Michelbeuern
Coat of arms	Map
Location: 48°13′19"N 16°21′4"E

Michelbeuern is a neighbourhood 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...

, the 9th district of Vienna. Today, the major part of its area is dedicated to 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...

.

The name Michelbeuern can be traced back to the Benedictine monastery of Michelbeuren

Michaelbeuern Abbey

Michaelbeuern Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Dorfbeuern near Salzburg in Austria.-History:A monastic cell existed here as early as 736 or thereabouts, referred to in the Aachen Monastery Register in 817 as "Buria". Afterthe Hungarian wars, reconstruction began in 977 with an endowment from...

 in Salzburg

Salzburg (state)

Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...

. Its possessions in the Vienna area were mentioned in 1072 as Hof zu Waring. They comprised vineyards, meadows and forests mainly located in the area of today's 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...

. In 1704, the construction of the Linienwall (the city fortifications that preceded today's Gürtel

Gürtel, Vienna

The Gürtel is a substantial city ring road of Vienna. Running parallel to the famous Ringstraße it encompasses the inner city districts .The road is officially called B 221 Wiener Gürtel Straße...

 ringroad), the current area of Michelbeuren was separated from the 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 was integrated into Alservorstadt

Alservorstadt

Alservorstadt was an independent municipality until 1850 and is since then divided between Josefstadt and Alsergrund, the 8th and 9th districts of Vienna, respectively.-Geography:Alservorstadt spans the south of Alsergrund and the north-east of Josefstadt...

. Apart from the Linienwall in the west, the area was confined by the river Als in the south and Währing river in the north. During ecclesial reforms under Joseph II., the monasterial possessions were ceded to the city of Vienna for 10,000 guilder

Guilder

Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...

.

The area remained scantly developed until the mid-19th century. The Brünnlbad baths and Brünnlmühle mill were located at the Als river (today's Lazarettgasse). The north housed a Vienna toll office (Verzehrungssteuer-Linienamt) while the center served mainly for brick production.

In 1836, the steam engine producer k.k. privilegierte Dampfmaschinenfabriks AG was founded in Eisengasse (today's Wilhelm-Exner-Gasse). In 1848-1853, the elevated area of Michelbeuern saw the construction the psychiatric institution Niederösterreichische Landesirrenanstalt by architect Ferdinand Fellner. The building continued to serve this purpose until it was demolished in 1974 in order to make space for the new buildings 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...

.