© Eva Puella
Where is the Stuwerviertel located and why is it called like that? What explosive past does this neighborhood have and is it still disreputable today? We start at Mexikoplatz with a visit to the St. Francis of Assisi church with the Sisi Memorial Chapel, one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau places in Vienna (visit is always subject to opening hours of the church), walk to the Vorgartenmarkt, the culinary center of the Grätzel, continue via the charming Ilgplatz with the Circus and Clown Museum to the formerly disreputable Max Winter Platz and end at the Venediger Au with a view of the Giant Ferris Wheel.
Guide
Annemarie Geiger
www.anne-guides.at
Annemarie Geiger / Stuwerviertel
“I’ve been living here for 15 years and like the mix of the formerly “disreputable” and now trendy area.I think it’s one of the most upcoming neighborhoods in the second district Leopoldstadt and has an explosive past, if you think of the Stuwer family with their popular art fireworks. It used to be disreputable because of the former street prostitution. But this neighbourhood is changing extremely fast. It’s dimensions form a triangle between Praterstern – Lassallestraße – Handelskai – Ausstellungsstraße. It is so beautifully nestled between the modern Nordbahn district and the sensational architecture of the Messe exhibition grounds/WU campus/Prater. For me, a tour through the Stuwerviertel is like a journey back in time.
What are the highlights of the tour – what do I particularly like?
The Franz of Assisi Church, commonly known as the “Mexikokirche” because of the square in front of it, fascinates me every time I walk past it because of it’s size and architecture, and is home to one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau places in Vienna, the Empress Elisabeth Memorial Chapel. This “cathedral on the river” is one of the main sights, but the many municipal buildings and the Vorgartenstraße with its beautiful Wilhelminian-style houses and once mandatory front gardens are also impressive. The Vorgartenmarkt, a culinary hotspot, is very popular with a wide variety of eateries and a farmers’ market on Fridays and Saturdays. I particularly like the tranquil Ilgplatz with the Circus and Clown Museum. This round square is so cozy and it seems as if time stands still there. Everything around Max Winter Platz is still a reminder of the former street prostitution, followed by Stuwerstraße and Venediger Au.
Why I like living here and guiding you through my neighborhood?
The mix of old and new, the multicultural coexistence, the local diversity. New and innovative restaurants are constantly on the rise. Artists and craftspeople are settling here, the location is simply ideal, not far from the Danube, the Danube Island and the Prater, regardless of whether you want to go to the Wurstelprater (amusement park) or the Grüner Prater (recreation area). It is a very welcoming neighborhood with good living quality and public transport connections and that paired with an interesting past, is what I like to show to my guests :-)”
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