gemeindebau | Michael Hoffman Photography

Fortress of the Working Class: Karl-Marx-Hof

About a year ago I published a series about famous Viennese communal apartment blocks called “Gemeindebau”. The last time around I photographed the “Rabenhof”, i.e. raven court, in the 3rd district. Today I want to introduce to you one of the most famous “Gemeindebauten”; the Karl-Marx-Hof in the north of Vienna, named after the father of communism himself. The large building complex was constructed in the 1930s when Vienna was known as a red city, due to the leftwing government in the town hall. The Karl-Marx-Hof was designed and built by a student of the famous Austrian architect Otto Wagner, Karl Ehn, and stretches over a length of more than 1 km. Along the way there are four tramway stations. The building has a kindergarten, parks and community centres. In the short civil war in 1934 many socialists barricaded themselves in the large fortress-like building and fought against the right wing troops. Luckily there were no deaths. Today life is rather quite here and the Karl-Marx-Hof is a peaceful fortress of the working class.

Cathedrals of the Working Class: Rabenhof in Early Spring

After the devastations of World War I and facing huge societal and economic challenges the people of Vienna craved for change. A special problem were the poor living conditions of the working class, which very often lived in large tenements without warm water and communal toilets on the corridors. Large families lived in small apartments and very often they had to accomodate additional roomers to afford the overpriced rent. For these and other reasons the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ) was voted into power and planned a radical rethinking of the city in the 1920s. Large and modern communal building called Gemeindebauten were to be built with large inner yards for the workers to gather and thick walls to protect them. Among the first ones to be built was the Rabenhof in the 3rd Viennese district. Today known among Austrians mostly for the theater with the same name, which is located at the spot were the gathering hall for the workers used to be. The rent in these buildings was much lower and affordable, at the same time though the standard of living was much higher with private toilets, launderettes, private parks and a kindergarten. The same is true today as every 4th Viennese of different economic backgrounds lives in a Gemeindewohnung, around 3.500 of them in the Rabenhof building.