The ''Linienwall'' was an outer line of fortifications for the city of

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, which lay between the city's suburbs and outlying villages. Constructed in 1704, it was razed in 1894 to make way for the Vienna Beltway.

Construction

The construction of the ''Linienwall'' was begun by order of

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

in 1704 to protect against attacks by the Turks and the

Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti- Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national in ...

(a group of anti-

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

rebels). It was part of a defensive line that followed the Austro-Hungarian border as delineated by the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

, and

Leitha The Leitha (; or , formerly ; Czech and sk, Litava) is a river in Austria and Hungary, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long ( including its source river Schwarza). Its basin area is . Etymology The ''Lithaha'' River in the Carolingia ...

rivers as well as by

Lake Neusiedl Lake Neusiedl (german: Neusiedler See), or Fertő ( hu, Fertő (tó); hr, Nežidersko jezero, Niuzaljsko jezero; sl, Nežidersko jezero; sk, Neziderské jazero; cs, Neziderské jezero) is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, strad ...

. All of the residents of Vienna and its suburbs between the age of 18 and 60 years old were required to work (or provide a replacement worker) on the fortifications, which consisted of a zigzagging, palisade-reinforced, earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from " The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

, four metres high by four metres wide, and a three-metre-deep

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

. Construction was completed in only four months. In 1738, the earthworks were reinforced with a layer of bricks. The fortifications encircled the suburbs from the

Danube Canal The Donaukanal ("Danube Canal") is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel (since 1598), within the city of Vienna, Austria. It is long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere Stadt, ...

at Sankt Marx (today Vienna’s 3rd District) to

Lichtental Lichtental is a part of the district of Alsergrund, Vienna. It was an independent municipality until 1850. Notable people * Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1657–1712) lived here. * Caterina Cavalieri (1755–1801), opera singer, was b ...

(part of the 9th District), a distance of 13.5 km. It thus separated physically the ''Vorstädte'' or suburbs (today’s 3rd through 9th districts, incorporated into Vienna in 1850) from the ''Vororte'' or outlying places (today’s 10th through 19th districts, incorporated 1892). The most important arterial roads entered the city via drawbridges and gates; each of these locations additionally included a

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

where a toll, the ''

Liniengeld The ''Liniengeld'' was a historic road toll that had to be paid on entering the city of Vienna in Austria from the 18th century. Term The ''Linienwall'' ("line(s) rampart") was built in the early 18th century as a simple fortification line arou ...

'' was charged. On June 11, 1704 the ''Linienwall'' helped a group of 2,600 Viennese residents along with 150 students repel an attack by the Kuruc. Josephinische Landesaufnahme Wien

Chapels

Between 1740 and 1760, a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

dedicated to

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

was built at each of the 18 city gates. These chapels were intended to provide a place for all travellers to and from the city to pray or hear mass at the city limit. The only remaining chapel still in its original position is the ''Hundsturmer Kapelle'' in the

Margareten Margareten (; bar, Magredn) is the fifth district of Vienna (german: 5. Bezirk, Margareten). It is near the old town of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later.Otto Wagner's Vienna Metropolitan Railway in 1898. A replacement chapel was built at this time which now stands near the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

between the viaduct for the railway (now part of the

Vienna u-bahn The Vienna U-Bahn (german: U-Bahn Wien), where ''U-Bahn'' is an abbreviation of the German term ''Untergrundbahn'' ( en, underground railway), is a rapid transit system serving Vienna, Austria. With the September 2017 opening of the , five-stati ...

) and the Vienna Beltway known as ''Gürtel''.

Toll zone limit

A foreign army never seriously tested the military utility of the ''Linienwall'', but it did discourage raids by the aforementioned Kuruc. It did, however, help to protect the revolting citizens of Vienna during the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

from imperial forces. From 1829 on, the walls (specifically the gates leading into the city) primarily served as a location to charge a road toll, the ''

'' on modes of transport entering the city, therefore representing a fiscal and legal as well as physical limit to the city. The suburbs inside of the walls were thus taxed at a higher rate than those outside the walls even before their formal incorporation into the city in 1850. One consequence of this was the establishment of a great number of restaurants and hotels in the ''Neulerchenfeld'' (now part of the 16th District) right outside of the wall (dubbed the "Holy Roman Empire’s biggest pub") who took advantage of the lower taxes to sell food and drinks at a significantly cheaper rate.

Removal

By the mid-19th century, long after the ''Linienwall'' had become militarily obsolete, Vienna was growing at a rapid rate. As railway and road construction kept pace with this growth, eventually the space occupied by the fortifications was replaced with transportation facilities. For example, in 1846 the terminus for the South Railway and East Railway was built right outside the Belvedere Gate at ''Südbahnhof'' (South Station). In 1858 another station,

Wien Westbahnhof Wien Westbahnhof (Vienna West station) is a major Austrian railway station, the original starting point of the West railway (''Westbahn'') and a former terminus of international rail services. In 2015, its role changed with the opening of Vie ...

was built outside of Mariahilfer Gate. From 1862 to 1873, the first part of the ring roads (the ''Gürtel'' mentioned above) was built directly outside of the walls. In 1874, the unincorporated parts of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th districts that lay outside of the wall were incorporated as a new 10th district,

Favoriten Favoriten (; Central Bavarian: ''Favoritn''), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 10. Bezirk, Favoriten), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populate ...

. On 18 December 1890 the decision was made to incorporate the remaining outlying suburbs from 1 January 1892.Wien seit 60 Jahren. Zur Erinnerung an die Feier der 60jährigen Regierung Seiner Majestät des Kaisers Franz Josef I. der Jugend Wiens gewidmet von dem Gemeinderate ihrer Heimatstadt. Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna, 1908, p. 27. This decision rendered the fortifications as a duty control limit obsolete. The remainders of the ''Linienwall'' were removed in March 1894, leaving behind a very wide belt around the city. Starting in 1895 this area was filled with a second ring road as well as the viaduct for the Vienna Metropolitan Railway, which is how the area remains today.

Remnants

Besides the ''Hundsturmer'' Chapel, there are only a few sections of the ''Linienwall'' left which can be seen in the following locations: * In the 3rd district along the tracks for the

Vienna S-Bahn The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban commuter rail network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways), and c ...

between ''Rennweg'' and Südbahnhof stations. * In the area of a former cattle market in the Sankt Marx area of the 3rd District. * In the yard of ''Weyringergasse'' 13 in the 4th District.

References

Literature

* Ingrid Mader, ''Der Wiener Linienwall aus historischer, topographischer und archäologischer Sicht'', in: ''Fundort Wien'' 14, 2011 (2011) 144-163. * Ingrid Mader, Ingeborg Gaisbauer, Werner Chmelar: ''Der Wiener Linienwall. Vom Schutzbau zur Steuergrenze''. Wien Archäologisch 9. Stadtarchäologie Wien, Vienna, 2012,

External links

Wiener Zeitung – Der Vorläufer des Gürtels
(version from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, as the original is no longer available)
Wieden Provincial Museum – the ''Linienwall'' auf der Wieden

Course of the ''Linienwall'' around Vienna, ca. 1850
(version from the

, as the original is no longer available) {{coord, 48, 11, 19, N, 16, 22, 41, E, region:AT-9_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Vienna City walls 18th century in Vienna 1704 establishments in Austria 1894 disestablishments in Austria