{"id":5125,"date":"2019-07-27T05:26:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T04:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=5125"},"modified":"2025-06-24T10:36:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T09:36:23","slug":"ankerhaus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/ankerhaus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ankerhaus"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ankerhaus.jpg\" alt=\"Top of the Ankerhaus\" class=\"wp-image-17590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ankerhaus.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ankerhaus-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>One of the pleasures of Vienna is the many historical connections between people and places. And so it is with the Ankerhaus in the very centre of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Late 19th-century house designed by Otto Wagner<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Friedensreich Hundertwasser had his studio in the rooftop<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Wagner\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* of the city<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/otto-wagner-in-vienna\/\">Guide to Otto Wagner in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History &amp; Hundertwasser<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"337\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ankerhaus1.jpg\" alt=\"Full view of the Ankerhaus on the Graben\" class=\"wp-image-49266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ankerhaus1.jpg 337w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ankerhaus1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 337px) 100vw, 337px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(In the pedestrianised centre of Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ankerhaus stands on the Graben street that dominates Vienna&#8217;s pedestrianised centre. The building went up in 1894\/1895 to a design by the famous architect, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/otto-wagner-in-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4917\">Otto Wagner<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Anker Insurance Company (now Helvetia) commissioned the edifice (hence the moniker), and that&#8217;s a name you might recognise from an iconic sight just a little further away. The same company built the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/ankeruhr-anchor-clock\/\">Ankeruhr<\/a> mechanical clock that attracts scores of visitors at the top of the hour for its musical display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unusually for today&#8217;s Graben, the building does not belong to a wider fa\u00e7ade since side streets flank both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the new construction, Wagner eased the way toward a multi-functional building with shop space on the lower floor, room for offices and apartments, and a rooftop studio or workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ottowagnerankerhaus.jpg\" alt=\"Design for the Ankerhaus by Otto Wagner\" class=\"wp-image-61471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ottowagnerankerhaus.jpg 330w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ottowagnerankerhaus-220x300.jpg 220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Otto Wagner&#8217;s original designs: the fa\u00e7ade facing the Graben and cross-section, 1894; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 96005\/12; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That rooftop space apparently proved an attractive proposition to the artist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/hundertwasser-guide\/\">Friedensreich Hundertwasser<\/a>, who apparently once had his studio up there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can imagine what thoughts Hundertwasser might have had looking out across a sea of architecture that bore little resemblance to the curves and colours flowing through his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/hundertwasser\/\">creations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The historical connections don&#8217;t stop there, either. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"335\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/wagnerbook.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of an old book of architecture\" class=\"wp-image-84312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/wagnerbook.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/wagnerbook-223x300.jpg 223w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The cover of Wagner&#8217;s book on modern architecture published in 1902. This copy is held at the Wien Bibliothek city library, who kindly made available the public domain image)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the central location, the Ankerhaus site enjoyed a lengthy past that reaches back many centuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, one of Vienna&#8217;s earliest coffee houses opened here in 1783: Caf\u00e9 Ducati, noted for its <del>motorcycles<\/del> billiard tables, smoker&#8217;s room, and ice cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, allegedly, the first cannon shot of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/the-1683-siege-of-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29264\">1683 siege of Vienna<\/a> landed on the Ankerhaus site to the general displeasure of the locals.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ankerhaus.jpg\" alt=\"Top of the Ankerhaus\" class=\"wp-image-48540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ankerhaus.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ankerhaus-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Hundertwasser&#8217;s former studio)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Ankerhaus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Graben is a long, beautiful street right in the centre, leading away from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"294\">Stephansdom cathedral<\/a> to just below the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">Hofburg palace complex<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ankerhaus sits near the cathedral end of the Graben, on its own, flanked by Spiegelgasse and Dorotheergasse. If you pop down Dorotheergasse, you&#8217;ll find the famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-hawelka\/\">Caf\u00e9 Hawelka<\/a> coffee house (try the famous buchteln) and the excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/jewish-museum\/\">Jewish Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to check a near-neighbour, too: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/jugendstil-graben\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"33969\">business premises at Graben 8<\/a>. The gorgeous black and gold fa\u00e7ade is a fine example of turn-of-the-century design with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/jugendstil\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31716\">Jugendstil<\/a> elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subway: Although in the pedestrianised area, the Ankerhaus is just a few steps away from an entrance to the Stephansplatz station, which is on the U1 and U3 subway lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bus: The city centre bus lines 1A and 2A stop nearby (Graben\/Petersplatz) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Graben 10 \/ Spiegelgasse 2, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1AW1zQUcSFx6OlGAAtK1iYYUOV1DpxLwZ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the pleasures of Vienna is the many historical connections between people and places. And so it is with the Ankerhaus in the very centre of the city. History &amp; Hundertwasser (In the pedestrianised centre of Vienna) The Ankerhaus stands on the Graben street that dominates Vienna&#8217;s pedestrianised centre. The building went up in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-footsteps","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5125"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84313,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5125\/revisions\/84313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}