Anyone looking across certain Viennese neighborhoods today can still recognize traces of the old days — an era of urban transformation and a period in which Vienna evolved from a city into a metropolis.
The shaping of Vienna at the turn of the century is visible not only in its broad newly built boulevards, nostalgic grand buildings, or redirected rivers. The people, their work, and the changes in everyday life reveal the true transformation of the city. Numerous historical photographs by Vienna’s city chroniclers from the turn of the century depict the inhabitants of a metropolis under construction. Merchants, knife grinders, and seamstresses went about their daily work, while others sought recreation and entertainment in newly developed areas, and fortune seekers placed their final bets at the trotting racecourse.
Although key figures of Vienna’s history such as architect Otto Wagner, Mayor Lueger, and Emperor Franz Joseph are not left unmentioned, the documentary instead places narrative focus on the lesser-known regional politician who opposed the elevated railway, the merchant who introduced standardized clothing sizes in Austria, and the famous man from the Waldviertel who occupied an island on the Old Danube. Those who cast their eyes toward the outer districts — to places such as the Gasometers or the Old Danube — see rural-looking areas that appear infinitely far removed from the city. Along Vienna’s Ringstrasse — a place of representation and prestige — women in wide skirts and men in bowler hats and carrying parasols stroll along. The corners and neighborhoods of old Vienna offer insight into the spirit and lifestyle of Viennese society at the time.
A film by Norman Vaughan.
Credits
Documentary
45 min.
Directed by: Norman Vaughan
Written by: Theresa Pfahler, Norman Vaughan
Producers: Dieter Pochlatko, Jakob Pochlatko
Line Producer: Heinrich Mayer-Moroni
Production Manager: Florian Brandt
Director of Photography: Harald Staudach
Sound: Klaus Tauber
Music: Martin Payr, Andreas Radovan
Edited by: Michaela Müllner
Narrator: Angelika Lang
Commissioning Editor ORF: Theresa Pfahler
among others
produced in: 2020
first broadcasted: January 12, 2021
a co-production by EPO-Film, ORF III, ORF WIEN
in association with Rai Südtirol
co-funded by VAM, Vienna Film Fund
Fotos/Downloads
