Wiener Stadthalle Hall:
Vienna′s biggest concert Venue

The Wiener Stadthalle („Vienna City Hall") is an event and concert venue near the Westbahnhof in the district of Fünfhaus. It is situated right by the Gürtel Road and owned by the City of Vienna through the company Wien Holding. It is one of the most important event and concert venues in Austria. The Wiener Stadthalle was built between 1955 and 1958 according to plans by the architect Roland Rainer. To cover its rather bleak appearance, there were several attempts being made to "enhance" the building through the use of artwork - including some by Wander Bertoni and Fritz Wotruba.

In the 1960ies, the main purpose of the Wiener Stadthalle was to serve as a studio for movie productions. Many music movies, westerns and other rather trivial Austrian movies were shot primarily in the Wiener Stadthalle. The idea was to use the Wiener Stadthalle to stimulate the Austrian film industry - however, apart from the first movie "Unsere tollen Tanten" from 1961, all movies failed. As a result, the Wiener Stadthalle was made the event venue it is today after 1966.

The Wiener Stadthalle actually consists of several halls, of which the biggest has an outlay of 100 by 100 metres. It can hold up to 16,000 people. Depending on the event, the Stadthalle hall is arranged and adapted: Sport competitions such as the Stadthallenturnier tournament, conventions, rock and pop concerts and the world championship in ice hockey in 1996 and 2005. The Wiener Stadthalle has served as a venue for a variety of occasions.

Stadthalle as Vienna′s Prime Concert Venue

Reading the list of artists that have performed in the Wiener Stadthalle is like reading a who-is-who of contemporary entertainment music: The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Queen, Falco, Louis Armstrong, Liza Minelli, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bob Dylan, U2, Santana, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears (sadly), Michael Jackson, Robbie Willians, Mariah Carey, Christina Aquilera, Shakira, Rammstein, Franz Ferdinand, Pearl Jam, Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police, Marilyn Manson - and many other internationally known bands and singers.

In 2006, a new hall was opened: Hall F that seats 2,500 people and is used for touring theatre and music performances at a smaller scale. Underneath the Wiener Stadthalle, you find a parking lot with space for 750 cars. One of the best-known events that are held in the Wiener Stadthalle is the "BA-CA Tennis Trophy", an annual tennis competition that attracts tennis enthusiasts from all of Austria. Comes in handy that the Wiener Stadthalle is so close to the Westbahnhof on occasions like that.

A Walk around the Stadthalle & Nearby Attractions

In the entrance area of the VIP lounge, very important people can see a gobline "The World and Man", designed by Herbert Boeckl, one of the few Austrian expressionists worth being known, yet mostly forgotten nonetheless. It was made in 1958 and presented at the World Exhibition of Brussels in that very year.

The company manages the Wiener Stadthalle also takes care of several other event venues that belong to the city of Vienna: The Ernst-Happel-Stadium, the Hanappi-Stadium, the spa of Kurhalle Oberlaa and a couple of other sport venues. It generates about 55 million Euros in income for Vienna every year and is said to be the biggest event company in Europe.

The Wiener Stadthalle only has about 1.2 million visitors a year. Attractions nearby include the Westbahnhof and the Mariahilferstraße shopping lane; the Raimundtheater; the Church Maria vom Siege; and the Stadtbücherei - the public library of Vienna.

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Vienna by District

District Overview - 1st (Innere Stadt) - 2nd (Leopoldstadt) - 3rd (Landstraße) - 4th (Wieden) - 5th (Margareten)- 6th (Mariahilf) - 7th (Neubau) - 8th (Josefstadt) - 9th (Alsergrund) - 10th (Favoriten) - 11th (Simmering) - 12th (Meidling) - 13th (Hietzing) - 14th (Penzing) - 15th (Fünfhaus) - 16th (Ottakring) - 17th (Hernals) - 18th (Währing) - 19th (Döbling) - 20th (Brigittenau) - 21st (Floridsdorf) - 22nd (Donaustadt) - 23rd (Liesing) -  Ringstraße - Surroundings

Further Reading

Official Website of the Wiener Stadthalle

Wikipedia on the Wiener Stadthalle



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