
Wiener Landtag
{{Landtage of Austria
1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire
1920 establishments in Austria
Organizations established in 1848
Organisations based in Vienna
Politics of Vienna
History of Vienna
Local government in Austria