Vienna, Courtyards & Balconies
a Brutally Dandy Guide
This is a list of pretty courtyards of Vienna. Feel free to use it whenever you are lost in existential boredom. Here is a list on the Google Maps that I’ve compiled for your comfort. The route I walked is largely based on the one that the City of Vienna suggests on their city. In this text, I’m bringing together images and human-comments (vs. mechanical nomenclature texts that the city has put up) so that you can decide if visiting these locations worths your time.
All in all, I’ve found the chase for the inner yards fascinating in its own right. Vienna as a city is somewhat unwelcoming for walks. Most of the routes are extremely functional and channel you along the lines of the facades. There is nothing wrong with it in principle. In the long run, though, it gets very boring, when your city experience is reduced to walking by the endless storefronts and unappealing coffee-houses (most of the Austrians haven’t discovered graphic design yet; most of the people working here ask you “what is service design” with absolute blue-eyed honesty). In this context, many of the courtyards listed by the city are offering a stunning alternative to the predominant city plan.
I actually would recommend this route primarily to Austrians and their families. To such audiences, it should go with a message: “See? The world doesn’t end if you unlock your courtyard to the visitors. And, more so, you can pay the renovations with the money that retail and services on the ground floor can bring! The courtyards can be way more than just locked storage for your rubbish containers”.
Margaretenplatz 4, Margaretenhof
The Stadt Wien website recommends Margaretenplatz as a starting point for the route and I can’t agree more. It is a very bobo area, somewhat off the tourist route. So you won’t be harassed by desperate men in Mozart suits or won’t have to watch miserable horses tugging tourist families in the carriages.
Margaretenhof in its 1884 glory reflects the flamboyant attitudes of the old money. Sadly, you can’t really get any closer to the building. Don’t worry, there is plenty more around. Read more or even more
Schlossquadrat, Margaretenplatz 2
Here you can check out the inner yard rented out by the city for commercial use. As I understand it (which might be wrong, cause Vienna has a very messy real estate public record), the property is historical and currently belongs to the city. Apparently, people really like this spot for no obvious reason. So the buildings on this spot have changed one another since the 16th century. The current one is from the late 1700s. It is not particularly special, but it is representative of Vienna’s looks pre-real-estate-boom. In the 19th century, rich people went nuts and started investing their fortunes in opulent real estate projects that now shape the splendor of Vienna. Of course, the trust-fund rich babies had no clue how the economy works and in 1873 the stock market crashed. Anyhow, here is a glimpse of what the city-block planning was like prior to this investment wave. Read more
Raimundhof, Mariahilfer Straße 45, Windmühlgasse 20
This is one of my favorite locations on the list. There is nothing particularly splendid about it. Technically, it is just a commercial street fixed into a walk-though chain of the courtyards. I guess that the contrast with a relatively loud surrounding makes it very calming. Here you can also find a pretty good vegetarian place called “Secret Garden”.
It seems like the street is currently struggling to find a format and purpose that could interest tourists and locals in 2020. Some of the stores are in the Berlin-like decay state, some change the owners regularly. It is also not wheel-chair-, bike-, pram-accessible, in case you care. Read more
Amerlinghaus am Spittelberg, Stiftgasse 8, Schrankgasse 1
This yard is very cute. The business owners, running the venue on the ground floor have the taste that expands on the heritage and doesn’t go all-in on the stereotypes. I’m curious to come by in winter and see if they manage to utilize the yard as nicely.
This is one of the typical Pawlatschenhof, a courtyard with Pawlatschen-type balcony, that some guides will recommend you to visit. This was actually an entry point for me into the whole route. I wanted to see more of the housing solutions that utilized courtyard balcony raws. This is quite common in Budapest and very common in Tbilisi, whereas in Vienna you can’t find them so often. In the current trends around indoor-outdoor living spaces, this is a type of solution, that could be interesting to retro-fit to the existing housing. Actually, some of the house-owners in Vienna do it, and I may later include a few samples of such work to this list. Read more
Adlerhof, Burggasse 51
Adlerhof’s scale is impressive. It’s a long corridor of identical well-yards and passages. Would I go there again? Not sure. Can it look good on a selfy? Absolutely.
