Arena is a

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Ce ...

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

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 ...

. From its 1970s origins in an abandoned former slaughterhouse used for the

Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Alli ...

, the Arena grew into a centre for

alternative culture Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...

. It is located at Baumgasse 80 in the

Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with m ...

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, municipa ...

History

The Arena traces its origin to when the director of the

(German: ''Wiener Festwochen''), Ulrich Baumgartner, hosted theatre and cabaret productions from across Europe in the Museum of the 20th Century (''Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts''), which is now the ''

21er Haus Belvedere 21, formerly 21er Haus or Einundzwanziger Haus ( en, House 21), is a modernist style steel and glass building designed by Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer (1918–1975). Originally constructed as the Austrian pavilion or temporary show ...

''. In 1975, the Arena moved to a derelict former

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is not ...

(''Auslandsschlachthof'' for performances of

Jérôme Savary Jérôme Savary (27 June 1942 – 4 March 2013) was an Argentinian-French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and ...

's Grand Magic Circus. Soon after, some of the structures within the vast campus of the slaughterhouse were slated for demolition. On June 27, 1976, when the performances of a musical ended their run at the Arena, the audience was encouraged to stay and squat in the buildings. A banner was unveiled which said "Staying here is solidarity" (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Hierbleiben ist Solidarität''. There were around 700 activists, who called themselves ''Arenauten''. Throughout July, participants organised cafés, a cinema, a women's house, a kids' house, a university and a theatre. A city newspaper was founded which is still in existence (''

der Falter ''Falter'' ( en, italic=yes, Butterfly) is a weekly Austrian news magazine published in Vienna. History and profile Established in 1977, ''Falter'' is published weekly on Wednesdays. The magazine was founded by Walter Martin Kienreich. The p ...

''. More than a thousand people lived on the site, which had 12 buildings and was about the same size as Christiania in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. After performing there,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

called it "the best place to be in Vienna." A summer party drew 8,000 people. All the events were free and received favourable coverage by the mainstream media. Thousands of people attended events until October, when the Arena was relinquished, as a result of both internal squabbles and pressure from the City Council. Two days later, it was mostly demolished, but the council tolerated the squatters staying in one remaining building, namely the domestic

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are Animal slaughter, slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a Meat packing industry, packaging facility. Slaug ...

(''Inlandschlachthof''. Alongside other still existing projects such as the Amerlingerhaus, Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus and WUK (''Werkstätten und Kulturhaus''), the Arena is a product of the 1970s and 1980s

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

movement in Vienna.

Activities

The Arena has become an important centre for alternative culture in Vienna, hosting concerts, exhibitions and an open-air cinema in the courtyard. As well as the large hall, which has hosted bands like

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...

, there are two smaller rooms for events.

In popular culture

* In 1977, Josef Aichholzer,

Ruth Beckermann Ruth Beckermann (born 1952, Vienna) is an Austrian filmmaker and writer. Beckermann lives and works as an author and filmmaker in Vienna and Paris. Her films have been shown at prestigious festivals (most of them premiered at the Berlin Intern ...

and Franz Grafl made a film called ''Arena Besetzt'' about the 1976 occupation of the Arena.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1976 establishments in Austria Adaptive reuse of industrial structures Autonomism Cultural centers Culture in Vienna Music venues in Austria Squats 20th-century architecture in Austria