It sounds macabre at the outset, and admittedly, the legend of the 1862 naming for the alley points to the mass elimination of medieval Templar Knights in 1312.
But those apparently nondescript entryways, if open, reveal much more: to residential blocks, several Pawlatschen (“stacked open balconies”), and a big quiet inner courtyard with a tree that’s apparently more than 250 years old. While the foundations of this complex go back to the 12th- to 13th-century, post-war restorations and preservation efforts retained the historical character of the buildings in Vienna’s oldest residential area.
Perhaps, the only thing “bleeding” is the source of funds required to maintain the appearance and everyday working nature of the apartments within.
Entry into Singerstrasse 11, 11a, 11b, 11c.
The “seam” and open courtyard separating the blocks at left (Blutgasse 5, 7, 9) and the blocks at right (Singerstrasse 11a,b,c). The big plane tree at centre is apparently at least 250 years old.
From the tree, up into the sky.
Facing Blutgasse 9 at centre, the general description seems apt: stacked *and* squeezed.
Blutgasse 9.
The apartments in Blutgasse 9.
Blutgasse 3: typical of Viennese “Pawlatschen” style of stacked open balconies. This individual structure is a Pawlatschenhof, a courtyard with stacked balconies.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 21 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
It’s late-19th century Vienna, and Emperor Franz Joseph I (FJ1) is in charge of the Austria-Hungary dual monarchy. He’s ordered and overseen big changes to the city landscape in Vienna. Problem is his wife Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) isn’t taking any liking to the city. To sweeten the deal (and stay close to Vienna), FJ1 commissions the construction of a quiet hidden “Palace of Dreams” in what is now the forested land near Lainz in western Vienna. It’s his present to his wife in 1886.
Today, the Hermes Villa is a part of the Wien Museum. While the grounds outside are free to walk around, there’s an admission charge to view the interior.
The north or main entrance leads to the museum inside. Emperor Franz Joseph I commissioned the architect Karl von Hasenauer for the design and construction of the villa.
Genovevabrunnen (Genoveva fountain), by Viktor Tilgner, 1885.
“Putto mit Krokodil” (child with crocodile), by Viktor Tilgner, 1886.
Hermes statue, by Berlin sculptor Ernst Herter, 1888.
The villa is named after this central sculpture.
St. Francis of Assisi, by Josef Josephu, 1934. There’s another statue of St. Francis of Assisi behind the Minoritenkirche in central Vienna.
Patron saint of animals, on the 800th anniversary of his birth.
“Elisabeth: Zwang – Flucht – Freiheit”, by Ulrike Truger, 2006, to represent Empress Elisabeth. Wearing a coat, Elisabeth’s face is partly obscured by the fan in her left hand; the wings appear just below the fan.
Truger created this marble sculpture to counter against the Sisi cliché and to comment about how trapped she felt. Three aspects of the sculpture refer to her personality: a fan representing her obligation, a coat for her desire to escape, and wings for her freedom.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 20 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
I’ve been up to Kahlenberg hill a couple of times in past years, but coming up during weekdays meant I lost out on the lookout tower. A warm sunny Saturday is an opportunity to fix my error.
In 1887, the Kahlenberg railway company completed an extension of its cogwheel railway to the top of Kahlenberg (484 m/1588 ft). At the same time, the company constructed next to the railway terminus station a 22-metre high brick lookout-tower, named after the Crown Princess Stephanie of Belgium. The cogwheel railway is long gone, and there had been years when the tower was neglected or forgotten. Reopened to the public in 1992, the lookout tower is now managed and operated by Naturfreunde Döbling. The top of the Stefaniewarte lookout tower is effectively about 500 metres above sea level, providing 360° views of the city and surrounding area.
Open only on summer weekends in good weather, the tower is open until 6pm with 2€ admission. Public transport: S45- or U4-train to Heiligenstadt station, then bus 38A to Kahlenberg.
“Kronprinzessin Stefanie-Warte 1887”
The climb up the 120 or so steps was comfortable: wide deep steps, reasonable stairwell-clearing or -height.
