Das Rote Wien 1919-1934 Ideen, Debatten, Praxis

Vienna's first free municipal election, held in May 1919, resulted in an absolute majority for the Social Democratic Party. A reform project commenced, attracting much attention from admirers abroad and fierce antagonism from opponents at home. The goal was a far reaching democratization of society as well as the dramatic improvement of workers' living conditions. The initial situation was catastrophic. In the wake of World War I, Vienna was in a state of massive crisis. Housing was the central issue. A revolutionary fiscal policy, built around a luxury tax, provided funding for the creation of over 60,000 apartments along with numerous social, leisure, and cultural facilities by 1934. "How to live?" was hotly debated across Red Vienna. This concerned all aspects of everyday life: the place of men and women, the fostering and education of children, the structuring of leisure, the design of apartments, the division of domestic labor, the treatment of the body, and the role of art and culture. The exhibit reaches from Wien Museum MUSA to over a dozen locations across the city. Structured around a series of themes, these "walkable objects" are accessible temporarily, revealing Red Vienna's rich architectural heritage - the built utopia that has become part of Vienna's urban landscape