Wien Museum and Ringstrasse

08/18/09 & 08/20/09

German word of the 18th is Offen, which means Frank

German word of the 20th is gesund, which means healthy

On the 18^th, a day before our trip to the UN, I checked out the Wien museum with a group of fellow students after class. It was not as in depth on any one aspect of Vienna’s history as a specialized museum such as the Military History Museum, or the Museum of Art History, but the overall effect that the Wien Museum had was good in painting a picture of the long and complicated history of Vienna. Having just talked about Biedermeir art in class that day, the examples that they had in the Wien museum were very interesting to behold. If we had not just learned about that style of art, I would assume that it depicts more or less real life events that were commonplace for the time. But the knowledge that this sort of art was largely fanciful and idealistic depiction of the sort of life that was actually being lived by the lower middle classes of the time. Much like the romanticizing of the American countryside during the early to mid-eighteen hundreds, artists of the time were commissioned to paint scenes that were very appealing to those that wanted to revel in what they considered to be something of a paradise lost, but in fact the romanticizing of the actual life goes beyond what life was really like during the time.

Of particular interest to me were the many depictions of the cityscape of Vienna at different time periods, as it’s interesting to see what we consider to be a very small part of Vienna depicted as the entirety of the city. The wooden models of the city also gave excellent perspective to the actual size of the territory, and what it might have meant to have a prolonged siege in such a small space. The massive depictions of the city’s old walls gave the feeling that the artist may have been exaggerating slightly for the benefit of whoever commissioned the painting (as it was often the city council itself), adding to the pride and security one felt with being Viennese.

After having talked about Prince Metternich in class the day that we visited the museum, I was intrigued as to how he would be remembered in a museum that was dedicated entirely to the history of Vienna. He was the greatest diplomat of his time, but he had been vilified for generations for being a simple reactionary who was too involved in the foreign affairs of other countries. Of course many also viewed him as an enemy of progress, an argument that had its merits, but 19^th century historians especially espoused this theory to the point where Metternich’s name became synonymous with systemic opposition to progress. The Wien museum seemed determined to show the other side of Metternich, which was that of the first modern statesman who had what we would consider to be a global political view. They stressed his commitment to the balance of power within Europe, and his masterful diplomatic style that became something of a model for modern language used for diplomacy today. It gave me the distinct feeling that Vienna was willing to accept Metternich as a great statesman now that the consensus among historians became more favorable. While this can’t exactly be considered hypocritical, I feel as though it is indicative of the sort of attitude that Vienna has toward the more controversial parts of its history.

Taking the Ringstrasse tram the following day also conjured memory of the Wien museum, and the broad history that resulted in the eclectic style that lines the former city walls. Seeing all of the depictions of the town with the massive walls still standing gave great context for seeing something such as the Castle Gate, which is the only city gate from the 19^th century walls still standing. Landmarks such as the Castle Gate, the old barracks that had to be moved closer to the palace after the revolution of 1848, and the old wings of the university really give an idea of the age of the area, and the momentous change in the scope of the city that took place when the walls came down in favor of the Ringstrasse.

After making it through the primarily historical area of the ringstrasse, I thought it was very interesting that Vienna has seemingly made a point of keeping very important modern building either on or very close to the Ringstrasse, which seems like an attempt to keep the prestige of the Ringstrasse on par with today’s world. Buildings such as the OPEC headquarters and the Urania observatory convey this modern feeling of importance that connects the two eras very effectively, although they depart from the traditional architectural styles that I previously identified with the infamous street.

The most oddly placed building/monument was a monument to the Nazi occupation. It was placed where the Gestapo headquarters were during the period of occupation, but that site also happens to be directly in front of the oldest remaining church in Vienna. The church dates back to the 11^th century, which seems like such an amazingly long period of time to survive the momentous events that have rocked Vienna over the course of the last 1000 years. Coupled with the incredibly close proximity to the Gestapo headquarters, I would have thought that the church would have suffered significant damage at some point or another. The monument to Lueger was also an extremely interesting bit of history to consider, knowing as we do about his blatant anti-Semitism. Of course this likely contributed to his popularity while he was in office in Vienna, but what the tour chose to focus on was his building of infrastructure and the raised standard of living under him. The most shocking number to hear for me was the fact that the population of Vienna under Lueger was over 2.2 million, whereas the population today is about 1.8 million. With increased population across the globe, it is always surprising to hear that the city could have been more crowded back then than it is today. It does speak to the influence that Lueger had, and his effectiveness as an administrator, but it is almost impossible for students such as us to praise a man that was in favor of institutionalized anti-Semitism.