The Alte Rathaus (''Old Council House'') is a building in central

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, located at Wipplingerstraße 8, 1st

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Architecture

After several rebuildings, its exterior is now in the style of

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...

, although the official rooms are in the Baroque style and some Gothic elements are still recognisable. The entrance gate dates to 1700. The courtyard contains the 1741 Andromeda Fountain designed by

Georg Raphael Donner Georg Rafael Donner (24 May 1693 – 15 February 1741) was one of the most prolific Austrian sculpture, sculptors of the 18th century. His style was baroque with some pseudo-ancient additions. He educated many Germany, German sculptors of hi ...

, whilst behind the courtyard is the 14th century Gothic Sankt Salvator church. The council chamber was redesigned between 1851 and 1853 by the Viennese architect Ferdinand Fellner the Elder.

History

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...

donated the original building on the site to the city council in 1316 and has been owned by the city ever since. It was the site of the execution of

Franz III. Nádasdy Ferenc III. Nádasdy (Hungarian - ''Nádasdy III. Ferenc''; 14 January 1622 – 30 April 1671) was a chief judge and general in Hungary. He was one of the leaders of the Magnate conspiracy against Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, Holy Roman Empero ...

on 30 April 1671 in the wake of the

Magnate conspiracy The Magnate conspiracy (also known as the Zrinski–Frankopan Conspiracy () in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy () in Hungary was a plot among Croatian and Hungarian nobles to oust the Habsburg Monarchy from Croatia and Hungary, in respons ...

. In 1706, the

Wiener Stadtbank The Wiener Stadtbank or Wiener Stadtbanco () was an Austrian municipal bank which in 1762 became the first note-issuing bank of the Habsburg monarchy. It was founded in 1706 by emperor Charles VI, and closed in 1811 after having been bankrup ...

was established and started operations in the city hall building, and remained there until 1754. On 26 May 1848, during Vienna's March Revolution, it housed meetings of the People's Security Committee, as memorialised by a plaque on the building. Since 1871 Sankt Salvator has been in the care of the

Old Catholic Church of Austria The Old Catholic Church of Austria () is the Austrian member church of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. Within the Union of Utrecht, the Old Catholic Church of Austria also has delegated jurisdiction over the Old Catholic Church ...

, which was founded by those rejecting the doctrine of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

, though that new religious community was only recognised by the Austrian state in 1877. The Altes Rathaus last housed a meeting of Vienna's city council on 20 June 1885,''Das alte Rathhaus der Stadt Wien.'' In: Tageszeitung ''Neue Freie Presse'', Wien, Nr. 7475, 21. Juni 1885, S. 6
/ref> with the first at the Neue Rathaus three days later. The Altes Rathaus now houses the municipal offices for the 1st and 8th districts of the city, the inner city's local history museum (''Bezirksmuseum Innere Stadt'') and the

Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) was established in 1963. Its main topics deal with research concerning resistance and persecution from 1938 until 1945, exile, Nazi crimes, right-wing extremism after 1945, and victims' repar ...

. In 1893, it was the site of the founding of the Allgemeiner Österreichischer Frauenverein.

References

External links

Bezirksmuseum Innere Stadt

Geschite Wiki - Altes Rathaus
{{coord, 48, 12, 43, N, 16, 22, 15, E, region:AT-9_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt City and town halls in Austria Austrian resistance Execution sites Baroque architecture in Vienna