To the northwest is the 165-metre tall Kahlenberg Transmitter tower which is not open to the public. The transmission tower is anchored by 3 pairs of cables onto 3 piers.
North. This is where the crescent of the Alps’ mountain range tapers to an end.
Southeast.
South. In the background almost 70 km in distance is the 2078-metre high Schneeberg.
Visible in this 4x digital zoom view to the southeast: DonauCity (DC) Tower 1, Danube river, Millennium Tower, Red Vienna’s Karl-Marx-Hof, the Prater and its Ferris wheel.
Visible in this 4x digital zoom view to the south: Müllverbrennungsanlage Spittelau, Ringturm, Votivkirche, Stephansdom, Peterskirche, Karlskirche, Oberes Belvedere, Hauptbahnhof complex, Arsenal communication tower, AKH general hospital.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 19 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
French artist Henri Cartier-Bresson (HCB, 1908-2004) is considered a pioneer in the styles of candid- and street-photography. The phrase “decisive moment” is decidedly pithy in today’s vernacular, but what he advocated in that phrase is to hone in on the ability to gather all of the observable elements to construct an image, because that image might never come together or happen again.
When my own interest in photography grew, I understood I needed to learn what had come before. The HCB name and his photographs came up a lot in my study. To the here and now, seeing in person and to stand in front of the real prints of HCB’s photographs is a privilege, a true delight, and yet another learning opportunity that has come my way.
Established in 2022 as a national centre for lens-based media, Foto Wien got their wish and moved into their permanent home at the Arsenal grounds which once belonged to the Austrian military. On 21 March 2025, Foto Arsenal Wien opened its doors of Objekt (building) 19a to the public.
Over 200 items are on display in this retrospective exhibition of HCB’s career. As time passed, his images became noticeably less about surrealism, and more about photojournalism.
Foreground: Objekt 19a, Foto Arsenal Wien. Background: Objekt 24, A1 Telekom Richtfunkturm (radio relay tower).A1 is presently one of Austria’s 3 major mobile network providers, including Magenta and A3.
“Henri Cartier-Bresson: Watch! Watch! Watch!”, on display at Foto Arsenal Wien, from 28 June to 21 September 2025.
One of the most famous images by HCB: behind St. Lazare station at Place de l’Europe in Paris, France. 1932 image, 1950s-60s print. What’s exquisite is that moment where the tiny response time resides between the push of a button and the actual exposure on film before the inevitable splash.
Spain. 1933 HCB image, 1970s print. A beautiful image of radial symmetry with the trifecta of foreground, middle ground, and background.
Madrid, Spain. 1933 HCB image, 1970s print.
Valencia, Spain. 1933 HCB image, 1950s-60s print. Circles, squares, and the golden ratio means I can look at this image and find something to marvel at the construction and timing of the image.
Naples, Italy. 1960 HCB image, 1970s print.
The Wall at the corner of Bernauer Straße and Wolliner Straße, from West Berlin, Germany. 1962 HCB image, late-1970s print. While I grew up in the age of the Wall and I’ve digested as much imagery as possible of that time, my visits to Berlin and to this very street location long after the Fall of the Wall have always been a touch of the bittersweet in acknowledgment of those who tried but died trying to breach the wall.
Havana, Cuba. 1963 HCB image, 1970s print.
Moscow, Soviet Union. 1954 HCB image, 1954 print.
Kashmir region, disputed between India and Pakistan. 1948 HCB image, 1970s print.
Srinigar, within the disputed Kashmir region. 1948 HCB image, 1950s print.
I received neither support nor compensation for this piece. I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 18 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
I’m drifting around the U-Bahn junction station at Nollendorfplatz, before I head inside the Urban Nation street- and urban-art gallery and museum. So, why not: it’s about the “lalala” to (possibly) counter the grim gritty underbelly of the city. Or maybe not.
I made the image above on 18 May 2025 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and these settings: 1/60-sec, f/8, ISO1250, and 18.5/28mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-vsH.
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