Notes from the German LSA+/FSP Program Fall 2024

As part of the five-day stay in Vienna, the Dartmouth LSA+/FSP group went on a guided tour through "das Rote Wien" (the Red Vienna), a series of impressive government-funded communal housing projects that were built in the 1920s and 1930s under the government of the Social Democrats.

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These buildings were meant to address the extreme housing shorting the Austrian capital faced after the end of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when thousands of people were displaced. The most significant of these buildings is the Karl-Marx-Hof, a housing complex that stretches more than one kilometer and contains more than 10.000 apartments, making it the longest single residential building in the world. [This is the first picture I sent] Despite its size and number of occupants, the complex does not feel overwhelming, as there are ample green spaces, play areas and gardens. Smaller, equally impressive buildings are found in many parts of Vienna, often featuring Art Deco architecture and ornamentation. The buildings we saw were in impeccable condition, and they continue to be a desired location for lower-income city dwellers. After having visited the architectural highlights of the Empire the day before, this exposure to modern Vienna provided the group with a welcome contrast to past splendors that were reserved for a small elite.