Rotunde
Encyclopedia
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
was a building erected for the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
]The Weltausstellung 1873 Wien was the large World exposition was held in 1873 in the Austria–Hungarian capital of Vienna. Its motto was Kultur und Erziehung ....
(the Vienna World Fair
World fair
World Fair can refer to:* Expo , a large public exhibition* This World Fair, an American rock band...
of 1873).
The building was a partially covered circular steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
construction, 84 m (approx. 275 ft) in height and 108 m (approx. 354 ft) in diameter. It was designed by Austrian architect Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer
Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer
Baron Karl von Hasenauer was an important Austrian architect and key representative of the Historismus school....
and built by the German company Johann Caspar Harkort of Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
. While heavily criticized by professionals, the central building of the World Fair was accepted enthusiastically by the public.
It was used for shows and fairs later on. Alexander Girardi
Alexander Girardi
Alexander Girardi was an Austrian] actor and tenor singer in operettas.- Career :Girardi was born in Graz; his father was the locksmith Andreas Girardi who had migrated to Graz from Cortina d'Ampezzo. Following the early death of his father, Alexander Girardi was raised by his stepfather who put...
performed a concert in this hall. In 1898 a "Collektivausstellung österreichischer Automobilbauer" (Collective Exhibition of Austrian Carbuilders) was shown during the "Kaiser Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
Jubiläumsausstellung" (Emperor Franz Joseph Jubilee-Exhibition). The first four cars ever built in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
were shown there, amongst them the car built by Siegfried Marcus
Siegfried Marcus
Siegfried Samuel Marcus was a German-born Austrian inventor and automobile pioneer.Marcus was born in Malchin in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He moved to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, in 1852....
in 1888/89.
The Rotunde burned down in 1937. Its former location is now occupied by a portal of the Vienna International Fair.
Coordinates for Google Earth users:
48° 12′ 44″ N,
16° 24′ 34″ O