Innere Stadt

This article is about the 1st municipal district of Vienna. For the 1st city district of the city of Graz, see Innere Stadt (Graz).

Innere Stadt
1st District of Vienna
Coat of arms
Location of the district within Vienna
Country	Austria
City	Vienna
Government
• District Director	Ursula Stenzel (ÖVP)
• First Deputy	Gundula Schatz (ÖVP)
• Second Deputy	Georg Niedermühlbichler (SPÖ)
• Representation    (40 Members)	ÖVP 16, SPÖ 10, Greens 8, FPÖ 4, WIR 2
Area
• Total	2.88 km2 (1.11 sq mi)
Population (2014-01-01)
• Total	16,131
• Density	5,600/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Postal code	A-1010
Address of District Office	Wipplingerstraße 8 A-1011 Wien
Website	www.wien.gv.at   /bezirke/innerestadt/

The Innere Stadt (German: Innere Stadt) is the 1st municipal District of Vienna (German: 1. Bezirk). The Innere Stadt is the Old Town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna. Traditionally it was divided into four quarters, which were designated after important town gates:

• Stubenviertel (northeast),
• Kärntner Viertel (southeast),
• Widmerviertel (southwest),
• Schottenviertel (northwest).

The Ringstraße circles the Innere Stadt along the route of the former city walls.

The first district is, with a workforce of 100,745, the largest employment locale in Vienna. This is partially due to tourism, as well as the presence of many corporate headquarters due to the district's central location.

Geography

Innere Stadt is the central district of Vienna. It borders on Leopoldstadt in the northeast, on Landstraße in the east, on Wieden and Mariahilf in the south, on Neubau and Josefstadt in the west, and on Alsergrund in the north. The district border, starting at Urania, follows Wienfluss, Lothringerstraße, Karlsplatz, Gedreidemarkt, Museumsplatz, Museumstraße, Auerspergstraße, Landesgerichtsstraße, Universitätsstraße, Maria-Theresien-Straße and the Donaukanal.

History

Main article: History of Vienna

Before 1850, Innere Stadt was physically equivalent with the city of Vienna. See History of Vienna for details about the history of Vindobona and Vienna, as well as historical significance after 1850.

Places of interest

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Historic Centre of Vienna
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv, vi
Reference	1033
UNESCO region	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	2001 (25th Session)

Year Population 1869 68,079 1880 72,688 1890 70,167 1900 58,736 1910 53,326 1923 43,045 1939 33,027

Year Population 1951 34,654 1961 32,243 1971 25,169 1981 19,537 1991 18,002 2001 17,056 2005 17,289

• Albertina
• Burgtheater
• Graben
• Hofburg Imperial Palace
• Kapuzinergruft
• Kärntner Straße
• Lutheran City Church
• Museum of Natural History
• Museum of Art History
• Maria am Gestade Church
• Palais Ephrussi
• Peterskirche
• Ruprechtskirche
• Schottenstift
• Stephansdom
• Rathaus, Vienna
• Pestsäule (a plague column)
• Virgilkapelle
• Vienna State Opera
• Stadtpark, Vienna

Population

Over time

Population has been declining ever since its peak of 73,000 in 1880, until it hit the lowest recorded value of 17,000 in 2001. Although population has been increasing slightly since then, Innere Stadt continues to remain the least populated district in Vienna.

Structural

In 2001, 28.1% of the district's population was over 60 years of age, above the city average of 22.2%. The percentage of people under 15 years of age was 9.8%. The female population of 53.3% was also above city average.

Origin and language

At 15.5%, the percentage of foreign residents in Innere Stadt was 2% under city average for the year 2001. 2.8% of the population had EU Citizenship (Germany excluded), 2.7% were citizens of Serbia and Montenegro, and 2.2% were German citizens. In total, 25.6% of the population were born in a foreign country. 79% of residents listed German as their language of choice. 4.0% spoke primarily Serbian, 1.8% Hungarian, and 1.4% Croatian. 14.3% spoke other languages.

Religion

Roman catholics made up 51.3% of the Innere Stadt population in 2001, followed by 6.6% Protestants, 5.1% Orthodox Christians, 3.3% Jews. 22.7% were listed as non-confessional.

Politics

The Bezirksvorsteher (District Director) has been a member of the conservative ÖVP party since 1946. Current Bezirksvorsteher is Ursula Stenzel, a previous MEP. Stenzel has spoken out against holding events in the inner city, citing concerns regarding noise pollution. Her comments have drawn criticism from other parties, especially the social democratic SPÖ.

District Directors from 1945
Theodor Köpl (KPÖ)	April 1945-August 1945
Fritz Schuckeld (SPÖ)	August 1945-October 1945
Adolf Planek (SPÖ)	October 1945 – 1946
August Altmutter (ÖVP)	1946–1948
Franz Eichberger (ÖVP)	1948–1951
Otto Friesinger (ÖVP)	1951–1968
Heinrich Anton Heinz (ÖVP)	1968–1987
Richard Schmitz (ÖVP)	1987–2001
Franz Grundwalt (ÖVP)	2001–2005
Ursula Stenzel (ÖVP)	2005-

Coat of arms

The first district's coat of arms is a white cross on a red background. It is also the coat of arms for the City of Vienna and the State of Vienna. The current coat of arms dates back to around 1270, when it first appeared on the minted "Wiener Pfennige" coins. It may have been based on the flag of the King of the Romans' forces during the Middle Ages, as the combat flag of Rudolph I of Germany featured a similar design.

References

[Parts of this article were translated from German Wikipedia.]

• "Wien - 1. Bezirk - Innere Stadt", Wien.gv.at, 2008, webpage (15 subpages): Wien.gv.at-innerestadt (in German).
• Grabovszki, Ernst: Innere Stadt, Wien, 1. Bezirk. Verlag Sutton, Erfurt 2002, ISBN 3-89702-467-5

External links

Media related to Innere Stadt at Wikimedia Commons

• (German) History of Innere Stadt at the City of Vienna homepage.
• (English) (French) UNESCO rationale for inclusion of Vienna inner district into world cultural heritage list.
• (German) General information about Innere Stadt from the Green party.
• (German) Historical core of Vienna