This passage has suffered from pretty violent renovations and door-replacements. Vienna is actually quite bad in preserving original window-frames and doors. Burglary is common here and people often opt for ugly-but-safe options. Adlerhoft has had some original doors replaced with barn-like aluminum nonsense and some of the original windows were plastered. Read more
Durchhaus, Neustiftgasse 16 , Lerchenfelderstraße 13
This passage is monumental. The state of it is pretty tragic, as the ground floor is occupied by rather tastelss and careless businesses, and columns are plastered with ridiculously ugly commercials. But the bones of the structure are quite impressive. Perhaps, when the wave of gentrification reaches this place, it will have a breath of fresh air. Read more
Courtyard, Lange Gasse 34
Lange Gasse 34 courtyard is not eventful. It worth a glance on your way from one place to another, just to see how one of these older patios looks like without a functional purpose to it. The funny thing about this structure is that you see it both in the Roman ruins and in the colonial houses (such as the ones you see in both of the Americas). If you have a good read on the raise and fall of this block-planning paradigm — let me know. Read more
Nestroy Geburtshaus, Bräunerstraße 3
The ground floor of this inner yard is a wreck. It is hard to say if the owners are working on renovating it or if they use it to dump construction rubbish in. But then the way the facades have developed through time is pretty interesting. Read more
Generalihof, Bräunerstraße 1, Graben 13
The 90s and 2000s have railed hard over this passage. The oversized floor tiles make it look like you are on a Lewis Carroll’s bad trip. The absolutely shameless signage from Berlitz should actually be forcefully removed by the city as damaging to the soul. The vitrines are full of rubbish that only old tasteless ladies would care about. Should you visit? Perhaps. Some detailing on the doors, railing, and wood-carving is still interesting. But overall it is in a very tragic state. Read more
Courtyards, Blutgasse 3
The yards on Blutgasse 3 were one of the most unexpected finds for me. I can not stand the 1st district in Vienna as a whole. It is a consumer-tourist hell, that I try to avoid in every city I visit. But then this chain of the backyards is actually very sweet. If it wasn’t on your tourist map — tag it for a change. Read more
Courtyard, Bäckerstraße 7
To each their own, I guess. I find the look of this courtyard pretty tragic. But then if you want to check out the 15th-century wall segment — here you go. Read more
Schmeckender-Wurm-Hof, Wollzeile 5, Bäckerstraße 6
Here is one more victim of the 90s. This place could have been very Diagon-Alley-like, but then messy cheap signage, concrete floor, and an absolute lack of coordination make it more of a walk of shame. For crying out loud, they have a vitrine with toilet seats in the very center of the historical town. I highly doubt that this sells anything. Read more
Heiligenkreuzerhof, Grashofgasse 3, Schönlaterngasse 5
At first, I wanted to skip this location. Because, honestly, it is doesn’t offer much. But then I couldn’t skip this storefront. I think the reasons are obvious. Read more
Sünnhof, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 28, Ungargasse 13
Sünnhof doesn’t try too hard to be likable. To be honest, it doesn’t even care if you exist. The hotel, that runs this passage is processing large batches of Chinese guests. The busses with them unload on the Ungargasse. They spend the night here, eat sausage, and continue on their prisoner-tour. Technically it is actually a very interesting street. It breaks down impossibly long blocks of Landstraße into a few walkable segments. It will also look like you are having a good time if you post a selfy from here to your Instagram. Read more
References
- Stadt Wien, Stadtspaziergang: Innenhöfe, Durchhäuser und Pawlatschen, 2020
- Seen Suechtig, Margaretner Brauhaus, 2020
