Sofiensaal

Sofiensäle in Vienna is the name of a building or its services at Marxergasse 17 in the 3rd district, highway. The historical name was before the additional construction in 1886 mostly Sophienbad room. 2001 burned the Sofiensäle from mostly. There were only the load-bearing walls as fire ruins. From 2011 to 2013, the historic hall and the main portal were (both historical monument standing) restored in secessionistischem style, surrounding the hall building was rebuilt as a residence and hotel.

History

19th century

1838 was immediately built a Russian steam bath left of the current location of the later Sofiensäle by Franz Morawetz ( 1789-1868 ). In the years 1845-1847 the Null and August Sicard von Sicardsburg built a swimming pool at its present location by the architects Eduard van, the Sophienbad.

The great hall of the Sophienbads ( 13.6 x 38 m, then the largest public restaurant in Vienna ) was in the summer as swimming pool, dance, concert and meeting hall used in the winter under the name Sophienbad room as. To this end, the pool was covered with wooden boards and received by the cavity below it ( swimming pool) excellent acoustics. The capacity was after Czeike concerts 2000, at balls 2,300 and 2,700 people at meetings.

The bathroom was by Archduchess Sophie (1805-1872), the sister of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, mother of Franz Joseph I, who took over the government on December 2, 1848 by him named. The opening of the Sophienbad - hall was a hard - ball for the benefit of Children's Hospital on January 12, 1848 instead .. There conducted Johann Strauss ( father).

From 16 January 1850 with the premiere of the waltz cheerfulness donations (op. 73) until February 10, 1896 the premiere of the fast polka -clack (op. 465 ) based on motifs of his operetta Woodruff has Johann Strauss ( son ) almost 100 his works - waltzes, polkas and quadrilles - lifted in Sofiensaal from the baptism.

1870, 1886 and 1899, there were conversions and transformations. 1886 the left of the main house is a second smaller hall was built to which later received the name " Blauer Salon ". Since then, the term " Sofiensäle " in use. 1898/1899 was rebuilt by architect Ernst Gotthilf - Miskolczy the main facade in the Secessionist style. In Dehio and Czeike it is falsely attributed to the architect Dehm & Olbricht.

20th century

On March 22, 1912 Karl May held eight days before his death, as a guest of the Vienna Academic Association for literature and music in Sofiensäle front of about 2,000 listeners his last, lasting over two hours, public lecture, " Empor into the realm of noble people," one of his most famous speeches.

In Sofiensäle were in September 1913 under the title " Talking film" for the first time in Vienna with speaking tone accompanied Movies presents ( Edison Kinetophone and Gaumont - demonstrations). For various reasons, such as the low supply at the film market and problems with the synchronization of image and sound, these performances were soon discontinued.

The Sofiensäle are also associated with dark chapters of Viennese history: So there was the Nazi Party by Richard Suchenwirth in a congregation founded in Austria in May 1926. From 1938 the Sofiensäle for certain Jews for deportation were used as a collection point.

On June 15, 1946 it hosted the Vienna premiere of the operetta Maske in Blau of the Viennese composer Fred Raymond instead, which was premiered in Berlin in 1937.

1948 at a restoration by architect Carl Appel the original ceiling structure was exposed. The artist Konrad Honold designed the wall surfaces in the foyer area.

In the 1950s, the record producer Decca installed in this building the most advanced recording studio in Europe, in which up to the 1970s recordings were performed as with the Vienna Philharmonic. Until the 1980s, the old halls were popular venue for balls, such as the traditional, annual Elmayer - wreath and for the ÖKISTA - Gschnas ( ÖKISTA = Austrian Committee for international student exchange). In the 1990s, the Sofiensäle were for clubbing (eg Wickie, Slime & Paiper ), availed exhibitions of the Vienna Festival and various events.

Since 1986 there were plans to demolish the listed Sofiensäle and in its place erect a hotel.

21st Century

On 16 August 2001, the Sofiensäle were severely damaged by a fire. The trigger was Flämmarbeiten to the roof structure, which ignited the wooden roof. The halls were burned completely, the roof collapsed. As fire ruins remained remnants of the outer walls, foyer and three side walls of the Great Hall.

The Sofiensäle were under monument protection, the burned-out shell, which is why the demolition was not permitted by the Federal Monuments Office. The owner planned to build a hotel and therefore wished the complete demolition of the burned-out shell, since the integration of the parts of the facade in the new hotel, according to owner would not have been economically feasible or not. The dispute between the owner and Bundesdenkmalamt employed the judiciary.

On 27 January 2006, the City of Vienna affiliated real estate company ARWAG acquired the 12,000 -square-foot property, including fire ruins and promised a historically appropriate rehabilitation. In July 2008, it was decided that the Sofiensäle should be converted into a hotel. The heritage-listed hall and the staircase should be renovated and incorporated into the hotel. In August 2009 it was announced that the plans for reconstruction were abandoned in a hotel due to lack of buyers.

For the ninth anniversary of the fire in August 2010, the citizens' initiative Save renewed the Sofiensäle its call for the establishment of a cultural center as Vienna need these centrally located, multi-functional venue urgently. In 2004, brought into play Johann Strauss center for classical music should also be established in Sofiensäle.

New building, opened in 2013

The next owner, the IFA Ltd, a subsidiary of Soravia Financial Group, managed from 2010 to the combination of conservation and new uses. The according to the client 50 million euros requiring new development consisting of 47 funded and 21 privately financed apartments, the great hall and the historic main facade and Restaurant ( from February 2014), Hotel and Fitness Center (both from March 2014) and 125 underground parking spaces, was built by architect Albert Wimmer and officially inaugurated on December 2, 2013. More than 100 investors were involved in the relief model.

At the opening was also reminiscent of the checkered history of the house, for which the name of Johann Strauss, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl May, Heinrich Himmler, Bruno Kreisky, Willy Brandt was called as an arbitrary statement.