Otto Wagner, the pioneering architect of Vienna's Art Nouveau era, was the designer in charge of the construction of Stadtbahn, a rail service running underground in some sections, as an elevated system in others, around 1900.

He considered the project an important contribution to the appearance of the city and paid as much attention to the large structural elements, such as bridges and station buildings, as to the small details, such as railings, lamps, signs and inscriptions, realizing a total design concept in the construction.

The Stadtbahn lines were laid out to connect the main railroad terminals in the city and to improve Vienna's position as the capital of the empire. As a connecting system among the railroads, the lines were peripheral; important radial lines never went beyond the planning stages.

In 1969, subway construction (U-Bahn) began on the U1 line. Wagner's Stadtbahn lines were converted into new subway lines, one of them ("Vorortelinie") into a rapid transit line (S 45, since 1987). In the process, several of the old station buildings were beautifully restored (Wagner's Court Pavilion in Hietzing, Schönbrunn, Stadtpark, Rossauer Lände, Währinger Strasse/Volksoper, Gersthof).

The old entrance pavilions to the former Karlsplatz Stadtbahn station, particularly elegant with their marble slabs and gilded ornamentation, were also carefully restored.

One of the two Stadtbahn Pavilions is open during the summer season for an Otto Wagner documentation of the Vienna Museum. In addition to the Stadtbahn Pavilions, eminent works such as the Church at Steinhof and the Postal Savings Bank will be exhibited in drawings and models.

The other pavilion, next to Musikverein, forms part of a café.

Otto Wagner's large bridge spanning Wienzeile and the Wien River was also preserved; it is now used by the new U6 subway line, basing on the former Stadtbahn line on the Gürtel.


Prices

Young people under 19 €0

1st Sunday of the month: Free admission


Opening hours

April to October
Tu - Su, 10:00 - 18:00
on holidays, 10:00 - 18:00

Closed: May 1, Easter Monday, Whitmonday and other holidays that fall on a Monday