A bustling pedestrian zone it is. That’s Meidlinger Hauptstraße for you. Vienna’s 12th district Meidling boasts this main shopping street. It’s largely a pedestrian zone now a vibrant hub.
Imagine Meidlinger Hauptstraße in the 18th century. A simple Hauptstraße it was then. Nearby stood both a church and a school. Meidling was then a Vienna suburb. Its incorporation into Vienna in 1892 changed everything. The street quickly became the main shopping street. To avoid confusion with other Hauptstraßen 1905 saw an official name change. It became Meidlinger Hauptstraße.
Before 1936 a building called the Paterhaus stood where the Meidlinger Platzl is now. It jutted out. Authorities deemed it a traffic obstruction. Down it came.
Horse-drawn trams ran along Meidlinger Hauptstraße from 1884. They travelled from the Mariahilfer Gürtel in the north. Their southern terminus was at Eichenstraße. A steam tram to Wiener Neudorf started there in 1886. This was a precursor to the Wien-Baden local railway. Electrification of the tram line through Meidlinger Hauptstraße happened in 1903. The route remained the same. Tram line 8 ran along Meidlinger Hauptstraße from 1907. It continued until 1989. Even then it ran through the newly created pedestrian zone. Its removal caused considerable public outcry. The U6 line extension to Philadelphiabrücke was the reason.
The pedestrian zone’s completion was in 1994. Boris Podrecca designed the Meidlinger Platzl. Since 1898 the Viennese steam city railway has operated at the street’s northern end. It became the Viennese electric city railway in 1925. It was integrated into the Viennese U-Bahn in the early 1980s. The Südbahn has run at the street’s southern end since 1841. Tram line 62 to Lainz has used the Philadelphiabrücke since 1907. Electrification happened in 1910.
Notable buildings line Meidlinger Hauptstraße. The Magistratisches Bezirksamt is at number 2. A baroque votive column stands before number 3. The Müller-Fembeck-Hof is at number 5. A memorial plaque to Josef Müller-Fembeck is there. He founded the Meidling Workers’ Association. The August-Fürst-Hof is at numbers 8-10. Majolica pictures by Leopold Schmid adorn it. They depict the coats of arms of former municipalities. These were merged into the 12th district in 1892.
A ceramic mosaic by Rothraut Brauneis is on the building at numbers 12-14. The building at numbers 16-18 dates from 1935. Ernst Epstein built it. It replaced a projecting building. The site of the first Meidling school is at number 17. It operated from 1753 to 1862. A memorial plaque to Norbert Futterweit is at number 19. He was a Jewish jeweller. He and a passerby were victims of a Nazi bomb attack in 1933. The Füchselhof was at number 26. It’s mentioned as early as 1442. Mosaics are on the building at number 79. They include the Philadelphia locomotive. It names the bridge over the Südbahn.
Meidlinger Hauptstraße is more than just shops. It’s a meeting place for people who want to enjoy the district’s atmosphere. The 2018 renovation included a pedestrian zone. New paving lighting and seating make it attractive. Free Wi-Fi adds to its appeal. Many restaurants and cafes provide culinary variety. The nearby Meidlinger market adds to its charm.
The Meidlinger Hauptstraße. A journey through time and a vibrant Viennese street.