Exploring Jewish Vienna and Vienna Fashion Night

Thursday June 13 was another beautiful day.  We walked across the street to the Naschmarkt to get some food for dinner and then headed out to explore part of Jewish Vienna.  A Frommer's guide that someone left in our apartment was most helpful.  We began our walk to our first stop- the Judisches Museum (Jewish Museum).

We are getting used to the many dedicated bike paths that run through the city.  In fact, this week, an international cycling conference is taking place in the city.  2013 is Vienna Bike Year and the goal is to increase the proportion of cyclists in urban traffic to 10% by the end of the year. (Toronto is SO far behind on bike paths and transit).  While we are able to walk everywhere from our apartment, the transportation system in Vienna is superb, with trams, busses, subways and bike paths.

Dedicated bike paths- safe, clearly marked and lots of them

We walked by the Albertina museum and stopped for a few moments at the controversial Monument Against War and Fascism (1988), created by Austrian sculpture Alfred Hrdlickla (1928-2009). The sculptures are in a triangular space now called the Albertinaplatz.  It was formerly occupied by an apartment building, which was destroyed during a 1945 bombing raid.  400 people were buried alive in its cellar.  The Monument consists of four elements pictured below.

 Orpheus enters Hades and behind that Stone of the Republic

The signage states that Orpheus enters Hades is a commemoration of the victims of bombing and all who lost their lives resisting National Socialism.  The Stone of the Republic (which is actually separate from the first element) represents the April 27, 1945 proclamation refounding the Republic of Austria.

The Gates of Violence

The Gates of Violence depict the victims of Fascism and consists of rock, similar to that which prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp were forced to haul.

Jewish man scrubbing the cobblestones

The most controversial element is that of an old Jewish man scrubbing the cobblestones, which happened in Vienna in 1938 during Kristallnacht.  This sculpture resulted in a great controversy with many decrying the depiction of the Jewish victim in such an undignified way.

We then continued to the Jewish Museum.  The world's first Jewish museum was opened in Vienna in 1895 and closed in 1938 when its contents were confiscated by the Nazis and distributed to a number of existing museums in Vienna.  The present museum has been in the Palais Eskeles since 1993.  There was a very interesting interactive exhibit on the main floor asking a number of questions about the role of 21st century Jewish museums- why do they exist, who visits them and why.  This was all tied in with a permanent exhibit entitled Remembrance/Renewal by Nancy Spiro, a New York artist (1928-2009).

Outside of the Museum

We saw two temporary exhibits: Alle Meschugge: Jewish Wit and Humour and an exhibit marking the centennial of the Hashomer Hatzair, Jewish Youth Movement, which started in Vienna in 1913.

Outside poster for Alle Meschugge

We then walked to Judenplatz, the area where the Jewish community was located in the middle ages until it was destroyed in 1421.  On our walk, on the same street as the Jewish Museum, we saw a plaque honoring a man named Adolf Frankl (1903-1983), who was an artist who survived Auschwitz and then painted scenes of the horror.  We hadn't heard of him when we passed the plaque, however this plaque led us to stop at an exhibit of his work later in the afternoon.

We also stopped for a bite to eat at Trzesniewski--- a wonderful old bar with small open faced sandwiches on fabulous bread.  They are all laid out on the bar, and one chooses which ones of the around 20 varieties to eat.  It is a popular place with the locals for both lunch and after work snacks.  The original Polish owner opened the restaurant in 1902 and then shortly after moved to the location we were at.  After he died in 1939, his daughter ran the business until 1978 when it was sold.  There are eight branches in the city now.  The locals order a Pfiff of beer with their sandwiches (1/8l).

Wonderful open faced sandwiches--egg/sardines/tuna/herring

We then got to Judenplatz, the square that marks the heart of the medieval Jewish ghetto.  The square is surrounded by beautiful buildings, cafes and the Judenplatz Museum.

View of one side of the square

There is also a large modern stone monument devoted to the Holocaust and the 65,000 Austrian Jews who perished (in 1938 there were around 200,000 Jews in Vienna--it was the third largest Jewish community in Europe).  The monument was initiated by Simon Weisenthal who wanted a specific memorial dedicated to the Austrian Jewish victims of Fascism, and had been a spokesperson for the outrage over the memorial in Albertinaplatz.

