Vienna Photos: Rossauer Kaserne (Former Barracks)

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Following the attempted revolution of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I resigned and Emperor Franz Joseph I became the new ruler over the Habsburg lands. The following years, the reactionary young man at the top of Central Europe started to fortify the city centre of Vienna - not against external forces, but against the enemy from inside, aka his subjects with a democratic mindset.

He had three massive barracks built around the city centre: The Arsenal became home to the artillery and conveniently situated on a hill just outside the city walls. From there, they were in an ideal position to bombard the city centre. The second barrack was the Stiftskaserne at the Mariahilferstraße, the third one the Rossauerkaserne. The latter one can be seen in the picture above; it housed 4000 men and 390 horses.

There is the popular anecdote in Vienna that the architect of the Rossauerkaserne forgot to include toilets. They had to be built in after the opening and the architect was so embarrassed about this faux pas that he committed suicide. The story is not true, read the main article on the Rossauerkaserne for the ugly truth. The memorial on the picture is the Deutschmeisterdenkmal, which is said to be an important source of inspiration for the Soviet Army Memorial on Schwarzenbergplatz.