Vienna Photos: Hundertwasser Destructor Spittelau

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The Spittelau is an area north of Vienna′s city centre. It belongs to the ninth district of Vienna and is generally associated with the university′s biology campus and the Business University (Wirtschaftsuniversität), as well as the thing on the picture above: The "Müllverbrennungsanlage Spittelau", a destructor plant that burns garbage and thereby gains energy. The plant has been there for a while, but in 1987, a fire (how ironic) severely damaged it. This was just in the era of an awakening environmental awareness, with recycling campaigns and citizen movements for national parks gaining momentum.

Matching with this spirit, the mayor of Vienna asked hippie-artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser to work out the design for the refurbished plant. It took a while to convince Hundertwasser to work "for the man", but in the end, a new icon for 1980ies Vienna - the Vienna of Falco, the Donauinselfest and the last days of the Iron Curtain - was built. I took the picture from the Friedensbrücke, a bridge over the Donaukanal - thus the green seemingly around it. In the background, you can see the Leopoldsberg hill with the little Baroque church on top.