Lomography

Steinhof (Vienna)
written by miriel on July 29th, 2009 , 4 comments (5 votes)

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Take the bus “48A → Baumgartner Höhe”, get off at the station “Otto Wagner Spital” and enter the hospital premises with their numerous art nouveau pavilions. At the beginning of the 20th century the so-called “white city” was built according to the plans of the famous architect Otto Wagner to accommodate the most state-of the-art psychiatric hospital of that time. Some of the pavilion still serve this purpose, so you will occasionally meet some colorful characters wandering around.

In the heart of the hospital grounds you will find a theater and a memorial site to remember the victims of medical experiments in the Nazi era. “Am Spiegelgrund” (how the area was once called) became almost synonymous with the unspeakable crimes that where committed in this very place.

A staircase leads to the highest point where Otto Wagner’s beautiful “Kirche am Steinhof” aka “Church of St. Leopold” is located. Because of it’s widely visible gigantic golden dome the place got the nickname “Lemoniberg” (lemon hill). Back in the days the Art Nouveau style seemed very daring and the church was disapproved by the Viennese public. Today it is deemed to be one of the most significant religious buildings of the Art Nouveau style.

Behind the church lies the huge natural recreation area „Steinhofgründe“ with grassy hills, small woods and hiking trails where joggers, strollers, kite fliers, families with their kids and picnickers alike enjoy themselves.