Belle Epoque - Vienna: Otto Wagner II

Austria

Vienna: Otto Wagner (1841-1918) II

Anker House (1895)
Graben 10

The Anker house was named after the insurance company Der Anker (The Anchor) for which Otto Wagner built this dwelling and shop building in 1894. The front goes to the Graben, the two free sides to the Spiegelgasse and the Dorotheergasse. There is a remarkable shop area on two floors (not visible on the photo) and the glass roof for a photographer's studio which reminds of typical Parisian Belle Epoque buildings.

Schützenhaus (1906-08)
Obere Donaustraße 26

The Schützenhaus was part of the Kaiserbad sluice in the Danube canal; it was built for a crane moving the sluice-gate.

The Wienzeile Buildings (1898/99)

Wienzeile 38

Majolica House, Wienzeile 40

Otto Wagner himself was the owner of the buildings Linke Wienzeile 38 et 40; therefore he could realize his ideas in the utmost way. These houses show his definite break with historicism which for sure did not take place without the influence of his young students and colleagues Joseph Maria Olbrich, Josef Plečnik (1871-1957), Hubert Gessner (1871-1943) and others.
It is obvious that both buildings, in spite of their different decoration, are meant to be an ensemble using in an effective manner the situation on the street corner. House N° 40 is completely covered by coloured tiles, that is why it is called the Majolica House. Following Wagner's ideas, the beautiful is here combined with the functional since the façade can be easily cleaned and hardly damaged.
House ° 38 (Köstlergasse 1) is particularly remarkable: The vivid, plastic front of the corner gives a singular effect as well as the rich and luxuriant decoration with the golden medallions by Kolo Moser. The marvellous sculptures of the "calling women" were created by Othmar Schimkowitz (1864-1947).