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

Abstract

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.

Floods, fights and a fluid river: the Viennese Danube in the sixteenth century

“…In the second half of the fourteenth century, a Neidecker lane and a Kremser street were identified, the former named after Neidecker Hof and the latter indicating that the way to the town of Krems traversed the Werd, a route used by traders who then took the ferry across the river (Müller 1900, p. 172-184). Urban development of Unterer Werd in the sixteenth century was still affected by the fluvial dynamic of the Danube, in particular along the bank of the Wiener arm (Haidvogl et al 2013, in this issue). Thus spatial expansion was oriented toward the northeast and east, where stable terrestrial zones existed.…”

Historic Milestones of Human River Uses and Ecological Impacts

“…It was rather common to adapt land use as much as possible to flooding, e.g., by preferences for elevated terrain and lower water depths during floods. This has been proven for arable land in the Austrian Danube floodplains in the Machland or for settlements in Vienna (see, e.g., Haidvogl 2008;Haidvogl et al 2013). Large-scale flood protection measures-often implemented in conjunction with hydropower dams and waterway improvement for shipping-resulted in hydraulic disconnection of areas that previously had been flooded regularly.…”

The long-term evolution of urban waters and their nineteenth century transformation in European cities. A comparative environmental history

“…Urban rivers in European cities have been addressed in overview articles (e.g., Schott and Toyka-Seid 2008), but long-term studies are scarce. The long-term interdependency of hydrographically induced technological change and urban development has been discussed in an early study by André Guillerme about 18 cities in Northern France between 300 and 1800 A.D. (Guillerme 1988). Schott (2007) conceptualized both the impacts of a city on its river and vice versa.…”