Urban land for a growing city at the banks of a moving river: Vienna’s spread into the Danube island Unterer Werd from the late 17th to the beginning of the 20th century created by Gertrud Haidvogl • Marianna Guthyne-Horvath • Sylvia Gierlinger • Severin Hohensinner • Christoph Sonnlechner

In the relation between urban development and the Viennese Danube different
periods can be identified from the late 17th to the early 20th century. These periods were
strongly intertwined with both the history of the river and the history of the city. Urban
expansion into the floodplains is demonstrated in this paper by investigating the island Unterer
Werd, next to the city centre. In the late 17th century the fluvial dynamic still hampered urban
development on the island. First measures to stabilise the river banks and to protect buildings
from floods were taken soon thereafter, but the majority of practices aimed at mitigating the
risks and impacts of the frequent floods: inundation was a part of the arrangement and the main
target was to minimise the potential impacts. This practice also prevailed after the 1830s, when
urban expansion began to move into the north and northwest of the island and the Danube
floodplains were considered an important land resource for the growing city. In connection
with new technologies and available means to channelise the river, the relationship between
Vienna and the Danube changed fundamentally. Urban development in the riverine landscape
gained new momentum. This process was initiated before the Great Danube Regulation from
1870 to 1875 was completed, the rate of growth accelerated after 1875. The last decades of the
19th century mark a turning point in the urban development of Vienna, with expanding urban
areas becoming dependent upon a well functioning and maintained flood protection system.