Brigittenau () is the 20th district of Vienna (). It is located north of the central districts, north of Leopoldstadt on the same island area between the Danube and the Danube Canal. Brigittenau is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpage: statistik.at-23450 . Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References).
The district's name comes from the Brigitta Chapel, built between 1645 and 1651.
It consists of a good tract of land secured by the regulation of the Danube 1870–75, and many of the major streets are named after members of the Danube Regulation Commission. Therefore, it does not contain any distinctive historical areas. Brigittenau was separated from the 2nd district in 1900. Earlier component districts were named Schottenau, Wolfsau, Taborau, and Zwischenbrücken.
The best-known landmark is the Millennium Tower. The district also includes Adolf Hitler's former residence in Vienna, the Meldemannstraße dormitory.
Geography
Location The Brigittenau district is located on the north end of an old, wide island between the Danube Canal and the Danube in the northeast of Vienna's city center. Located northwest of the narrow Donauinsel ("Danube Island"), on the northeast side of the Danube. The average height of the district area is 162.4 m above sea level.Franz Kaiser, 1975 The area was originally called "Unterer Werd" (Werd = island in a stream, i.e., lower island in the stream). Through the regulation of the Danube, the character of the district area significantly changed. The floodplain and Donaualtarme stocks gradually disappeared. The Brigittenau district covers an area of , or 1.4% of the Vienna area. This puts Brigittenau in the lower middle of the Vienna municipal districts. Due to its location, about 21% of the area is on water, the second highest value in Vienna. While green space is below average, the proportion in the traffic areas is among the highest. In the south, the Brigittenau district borders the 2nd district, Leopoldstadt.
Geology The Brigittenau district lies on the western edge of the Vienna Basin. The deeper background of the Vienna Basin is the Brigittenau, from flysch rocks. With the demolition of the Vienna Basin, this is a layer on top of Brigittenauer only in height; however, in Zwischenbrücken in depth. During the medium Miocene (Badener layer), the pool broke and deposited in power less freshwater sediments (sands and conglomerates). From the East, the sea stored clay marl, sand and algae, whose thickness increases to the east. In the Sarmatian (upper Miocene) by the performance of the oceans a brackish fauna emerged and clay marl was deposited. Also, this layer has increasing thickness from west to east. Today, this layer on the Brigittenauer Spitz lies below the surface, at Zwischenbrücken . In the Pannonium, the increasingly silting-up freshwater lake deposited tegel. The territory of Brigittenau is covered with quaternary deposits, the thickness from . The bottom layers consist mostly of gravel with sand and layers of gravel. In the area between Heiligenstadt bridge, Franz-Josef railway station, Augarten and the freight station, these layers are covered with loam, fine sand and loess-like deposits. The rubble deposits stem from the erosion processes during the ice ages (in the Pleistocene) thad deposited large quantities. In this sections, the Danube cut wide terraces, where Brigittenau is in the "zone of recent meanderings", which forms the postglacial part of the terrace of the Prater. Alternating floods and ongoing relocations of the Danube bed, together with the formation of new rubble banks led to a low thickness of only . Above the rubble deposits are gray and brown floodplain soils.Friedrich Brix: Das geologische Bild der Brigittenau (Wien XX) in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. In: Franz Kaiser: Die Brigittenau. Wien 1975
Land use The developed area of Brigittenau comprises 38.7% (Vienna citywide 33.32%) of the district area. The proportion of housing in the developed area amounts to 64.2%, plus 21.2% for operations, and 10.7% dedicated for facilities in the cultural, religious, sports or the public sector. Greenspace in Brigittenau takes in only 7.9%, for which Brigittenau lies in the lower third of the Vienna municipal districts. About 66% of green space is in parks, 22.3% in sport and leisure areas, with the remainder in small gardens and meadows. Due to the large shares of the area for the Danube Canal and Danube, waters take 20.9% of the total district territory. This is the second highest value of a district. The proportion of trafficked area in the district, with 32.9%, is the fourth highest value in Vienna. "Magistratsabteilung 5 (MA5): Nutzungsarten nach Bezirken" ("Usage by district"), www.wien.gv.at, PDF file:
+ Space allocation in 2001 Builtspace Greenspace Water Transport areas 219.17 43 118.26 186.24 Residences Oper-ations Public Facilities Farms Parks Forests Meadows Small gardens Rec. areas 140.6546.423.43028.3803.731.319.58
Neighboring districts Brigittenau to the west is bordered by the Danube Canal, which separates it from the district of Döbling, in the northwest, and from Alsergrund, in the southwest. The district boundary runs along the right bank, making the surface water of the Danube canal count towards Brigittenau. In the east, the left bank of the Danube River (at Danube Island) is the border with district Floridsdorf. Also here, the water area of the Danube counts toward Brigittenau. Southeast of the Brigittenauer Bridge, take the district boundaries of Brigittenau, Floridsdorf, the Danube, and Leopoldstadt together, with the southern boundary forming the northern border of Leopoldstadt. This border runs across the Danube, and then along the line Innstraße - Dresdner Straße - Nordbahnstraße - Taborstraße - Northwest Bahnstrasse - Rauscherstraße (wall of Augartens) - Wasnergasse (wall of Augartens) and Perinetgasse on the Danube Canal.
District parts Brigittenau consists of two formerly separate communities, as the eponymous Brigittenau and Zwischenbrücken. Zwischenbrücken, however, is divided between Leopoldstadt and Brigittenau. The southern part of Zwischenbrücken is now in Leopoldstadt; the eastern part fell victim to the Danube regulation.
