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| "Flak towers" |
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| Vienna anti-aircraft towers |
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| Image: flak tower, Arenbergpark |
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| The Vienna anti-aircraft towers are six high defence
and protection structures made from reinforced concrete. They were built
in the years 1942 until 1945 as air-raid protection and had rigged up
anti-aircraft guns and fire control devices. The architect of the flak
towers was Friedrich Tamms (1904-1980). |
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Image: terrace of the flak tower in Arenbergpark |
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| The Vienna system of anti-aircraft towers consists of
six buildings, three turrets, each of them with one fire control tower.
The three bunker pairs are arranged in a triangle, whose centre
approximates St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The towers are different in
height, yet each of the upper platforms is at the exact same sea level,
enabling a complete coordination of air raid defences. The maximum
deployable radius of the four main guns (12.8cm twin) of each tower
under ideal conditions amounted to 20km. The smaller platforms of the
gun and fire control towers were designated for 2cm anti-aircraft guns,
but they were never used in Vienna. Apart from the military forces the
flak towers in Vienna served as provisional hospitals, housed radio
stations and partly strategic technical undertakings. They also provided
a large facility of air-raid shelters for the population. After the war,
the Red Army attempted demolition of the gun tower Augarten, however,
removal of the towers failed due to the proximity of residential
buildings. Nowadays, a removal of the towers would be easy, but in the
meantime all six of the buildings are under a law protecting monuments.
Yet the only decree in existence is that for the two flak towers in the
Augarten dating from 5 April 2000 (GZ 39.086/2/2000). Today, the towers
are to some extent in the possession of the city of Vienna and partly a
property of the Republic of Austria. There have been several attempts to
reconstruct and utilize the flak towers. Ideas range from a warehouse
for back-ups of important data, to a coffee house or a hotel. |
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Image: flak tower, Arenbergpark – emergency stairs |
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Image: flak tower, Arenbergpark
Lift shaft left, original instruction for use of lift right |
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| Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of flak towers
in Vienna on 9 September 1942 when the battles of the Second World War
started to encroach on Vienna. What the Air Force Command had in mind
were building grounds in the Schmelz (Vienna), the Prater and
Floridsdorf. But Hitler rejected these places, since the city centre
would not have been sufficiently protected. After discussions with
Reichsstatthalter (imperial governor) Baldur von Schirach, the
definitive positions were determined. Initially, however, instead of the
Augarten, the Roßauer Kaserne was under debate. It was crucial in the
selection of locations that the land was readily available and there
were prospects for rail connections. The plan envisaged that after the
victorious end of the war, the flak towers would be clad in marble and
dedicated as a memorial to German soldiers killed in action. Friedrich
Tamms was responsible for the planning of all the flak towers. In Vienna
he was represented by Anton Ruschitzka and the position of construction
management was held by Franz Fuhrmann of the Viennese building
authority. Military Leader Major Wimberger, however, did not have
operational staff available. The organisation Todt was in charge of the
procurement of materials. |
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| Image: flak
tower, Arenbergpark |
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Image: flak
tower, Arenbergpark |
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| The companies Philipp Holzmann and Gottlieb Tesch
were commissioned with the construction of the flak towers, while
smaller businesses were involved through working groups. Since the
availability of local employees continuously diminished due to
enlistment, more and more prisoners of war, foreign and forced labourers
were employed in the labour as the war continued. Cement was delivered
for the main part from Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge and to a lesser
extent from Rodaun. The gravel came from the quarries Padlesak in
Felixdorf and Gustav Haager at Heidfeld by the Preßburger track, which
was in the region of the present-day Vienna International Airport. Sand
was delivered on vessels on the Danube Canal, for which the United
Construction Supply Factory (Vereinigte Baustoffwerke AG) built sand
silos in the area of the Weißengerberlände. A connecting track of the
tram system through the Drorygasse existed in that area since 1918.
Although it was shut down in 1925, it was reconstructed in 1941 and
extended by two tracks in the following year after the construction of
another silo. For the waste material arising from the excavations of the
foundations, a disposal site was laid out at the Kratochwjlestraße (then
Weissenbachstraße) in the 22nd district, which likewise received a tram
connection. |
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