Fotoeins Fotografie

Above/featured: Musenhaus (Muse House), Linke Wienzeile in Vienna – 18 May 2018.

Early 20th-century European artist Othmar Schimkowitz was one of many key figures in Vienna Modernism, an art movement which celebrated its centennial in 2018 in the Austrian capital city. Schimkowitz was born in Hungary and became well-known in Vienna for his architectural sculptures. In 1898, he joined the (Vienna) Secession, a group of artists which included Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Klimt, Max Kurzweil, Carl Moll, Koloman Moser, and Joseph Maria Olbrich.

Sculptures by Schimkowitz are often seen in a variety of architectural creations by Otto Wagner. Here below are four Schimkowitz examples in Vienna; all are accessible with public transit from Wiener Linien (WL) transport authority.

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Key Examples

1. Austria National Bank (9.)
2. Austria Post Savings Bank (1.)
3. Muse/Medallion House (6.)
4. Secession (1.)
5. Steinhof Church (14.)

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Austria National Bank

9th district

WL: Tram 5, 12, 43, or 44 to stop “Lange Gasse”.

•   Dutz, E., Die Reliefe an der Fassade der Oesterreichischen Nationalbank, from Kunstgeschichte aktuell, volume 33, number 3 (Wien: Verband österreichischer Kunsthistorikerinnen und Kunsthistoriker, 2016). Available at <https://voekk.at/de/publikationen/archiv> [accessed Dec 2025].

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Austria Post Savings Bank

1st district

A gorgeous angel almost leaps out into your line of sight in morning light, if you look up from Georg-Coch Plaza in central Vienna. The Austrian Post Savings Bank (Österreichische Postsparkasse) was completed in 1912 and considered an architectural masterpiece by Otto Wagner. Over the central section are two acroteria: aluminum angels by Schimkowitz.

WL: U-Bahn U3 to station “Stubentor”; U-Bahn U3 or U4, to station “Landstrasse”.

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Muse House (Medallion House)

6th district

Across from Vienna’s famous Naschmarkt on the north side of Linke Wienzeile street are leading examples of Otto Wagner architecture in the city. Completed in 1898 were he Majolica House and the Muse House; the latter is known also as Medallion House for the golden medallions with muses’ heads on the building’s front facade. At the corners of the roofline of the Muse House are Schimkowitz statues called “Die Ruferin”, or The Shouters.

WL: U-Bahn U4 to Kettenbrückengasse.

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Secession building

1st district

Over the main door are three mascarons: 3 gorgon heads, below which is the phrase “Malerei, Architektur, Plastik” for painting, architecture, and sculpture, respectively. Schimkowitz created the sculptural heads for the Secession building which opened in 1898.

WL: U-Bahn U1 or U4, to Karlsplatz.

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Steinhof Church

14th district

Designed and built by Otto Wagner, the Steinhof Church was inaugurated in 1907 for the patients of the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital, which is now the Klinik Penzing complex. Schimkowitz provided four angel sculptures standing over the building’s front entrance. With additional contributions by fellow artists Koloman Moser and Richard Luksch, the Steinhof Church is considered a masterpiece of modern early 20th-century architecture by Wagner.

WL: U-Bahn U4 to Unter St. Veit, then bus 47A to stop “Flötzersteig”.

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I made all photos above on 18 May 2018 with a Canon EOS6D mark1 (6D1) and 15 May 2023 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime (X70). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-ggV.