{"id":64561,"date":"2023-10-09T07:02:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T06:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=64561"},"modified":"2025-06-26T16:20:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:20:41","slug":"otto-wagner-monument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/otto-wagner-monument\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto Wagner monument"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonumentsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Stone cube with inscription\" class=\"wp-image-64560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonumentsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonumentsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Anyone who changed the way people think about architecture with their pioneering vision deserves their own little piece of the cityscape in monument form. Which Otto Wagner got\u2026sort of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monument put up in 1930 but soon removed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Erected again in 1959 at a (far) less prominent location<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Original design by Josef Hoffmann<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-city-tours-l205280\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Otto\" rel=\"sponsored\">sightseeing tour<\/a>* in Vienna<\/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\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4917\">Otto Wagner in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One man. One column.<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"338\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument1.jpg\" alt=\"View of the Otto Wagner monument with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna behind\" class=\"wp-image-64558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument1.jpg 338w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Not going to lie: I&#8217;ve seen more impressive locations for monuments. And more impressive monuments, frankly, though it kind of fits Wagner&#8217;s philosophy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So Vienna never ceases to surprise me. A city of contradictions, paradoxes and juxtapositions. A city proud of (much of) its history, but sometimes with an irrationally selective memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the man widely regarded as a father of modern architecture: one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/otto-wagner-in-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4917\">Otto Wagner<\/a> (1841-1918).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wagner&#8217;s major and often groundbreaking architectural triumphs in Vienna include locations like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/postsparkasse-building\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"32273\">PSK building<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/kirche-am-steinhof\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"63812\">Steinhofkirche<\/a>. Such monumental achievements would deserve, well, a monument, you might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so it was, albeit with a short delay; Wagner&#8217;s passing in 1918 coincided with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/austria\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12860\">death of the Habsburg monarchy<\/a> and the start of a period when the city had bigger issues to worry about than honouring a celebrated son.<\/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\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument2.jpg\" alt=\"Two sides of the inscribed cube on the Otto Wagner column\" class=\"wp-image-64559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ottowagnermonument2-300x225.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\">(A closer look at the inscribed cubic relief)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A monument did make an appearance in late June, 1930, in the form of a triumphal column, erected by the \u00d6sterreichischer Werkbund to a blueprint by the great architect and designer (and former Wagner student) Josef Hoffmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Werkbund was a significant but relatively short-lived association that sought to bring together industry, art, crafts and architecture&#8230;a goal mirrored in its diverse membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoffmann came up with several designs, but the final form perhaps reflected Wagner&#8217;s own ethos best: a simple tall column made of granite with an inscribed cubic relief part of the way up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unveiling took place in the presence of the Austrian president with the column occupying a prominent place in the heart of Vienna on a corner of the famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/heldenplatz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2748\">Heldenplatz square<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So far so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"product\" data-content-ids=\"1029262,976190\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_HistoryTours\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward a few years and off the column went into storage, reportedly to free up space for a planned monument to the austrofascist chancellor Engelbert Dollfu\u00df (a more contemporary theme in line with the unfortunate political thinking prevalent in the 1930s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The monument stayed in storage until 1959 when it was put back\u2026but not on Heldenplatz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, you find the Wagner column down one side of the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (home to students, academics and some rather <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/gemaldegalerie-paintings-gallery\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"42411\">significant art<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new location has a solid justification, given Wagner&#8217;s influential time teaching at the university. However, the position on the verge of a small side street limits its impact. Indeed, I found it mighty hard to even get a decent photo with my phone.<\/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\/04\/frontsecession.jpg\" alt=\"The front of the Secession building\" class=\"wp-image-45413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/frontsecession.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/frontsecession-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\">(The Secession building is a near neighbour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You feel Wagner perhaps deserves better from the city he blessed with architectural beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The inscriptions around the cubic relief read (my rough translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Austrian Werkbund in the year 1930&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Born in Penzing 1841, died in Vienna 1918&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;To the great architect Otto Wagner&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Restored by the municipality of Vienna in the year 1959&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That fourth inscription tells you the inscribed stone got a makeover before its reappearance (apparently made necessary following damage to the original).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the monument<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite its tucked away location, the monument remains quite central and easily reached on foot or via public transport. It&#8217;s also close to the remarkable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/secession\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2119\">Secession building<\/a>, home to Klimt&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/beethoven-frieze\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4819\">Beethovenfries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subway: Karlsplatz station is nearby, on the U1, U2 and U4 lines. Look for exits on the western side of this large station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tram: The trams that travel around the Ring will get you there easily enough. For example, take the 1, D, 71 or 2 to Burgring or Oper\/Karlsplatz. Then you have a short walk to the monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Makartgasse 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>The column dedicated to the great architect Otto Wagner feels like it deserves more of the limelight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64560,"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-64561","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\/64561","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64561"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84418,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64561\/revisions\/84418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}