Fotoeins Fotografie

25T66 Vienna: concrete flak towers in the 6. & 7.

E65, V13.

In the 6th and 7th districts stand two massive flak towers, each over 40-metres (130 feet) in height. Including the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, the Nazis ordered construction in Vienna 3 pairs of flak towers. One pair (“pair number 5”) was completed by mid-1944. In each pair, one tower is the “Leitturm” or lead/control tower, and the other tower is the “Gefechtsturm” or gun tower. “Flak” is an abbreviation for the German word for “anti-aircraft gun”: Flugabwehrkanone.

Because of their near-indestructible nature, all 3 pairs or 6 flak-towers today are incorporated into the modern urban landscape of Vienna. The former Leitturm in the city’s 6th district is located in Esterházypark, and is home to the aquarium Haus des Meeres (Home of the Sea), including a historical description of the towers. The “partner” Gefechtsturm is located in the 7th district about 500 metres to the northeast within the Stiftskaserne complex, now in use by the Austrian federal ministry of defence and closed to the public.

*“Haus des Meeres”, former Leitturm or control tower for “pair 5” in Esterházypark. The height is 47 metres (154 feet).*

*“Haus des Meeres”, as seen from below on Gumpendorfer Straße.*

*At the back is the former Gefechtsturm or gun tower for “pair 5”, now located in the Stiftskaserne. The tower height is 45 metres (148 feet).*

*The view east of the Gefechtsturm (gun tower) at upper-centre is from Lindengasse towards Stiftgasse.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 12 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

25T65 Vienna at dusk: the Ring near Karlsplatz

E64, V12.

I’ve a lot to do by day that I often forget about good conditions at sunset and beyond into dusk. Waiting out the time a little longer beyond 9pm can be rewarding, especially because it’s summertime in Vienna.

I’ve written briefly about the Künstlerhaus and the Musikverein in my overview of “architectural historicism” on Vienna’s Ringstraße (Ring Road).

*Musikverein (T. Hansen, 1870): home of the Vienna Philharmonic, and the annual New Year’s Day concert.*

*Left to right, respectively: NEST, a trio atop Palais Lützow, Musikverein.*

*Künstlerhaus (A. Weber, 1868): home to the Albertina Modern.*

*Neue Staatsoper (NEST) im Künstlerhaus / New State Opera in the old Artists’ House).*

*Also notably marked by a white ‘U’ in a blue cube, this is the “Künstlerhaus, Musikverein” entry/exit from Karlsplatz U-Bahn junction station for lines U1, U2, and U4.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 10 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, Friedrichswerder Church, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Berlin, Deutschland, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday, Berlin 2025 (2): Down Niederlagstrasse to Schinkel’s big brick church

Hopping out from Berlin’s U5 Museumsinsel station onto street-level, this view south on Niederlagstrasse is towards Berlin’s 1st neo-Gothic brick building that is the Friedrichswerder Church, completed in 1830 with designs by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Schinkel’s fingerprints are all over late-19th century Prussian Berlin.

I made the image above on 17 May 2025 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and these settings: 1/60-sec, f/14, ISO1000, and 18.5/28mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-vsy.

25T64 Inside Prunksaal: Vienna’s imperial baroque library

E63, V11.

It’s a wonder there aren’t more accidental bumps into other people. Instead of heads down (on mobiles), everyone has their head up to soak in the glory, shimmer, and glow. Before raising their mobiles up for a picture or few …

In the early 18th-century, Habsburg Emperor Charles IV ordered the construction in Vienna of an imperial court library in the Baroque style. First designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach, his son Johann Emanuel completed construction in 1726 with ceiling frescoes added in 1730 from Daniel Gran.

As a big part of the Austrian State Library (ÖNB), the present-day Prunksaal (State Hall) houses over 200-thousand books spanning three centuries from 1501 to 1850. The digitized collection is available to the public from the library’s website; check also for (seasonal) opening times and purchasing tickets in advance.

*1st guest of the day, along the southeast-northwest length.*

*Emperor Charles VI: 1735 marble statue by Antonio Corradini.*

*Directly above the statue of Charles IV is a ceiling fresco by Daniel Gran in the 30-metre high dome.*

“… The fresco high up in the central dome shows the apotheosis of Charles IV: the divination and glorification as Emperor, as commissioner of the Library, and as patron of arts and sciences.” (ÖNB)

Lots of symbols, including obelisk/sunbeam, an imperial flag with “A.E.I.O.U.“, central “coin” celebrating Charles IV, personification of Vienna wearing a mural crown, a beehive with honey (“library containing sweet knowledge”).

*Book alcoves 80 (above) and 56 at the far end of the hall/library, next to the Peace wing (northwest).*

*Entrance wing to the library (southeast).*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 10 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

25T63 Salmannsdorf in the northwest hills of Vienna

E62, V10.

Salmannsdorf is tucked away in the northwest corner of the Austrian capital city. It only seems “far” when a bus route reaches its final stop; fact is the terminus for bus 35A is only 8 km northwest from the city centre.

First mentioned in an official document in 1279, the small village of wine growers began next to the Krottenbach creek and surrounded by hills. The name “Salmannsdorf” is likely derived from the personal name Salman or Salmann, or from the professional name of the “Salmann” who was a trustee or scribe of the land register called the “Salbuch”; literally, he of the Sal, or the Sal-man(n). By 1938, the village had been fully absorbed into the city of Vienna’s 19th district.

In a compact area, I’ve gathered:

a cross dedicated to victims of the French Napoleonic occupation 1809
where Franz Schubert composed “Das Dörfchen” (The Little Village) in 1821
Johann Strauss II (JS2) spent boyhood summers at his maternal grandfather’s house, where JS2 wrote at age 6 his 1st attempt at waltz “Erster Gedanke”
Salmannsdorf Church, a.k.a. Dreimarkstein Chapel, a.k.a. Sebastian’s Chapel.

*Franzosenkreuz (French cross), in front of Salmannsdorfer Straße 32.*

*French cross: memorial to the victims of the 1809 Napoleonic campaign and French occupation.*

*The slope up Dreimarksteingasse with a plaque at building address 6 (right).*

*Memorial plaque: Franz Schubert composed “Das Dörfchen” at this location in 1821.*

Dreimarksteingasse 13, facing northwest. There’s a plaque on the outer wall of the bright yellow barn-like structure (upper right). Johann Strauss Sr. And his family spent summers here from 1829 to 1832.

Johann Strauss Jr. at age 6 composed his 1st waltz at this location; this is memorialized by the plaque on the wall. “Hier hat ein großer Musikant / Der ‘Meister Strauß’ war er benannt / Den ersten Walzer komponiert / Und dadurch dieses Haus geziert.”

*Across from the Strauss’ summer residence is the village church whose names include Dreimarkstein Chapel and Saint Sebastian’s Chapel. The small church dates back to the late 18th-century.*

*Near the top of Dreimarksteingasse with the village chapel at left and the yellow building (once occupied by the Strauss family) at right.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 9 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.