A school now stands where healing once thrived. This is the Ehemaliges Orthopädisches Krankenhaus Gersthof. It’s a transformation story. A story of brick and mortar. Of lives lived and lessons learned.
The Ehemaliges Orthopädisches Krankenhaus Gersthof wasn’t always a place of education. It began life in 1926. It opened as a maternity hospital for Vienna’s merchants. A grand building designed by Alfred Mautner and Johann Rothmüller. Its architecture blends late Art Nouveau Art Deco and Expressionism. Think of the Wiener Amalienbad. The style is similar. It’s truly magnificent.
The Barmherzige Brüder acquired the building later. They ran it as the St Augustinus Hospital. Vienna’s city council then took over in 1940. It served briefly as a military hospital during World War II. Before the war’s end it resumed its role as a maternity hospital.
A decline in births changed its destiny. In 1972 the university’s orthopedics department received beds here. By 1975 the hospital had its own orthopedics department. The gynecological section closed. The name changed to the Orthopädisches Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien-Gersthof. It gained an international reputation for orthopedics.
It served as a hospital until May 31 2019. Its orthopedic and trauma departments moved to the new Krankenhaus Nord in Floridsdorf. The building stood empty. But not for long.
Since 2020 the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft has been renovating it. It will become a school. This magnificent building is being carefully restored. The facade and many interior features are being preserved. Twenty-one classrooms are being created. There will also be creative spaces and a multi-purpose hall where surgery once took place.
The Ehemaliges Orthopädisches Krankenhaus Gersthof’s future is bright. It’s a testament to adaptation. A grand old building is being given new life. It promises a future filled with the sounds of learning not the quiet of a deserted hospital. It’s a story of change a transition. But the legacy of the Ehemaliges Orthopädisches Krankenhaus Gersthof lives on. In its stones. In its spirit. In the minds of all who once walked its halls.