The monument was designed by British sculptor Rachel Whiteread (chosen by an international jury) and was erected in 2000.  It resembles an inside-out library of nameless books lined up on bookshelves with their spines facing inward, symbolizing the many stories of the victims, left untold.  The names of the 41 concentration camps where Jews were murdered are set out around the memorial building.  The Judenplatz was the location of one of the largest synagogues in Europe prior to it being destroyed in 1420.

Nameless Library

As we walked around the square we noticed a sign outside an art gallery for a display of works by Adolf Frankl, the artist whose commemorative plaque we had noticed earlier.  We ended up spending an hour with his son, Tommy, who told us the family story.  Briefly, Adolf, his wife and son (Tommy) and daughter were rounded up in 1944 in Bratislava.  His wife and children managed to escape the transport (she told a guard that they were not Jewish and had only been looking for her husband, who she had claimed had been rounded up by mistake, and also was not Jewish).  Adolf, the father was ultimately sent to Aushwitz, where he survived.  He had been a painter, but all the works dealing with his Holocaust experience were done after liberation.  They are some of the most powerful paintings we have ever seen- done in an expressionist style.  His traumatic experiences were put into these paintings.  Tommy, his son, who would be in his late 70s opened the gallery about six years ago.  We bought the exhibition book and Tommy autographed it.

Poster with self portrait outside the gallery

The title of Adolf Frankl's work is Visions from the Inferno: Art Against Oblivion

The following piece details the family's arrest in 1944.

The explanation tells the story:

Eichmann

Self-Portrait

Tommy Frankl signing the exhibition book

After our visit, Tommy pointed us in the direction of a nearby synagogue.  The City Temple was the only synagogue in Vienna to escape destruction in November 1938, only because it was connected to a number of apartments that could have caught fire.

City Temple

We then returned to Judenplatz to visit the Museum Judenplatz, which focused on Jewish life in the middle ages.  In 1995, archaeologists found the walls of the medieval synagogue under the square.  The excavations, a model of the medieval Jewish community consisting of 70 homes, and other relics are found in the museum.  

Starting in May 1420, Duke Albrecht V imprisoned and killed many of the 800 Jews living in the ghetto (there were four gates to enter the Jewish community) at that time.  A number committed suicide in the synagogue, which they burned after a three day siege.  The final 200 Jews were burned alive in 1421 by orders of the Duke.  During the installation of the Holocaust Memorial in 1995-6, the foundations of the synagogue were found and a major excavation took place.

Foundation of the old synagogue

Outside the Judenplatz Museum

Map of the medieval  Jewish quarter/ghetto

We then walked back to the main shopping area to experience Vienna Fashion Night.  We passed some amazing buildings on the way.  One must always look up in Vienna to see the beautiful statues, engravings and architectural detail.

Amazing clock

We went inside St. Stephen's Cathedral which is in the heart of the Innere Stadt (Inner City).  It is an incredible building that went through a number of phases of building and repair due to the ravages of the Turks, Napoleonic French and the Allies.  The last restoration was completed in 1948.  The roof depicts the Hapsburg crown.

Inside of the amazing Stephansdom

Another view

By then, we were in need of coffee and apple strudel.  We stopped at Cafe Hawelka, an intellectual hangout between the 1950s and 1970s.

Alain mit his melange (coffee with milk) and strudel

Toby with her espresso

As we were near the main pedestrian shopping streets, we decided to check out Vienna Fashion Night during which a number of stores are open until 11:00 p.m.  It is modelled after New York's Fashion's Night Out.

Picture of the catalogue

There were a number of pop-up stores featuring local artists.  Starbucks featured "Kitsch-Bitch" which had great t-shirts.  I especially liked the "Buy Art, Not Cocaine" one, which had it come in a large enough size would be perfect for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford!

Good crowd buying T-shirts

After wandering around a bit more, we decided it was time for our first Aperol Spritz.  This is a drink that is very popular in Italy, especially Venice.  We enjoyed many last summer during our trip to Italy.  It seems to be equally popular in Vienna.

Alain with Aperol Spritz

We walked back to the apartment passing more beautiful buildings, and street musicians.

This little girl was whirling around as the band played Hava Nagila

Gustav Mahler's Star near the Opera House

We passed by the Opera House, where a number of people were sitting in chairs outside watching Tristan und Isolde live performance on a screen.

Opera fans outside watching the live performance

Finally, we passed the Secession building at night, about five minutes away from our apartment.

It was quite late when we got back to the apartment.  We had some pasta and I started the blog but was too tired to finish it.  I completed this post on Friday morning.