Von der Lehmgrube zum Erholungsgebiet // From the clay pit to the recreation area

The "Wienerberg"

Where today the protected recreation area of the Wienerberg extends over 17 hectares, a sea covered the entire Vienna basin about 15 million years ago.

The terraced landscape in the south of Vienna was created during the ice ages, when layers of gravel, clay and sand were deposited on the loamy subsoil by the Danube.

Development of the brick industry

The loamy deposits left behind by the sea from the Jungtertiary period were already used by the Romans to make bricks around 2000 years ago.

Empress Maria Theresia founded the first state-owned brickworks on Wienerberg in 1775, which was taken over 45 years later by Alois Miesbach. He led the Wienerberger Ziegelwerke to the largest company in Europe at that time.

That bricks were an important building material in the 19th century can still be seen today in buildings such as the Semmeringbahn or the former gas tanks (Gasometer). Workers' flats and social facilities were also built with bricks from Wienerberg.

The Arsenal, an extensive military building complex, was built with 17 million bricks alone.

The workers in the Wienerberger brick factories came mainly from Bohemia and Moravia, which earned them the nickname "Ziegelbehm". The exploitation of the labour force, denounced by Victor Adler, and the social problems occured mainly after the death of Miesbach. Because after the company went public in 1869, profit maximization was the order of the day. Today, Wienerberger AG is one of the largest brick producers in the world.

From rubbish dump ...

In the 1960s, clay mining became unprofitable and the brickworks were closed. Waste and rubble were already disposed of in the mines during mining. After the Second World War, the Wienerberg served as a deposit for the rubble of destroyed houses.

Over time, the area was reconquered by nature. A so-called "Gstättn" was created, a wild, uncultivated landscape.

... to the recreation area

After the landfill had been rehabilitated, planning and redesign of the Wienerberg began in the 1980s. Flora and fauna were to be preserved, a varied landscape with meadows, bushes and trees was to be created, and the view of the Vienna Basin was to be guaranteed.

The reed belts around the artificial ponds offer ideal nesting possibilities for the reed sparrow, the bittern or the reed warbler.

Playgrounds, sunbathing lawns and an extensive network of paths offer fun and recreation for young and old.

The 11 hectare Wienerbergteich (pond) is used as a natural bathing place and is also a habitat for mallards, moorhens and great crested grebes.

At the foot of the Wienerberg, a cosy inn invites you to take a break.

At the top, at the other end of the Wienerberg, its landmark, the Wasserturm (water tower), is located.