october-2009

PHOTO © PHOTOLIBRARY, CORBIS, ALAMY
EDINBURGH | FRANKFURT (HAHN) | LIVERPOOL | LONDON (STANSTED) | VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
Yet not all the city’s WCs are overtly
quirky. Take one of Vienna’s most ornate
restaurant toilets at Kuchlmasterei (6 Obere
Weissgerberstrasse). Its washrooms are as much
a dedication to refi nement as the outside dining
area, mimicking a Renaissance garden with
classical statues spouting water amid the plush
cubicles. Or the ladies’ toilets in The Ring hotel’s
lobby – modelled on a movie starlet’s dressing
room from Hollywood’s golden age.
Compare this more contemporary design
with the public toilet on Graben – a street that
cuts from the city’s Cathedral to the Imperial
Palace in the old town. Built in the early 1900s,
it’s all art-deco tiling and mahogany cubicles.
One street down on Platz am Hof, a public loo
is all spruced up with polished wood fi nishing
and brass taps. And over at Café Donau (10
Karl-Schweighofer-Gasse) on a trendy street
behind the Museum Quarter, the loos are
more a temple to graffi ti art than a place to
wee. In the ladies’ room you’ll fi nd a mesh of
black lines adorning the walls put there for
customers to colour in.
Taking the toilet art obsession one
step further is café Süsses Häusl (24
Leopoldauerstrasse) next to Floridsdorf station
on the U6 line. Here the chairs themselves are
shaped like toilets.
What then do Vienna’s incredible public
and private toilets tell us about the city? The
resounding message is that, for the Viennese,
even the most basic and perfunctory of human
instincts can become an excuse for creativity.
And in a city that lives and breathes art in its
very fabric, if you don’t fi nd these hallowed
lavatories a source of inspiration you may at
least fi nd them a source of relief.
FOR MORE ON VIENNA ART WEEK 09, 16 22 NOVEMBER,
VISIT WWW.VIENNAARTWEEK.AT OR WWW.AUSTRIAN.
INFO. FOR GUIDED VIENNA WALKS & TALKS, VISIT WWW.
VIENNAWALKS.COM. FOR UPMARKET ROOMS, STAY AT
THE RING (8 KAERNTNER RING, TEL: +43 (0)12 2122, WWW.
THERINGHOTEL.COM), OR FOR GREAT VALUE TRY HOLIDAY
INN (53 MARGARETENSTRASSE, TEL: +43 (0)15 8850,
WWW.VIENNA CITY.HOLIDAY INN.COM).
Roll call
Hundertwasser’s house
was a pain to mop
The art’s not bad, so why
not linger a while?
The infamous Bar Toilet
Make your own creation at
Café Donau’s graffi ti loos
VIENNA TOILETS
Cool
Random
Toilets of
Europe
Paris
Sanisettes are
the 400-strong
self-cleaning grey
Tardis-like bogs found
throughout the city.
These WCs were
once more stinky
than a Portaloo at
a rock festival, but
now councillors are
replacing them with
high-tech smart loos,
complete with piped
music, vandal-proof
mirrors and spaceage
design.
London
In 2003, Tate Britain
art gallery hosted an
outdoor toilet that
invited users to “defy
their embarrassment”.
It featured one-way
glass, meaning you
could see out but the
public couldn’t see in!
Berlin
In 2007, almost
€800,000 was
invested in the
public toilets on
Alexanderplatz.
The walls of glass,
stainless steel, and
graffiti-proof photo
art won these WCs
numerous awards.
Rothesay
Given the Scottish
penchant for a wee
dram, it‘s no surprise
their conveniences
have to be pristine.
The toilets on the
pier at Rothesay
– the Isle of Bute’s
main town – are
made of prestige
Victorian marble.
RYANAIRMAGAZINE
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