We walk the road along the Danube canal, which takes us away from the historic center of the Vienna to the noble district with the name Grinzing where are many "Heurige" in which you can taste the new Viennese wine.
Vienna is one of the few cities in the world where a significant production of wine existed even before the time of the great emperor Marcus Aurelius. In Vienna there are cultivated grapes for the wine production both in the first district around Schwarzenbergplatz, and in Kahlenberg in Grinzing, Nussdorf and Heiligenstadt but also in the surrounding areas such as Leopoldsberg with Klosterneuburg.
There is also the Pforta of the Danube a kind of geographical border to the Danube also known as the "Wiener Wald" with the mountains called Wiener Hausberge. This mountains can be seen as the end oft the Alps and have peaks of modest heights of about 500 meters: Kahlenberg, which is 484 meters high and Leopoldsberg, direct at the Danube which is 425 meters high.
On our way to northern of Vienna we see it unexpected: a big shining tower that seems to be a tower of the historic city. This tower is simply a chimney but not just some chimney in Vienna: this is one of Hundertwasser's artistic constructions.
His real name was Friedrich Stowasser, a Jew who lived 71 years (most of the time in Austria), died during of a ship travel and is buried in New Zealand. Like almost all architects he made study trips in Italy, Sicily but also in Paris, Morocco and in Tunisia. As architect Hundertwasser wanted to create unconventional constructions, full of color, naturalness and harmonies as a compelling dialogue between nature and humans.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser is known as an artist of sensations and emotions. He designed his houses with polychrome facades and several terraces which created an atmosphere of beauty and comfort.
The artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser has been able to connect nature and humans, art and architecture in a completely new way while satisfying the desire of individuality and harmony in contrast with the post-war architecture. Hundertwasser had the opinion, that purely functional architecture reduced humans to slavery and oppressed them. The architecture, on the other hand, had to form the humans, it had to grow together with human beings and change, but not lead neither to the destruction of humans nor to the nature.
We see here this beautiful large golden ceramic bulb, which exterior aspect was also designed by Hundertwasser, and with its 126 meters can be seen from a long distance in Vienna.
Before the project of Hundertwasser was this district heating plant not something nice to see because this building was and is actually a strictly functional construction.
The first chimney had a completely different aspect and there were also many emissions of harmful gases so the urban populations had really hated it from the very first day. Nearly ten years later there was a fire after them a renovation became necessary.
The district heating plant was rebuild and is now equipped with modern environmental technology.
The external appearance was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser what has significantly increased the consensus of citizens towards the thermal power plant. The once sober functional construction was transformed in this amazing way, especially thanks to the chimney with its large golden ceramic bulb.
During the day the ball shines golden in the sun, while at night it is illuminated by hundreds of luminous points.
We have to notice all over the walls a golden sphere, which becomes a symbolic motif that is repeated on the whole building.
Hundertwasser decorated the Spittelau incinerator in a similar way like his houses: with many decorative elements consisting of ceramic and enamel mosaics used both as window ornaments and in the facade.
© 2019-2020 Nicoleta Schiel
© 2019-2020 Nicoleta Schiel