Red Vienna: Art Deco Palaces for the Proletariat

"Red Vienna" was the political experiment of Vienna's Socialist city government of the 1920s and early 1930s. It aimed at creating a model culture for the urban proletariat unrivalled worldwide. Sunshine and fresh air at last - also for the working classes! This tour focuses on two of the architectural flagships of Red Vienna: the Karl-Marx-Estate, often dubbed 'One kilometer of Art Deco', and the Amalienbaths of 1926, one of the world's largest and most prestigious public swimming pools. Their functional yet impressive architecture attracted the admiration of contemporary architects and politicians alike, and has lost nothing of its impact and appeal. On this tour also learn about the appalling living conditions of the less fortunate of the erstwhile imperial metropolis and how, between 1919 and 1933, Vienna's Socialist city government tried to put its Austro-Marxist ideas of a better future for the working classes into reality within the framework of a democratic country.

Attention: Day ticket & entrance fees "Red Vienna" can also be booked as a bus tour. In this case, many other architectural gems of the 20s and 30s can be included. Among them the 'Werkbundsiedlung', a model housing estate in Vienna's 13th district closely associated with names such as Josef Frank, Richard Neutra, Gerrit Rietveld, Clemens Holzmeister or Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky.