The New Headquarters - Volksbank AG

“Neu-Wien” (New Vienna), developed into a
thriving suburb, and went on to become the preferred
construction site of the aristocracy.
The area was bordered by the „Servitenkloster“
(Servite convent) and the Jewish Cemetery (Rossauer
Judenfreithof, Seegasse 9-11, first recorded back in
1652), Liechtenstein Palace and Rossau Barracks.
Whilst the suburbs retained an air of village tranquillity
between 1815 and 1848 with their organic growth,
the building structure was completely transformed
during the Wilhelminian era. In contrast to contemporary
city expansion structures in the form of grid structures
with crowded tenements, Rossau remained immune
from these trends.
Whereas the historic block of buildings that consisted
of four houses was then crucially close to the „Börsenviertel“,
the central banking and insurance district at
the time, Rossau was primarily designed as a residential
district in the Wilhelminian era.
Jewish life in Rossau
At the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, there
was already a large influx of Jews from the East
(Poland and Russia). However, it was not until after
the compromise of 1864, which recognised Jews as
citizens with equal rights in Austria-Hungary and
granted them complete freedom of religion and belief,
that a separate Jewish settlement came into being
in Rossau. As a result of this development, the
Jewish community grew very quickly. From the
1870s, large numbers of orthodox Jews emigrated
there from the East (Galicia, Hungary and Russia).
Around 1900, the Jewish population made up more
than one-sixth of the population of the 9th district,
with the majority living in Rossau.
Building and living around
the new headquarters
Tenants in Rossau consisted of tradesmen and businessmen
(paper, timber and textile industries). Many
had migrated to “Neu-Wien” from the textile district.
Their numbers declined continuously until the First
World War. Officers, high-ranking civil servants,
“self-supporting people” and some manual workers,
mid-ranking officials and salaried employees also lived
in the Rossau district. Banking executives were to be
found as building owners as well as tenants.
Because of their proximity to the 1 st district (bound-
ary: Maria Theresienstrasse), the four houses had a
rather different landlord and tenant structure. The
tenants and owners were predominantly bankers, industrialists
and “self-supporting people”. There was a
particularly high ratio of female owners.
Members of the high nobility were less prominent
as building owners than the younger aristocracy,
for instance. Instead, the “banking aristocracy”
(bankers) became the new landowners and homeowners
to settle in “Neu-Wien”. They were looking
for close proximity to the aristocracy in order to
gain prestige.
Following the stock market crash of 1873 (“Black Friday”),
the number of construction companies fell significantly.
In the intervening period, many residential
properties acted as clubhouses as well as business
premises of banks and insurance companies, which
needed more space due to expansion measures.
HISTORY
[2] [3] [4] [5]
[2] Schwarzspanierhof
[3] Former “Fischerdörfl”
[4] Porzellangasse
[5] Jewish Cemetery
THE NEW HEADQUARTERS 9