Brigittenau received nearly of the municipal district of the like-named Katastralgemeinde. Only the water area of the Danube belongs to three other Katastralgemeinden; the largest part lies in the Floridsdorf district. There are in Donaufeld, in Floridsdorf and in Schwarzen Lackenau.
A further breakdown of the district area is in the census-districts of official statistics, in which the municipality counts are combined. The eight census-districts (Zählbezirke) in Brigittenau are: Kapaunplatz, Zwischenbrücken, Brigittaplatz, Lorenz Müller-Gasse, Wallensteinstraße, Wextraße, Höchstädtplatz und Nordwestbahnhof.
History The first known settlers of this area were from the House of Babenberg, in the 11th century. In 1096, the area had been extended by Leopold III to the monastery he founded St. Mary Nivenburg (today Klosterneuburg Monastery). The owners often changed because the place was often given away, sold or leased.
In the 13th century, the area was first documented in a chronicle. The Viennese denoted the area as "Werd" (island). The first settlers in this area were fishermen, hunters and lumbermen. Later, also gardeners and farmers settled there.
1463/64: The Schlagbrücke (today's Sweden Bridge, Schwedenbrücke) was built. This was the first permanent bridge over the still unregulated inner-city branch of the Danube.
1529: The first Turkish siege of Vienna - there was heavy fighting in the area of the Danube islands.
1536 to 1540: Building grounds were given away to citizens that lost their homes during the Turkish siege.
1618–1648: Thirty Years War: On 9 April 1645, the Swedish army under Lennart Torstenson won the Wolf's Lair (Wolfsschanze). Imperial troops conquered back the area in a four-day battle. Thus the Brigitta sage came into being, which the current Brigittakapelle remembers.
1670: The first written mention is made of "Brigittenau". The previous names were: "Im Werd", "Schottenau" and "Wolfsau".
1683: Second Turkish siege of Vienna - During heavy fightings in the Wolf's Lair and near the current Friedensbrücke, the Brigittakapelle is destroyed.
1688-1698: Tabor bridge is built. A new road passing "Zwischen den Brücken" is created, therefore the Wolfsbrücke bridge is relocated further downstream.
1695: The Brigittakapelle is rebuilt.
1732: A pheasantry is erected by the Hof- und Landjägeramt. 1796: Near the Tabor bridge, the Johann Nepomuk chapel is built.
1810: In Brigittenau, the first hand-craft businesses settles, such as a Kunstblecherei, a steam sawmill and a fire-syringe factory.
1828: The Colosseum, an entertainment facility, is built.
1830: There is a devastating ice floe and a great flood from the Danube.
1834: Construction of the "Universum" (today's Universe Street), another venue.
1838: The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway opens, in 1837 as the first steam train of the Empire of Austria (including Hungary at that time) on the leg Floridsdorf - Deutsch-Wagram, one year later crossing the Danube to the North Station at Praterstern.
1840: The first rail-bound train horses drive along what is nowadays the Jägerstraße of old Tabor to the "Colosseum".
1846: Clearing of the remaining riparian forests, erection of nurseries (Vorgartenstraße) in the north of the district.
1848: The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire also influence Vienna. Robert Blum, member of the Frankfurt Parliament and born in Cologne travels to Vienna for supporting the democratic movement. After the abolition of the Vienna Uprising, he was executed by the Austrian imperial army in the "Brigittawaldl".
1850: The Brigittenau area, between the Danube Canal and Danube, was incorporated as Leopoldstadt in the city of Vienna. It was the 2nd district of Vienna.
1862: A major flood occurs, the final impetus to the Vienna Danube regulation starting in 1870.
1867: Construction of the Brigittakirche church starts.
1870 Construction on the Danube regulation as well as the construction of the Northwest station at the site of the former "Universums", near the present Tabor.
1871: The Northwest Railway Bridge and the Brigittabrücke (now Peace Bridge) were built.
1873: North rail bridge (Nordbahnbrücke) is built; construction of the Northwest station ended.
1874: Inauguration of Brigittakirche and the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph Bridge over the new stream bed (since 1875 water-bearing) of the Danube (today Floridsdorfer Bridge).
1875: The New Danube bed is ready. Due to the Danube regulation large new areas of land for building have been created.
1883–1884: Construction of the Kaiser Franz Joseph Bridge (now Heiligenstädter Bridge) across the Danube Canal.
1886: Opening of the steam tramway Vienna-Stammersdorf. The route into today's 21st district leads through Jägerstraße, Stromstraße and Marchfeldstraße and over the Kaiser Franz Joseph Bridge.
1897 The first electric tram in Vienna. The "Transversallinie" (today line 5) connects the Vienna head stations of North, Northwest, Franz Joseph and Western Railway. Coming from the 2nd district, it heads along the Augarten (Rauscherstraße) and Wallenstein Street, then on the Brigittabrücke (today's Peace Bridge, Friedensbrücke) into the 9th district. At the junction of the Danube Canal from the Danube's main stream, since 1873 a floating barrier (Schwimmtor) regulated the water inflow if needed. In 1894-98, Otto Wagner instead built the Nussdorf weir and lock.
1900: On 24 March 1900, in the era of mayor Karl Lueger, at the request of Brigittenauer politicians Brigittenau is separated from Leopoldstadt. The council declares Brigittenau to be the 20th Viennese district. This remains until 1904 the highest district number.