Alservorstadt
Coat of arms	Map
Location: 48°12′59"N 16°21′24"E

Alservorstadt was an independent municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 until 1850 and is since then divided between Josefstadt

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

 and Alsergrund

Alsergrund

Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...

, the 8th and 9th districts of Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, respectively.

Geography

Alservorstadt spans the south of Alsergrund

Alsergrund

Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...

 and the north-east of Josefstadt

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

. The street Alser Straße marks the border between the two districts.
The name Alservorstadt (literal translation: suburb of the Als) derives from the river Als, whose who runs though the area and today has its is covered with concrete throughout the borough. Alservorstadt borders Thurygrund in the north, Roßau in the east, the Innere Stadt

Innere Stadt

The Innere Stadt is the 1st municipal District of Vienna . The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna...

, Josefstadt

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

 and Breitenfeld

Breitenfeld

Breitenfeld may refer to:* Breitenfeld, Leipzig, a northwestern suburb on the plain of Leipzig, Germany* two battles that were fought there during the Thirty Year's war:...

 in the south, as well as Währing

Währing

Währing is the 18th district of Vienna, Austria. It is in the northwest part of the city. In addition to currently hosting a number of Vienna's foreign embassies, Währing was the site of the original burial places of composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert.-Location:Währing lies in the...

 and Michelbeuern

Michelbeuern

Michelbeuern is a neighbourhood of the Alsergrund, the 9th district of Vienna. Today, the major part of its area is dedicated to the Vienna General Hospital....

 in the west.

History

Initially, the area was sparsely populated, but after the second siege of Vienna (1683), it was more densely settled, primarily along Alser Straße. At the end of the 17th century, the population of Slovenes, Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 and Slovaks

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

 previously residing in Spittelberg were forcibly moved to the so-called Krowotendörfl (literally: 'village of Croats') north of Alser Straße. In 1753, the Alser Kaserne barracks were erected (demolished in 1912). Traditionally, many poorhouse

Poorhouse

A poorhouse or workhouse was a government-run facility in the past for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons, typically run by a local government entity such as a county or municipality....

s and hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

s were located in Alservorstadt, and their high mortality rate required many cemeteries, such as the Neuer Schottenfriedhof cemetery (documented up to 1784). 1784 also saw the inauguration of the Vienna General Hospital

Vienna General Hospital

The Vienna General Hospital is the University medical center of the city of Vienna, Austria. The AKH is the largest hospital of Austria and Europe, the second largest hospital in the world, and at 85-m high is one of the tallest hospital buildings in the world...

, a then public hospital regarded as modern with respect to contemporary standards. The same period also saw the establishment of the Findelhaus, a bearing house, and the k.k. Gewehrfabrik which became a substantial rifle supplier for the Austrian Army.
From 1821 to 1862, the municipality of Alservorstadt maintained a town hall in a two-storey, baroque building located at 8.

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

, Laudongasse 5. In 1850, Alservorstadt was officially integrated into the city of Vienna as part of the Alsergrund

Alsergrund

Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...

 district. In 1861, the southern part was transferred to the smaller district of Josefstadt

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

.

Sights

The neo-Gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 Votive Church was constructed from 1856 to 1879 by architect Heinrich von Ferstel

Heinrich von Ferstel

thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel (July 7, 1828, Vienna - 14 July 1883, Grinzing, near...

. The classicist

Classicism

Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...

 building of the Josephinum by architect Isidore Carnevale was erected as an academy for military surgeons in the 18th century. From the Schwarzspanierkirche (a former military Lutheran church), only the front façade remains to this day. Moreover, the Strudlhofstiege

Strudlhofstiege

The Strudlhofstiege is an outdoor staircase in the Viennese district of Alsergrund.Opened on November 29, 1910. It was built by a design of Johann Theodor Jaeger and is regarded as an important Jugendstil work...

 is well known, immortalized in Heimito von Doderer's

Heimito von Doderer

Heimito von Doderer was a famous Austrian writer.- Life and work :...

 novel of the same name. Other sights include the fountains Wachsamkeitsbrunnen (at Schlesingplatz) and Schubertbrunnen at the border with Roßau. The Palais Schönborn houses the Austrian museum for ethnography while the Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum is located in the Narrenturm

Narrenturm (hospital)

The Narrenturm in Vienna is continental Europe's oldest building for the accommodation of mental patients. Built in 1784, it is next to the site of the old Vienna General Hospital , and is now home to the Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum Vienna .-The building:The Narrenturm was constructed in...

, Europe's oldest building dedicated to psychiatric patients. Moreover, the U.S. Embassy in Vienna is situated in the north of Alservorstadt.

Economy and Transportation

Alsergrund is well integrated into the Viennese public transit network

Wiener Linien

Wiener Linien are the company running the largest part of the public transit network in the city of Vienna, Austria. They are part of the city corporation Wiener Stadtwerke Holding AG.- Governing structure and statistics :...

, in particular with the U-Bahn

Vienna U-Bahn

The Vienna U-Bahn is a rapid transit system consisting of five lines. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers use the Vienna U-Bahn every day...

 stations Alser Straße in the west and Schottentor to the east. The headquarters of the Austrian central bank

Oesterreichische Nationalbank

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank is the central bank of the Republic of Austria and, as such, an integral part of both the European System of Central Banks and the Eurozone. In the public interest, the OeNB contributes to monetary and economic policy decision-making in Austria and in the Euro area...

, the penitentiary Justizanstalt Josefstadt and the town hall of Josefstadt

Josefstadt

Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...

 are located in the area. Although the Vienna General Hospital

Vienna General Hospital

The Vienna General Hospital is the University medical center of the city of Vienna, Austria. The AKH is the largest hospital of Austria and Europe, the second largest hospital in the world, and at 85-m high is one of the tallest hospital buildings in the world...

 has moved to Michelbeuern

Michelbeuern

Michelbeuern is a neighbourhood of the Alsergrund, the 9th district of Vienna. Today, the major part of its area is dedicated to the Vienna General Hospital....

, some medical institutions remain, in particular the pediatric

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

 hospital St. Anna Kinderspital. Moreover, the borough comprises several important educational institutions, such as the campus

Campus

A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

 of the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, or the Lycée Français de Vienne

Lycée Français de Vienne

Lycée Français de Vienne is a French curriculum secondary school in Alsergrund, Vienna.The Lycée Français de Vienne is one of the world's largest schools accredited by the Agency for French Teaching Abroad and has more than 2000 students.The private school shares its boarding school with...

.