Karl-Marx-Hof: Landmark of Red Vienna

In Vienna's 19th district, Heiligenstadt, one of Europe's best known examples of social housing stretches for 1.2 kilometres. The Karl-Marx-Hof was built between 1927 and 1930 to designs by Karl Ehn, a student of Otto Wagner, and ranks among the longest continuous residential buildings in the world.

A City Within the City

The building was part of the social democratic "Red Vienna" project, which aimed to provide quality housing for working class families. With more than 1,300 apartments for around 5,000 residents, the complex originally included laundries, bathhouses, a kindergarten, a library and shops, letting residents meet their daily needs on site.

Architecture With History

Its monumental archways and sprawling, green courtyards stand out, built from more than 24 million bricks. During the Austrian Civil War in February 1934, the complex served as a refuge for insurgents and survived heavy shelling. Today, a permanent exhibition on the history of Red Vienna is housed in Laundry No. 2, and the site is reached via the U4 subway line to Heiligenstadt.