Picture this a vast expanse of low-lying land. This is the Simmeringer Haide a significant part of Vienna’s history. It’s more than just a flat area. It’s a canvas upon which centuries of Viennese life have been painted.
The Simmeringer Haide once was largely covered by forest. This was during the Middle Ages a time long before the city’s sprawl reached this far. It served as a pasture for livestock. It even became a Turkish encampment during the 1529 siege of Vienna. Can you imagine the tents the soldiers the fear?
Later the Simmeringer Haide became a military training ground. Cannon fire echoed across the plains. The street name Schusslinie or ‘line of fire’ remains as a testament to this. A ravelin a type of fortification was even built here. The Ravelinstraße bears its name. Horse races were also held adding to the vibrant activity of the Haide.
Then came the dawn of aviation. In 1909 Vienna’s first airfield opened here on the Simmeringer Haide. Louis Blériot a famous French aviator performed daring flights before 300000 spectators. Even Emperor Franz Joseph I witnessed these incredible feats. The Etrich Taube a pioneering airplane made its first landing here after a long flight from Wiener Neustadt. The Bleriotgasse and Etrichstraße streets still commemorate these pioneering days.
Before World War II the Simmeringer Haide was a popular campsite for Roma people from various countries. After the war a dark chapter unfolded. A barracks camp housed prisoners of war and civilian internees. Later it became a subcamp of the Nazi concentration camp system. A memorial stone stands today marking this tragic part of the Haide’s history.
The Simmeringer Haide’s transformation continued with industrialization. The airfield gave way to factories and vegetable farms. Today you’ll find Vienna’s main sewage treatment plant the Simmering waste incineration plant and the main workshop of the Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe Vienna’s public transport company. Parts of the Haide are still used for vegetable cultivation reminding us of its agricultural past. The Simmeringer Haide is a complex blend of nature history and industry a unique piece of Vienna’s identity. It holds memories of war and peace innovation and hardship all woven into the landscape itself.