Along the Danube Canal: Urania to Otto Wagner's weir: a walk in Vienna

The walk follows the canal north-west from the Urania observatory past the former Gestapo headquarters site, Otto Wagner's tiled lock house and the Ringturm, under the walls of the Rossauer barracks, to Hundertwasser's incinerator at Spittelau, and on to Wagner's bridge-weir where the canal leaves the Danube.

Best time: Any dry day; start near U1/U4 Schwedenplatz and finish at U4/U6 Spittelau, or after the weir take tram D from Nussdorf.

The route, stop by stop

1
Urania
Uraniastraße 1. Public education house by Otto Wagner's pupil Max Fabiani, opened 6 June 1910, for popular-science lectures; until 1938 its third floor held the central clock that gave the time signal to every telephone subscriber in Vienna. 10 min
2
Morzinplatz
No. 4 was the Hotel Métropole, from 1938 the Gestapo headquarters and prison (memorial plaque). In the green space stands Leopold Grausam's memorial to the victims of fascism; until the 16th century a Danube arm met the canal here and the bank served as the city's landing place. 10 min
3
Otto Wagner Schützenhaus
Obere Donaustraße 26, on the left bank opposite Schottenring. Built 1904-1908 by Otto Wagner as part of the planned 'Kaiserbad' lock; the lock was never built, so the sluice house never worked. Cobalt-blue tiles with wave ornaments cover the façade. It now holds the restaurant Otto Wagner Schützenhaus. 10 min
4
Ringturm
Schottenring 30. Erich Boltenstern's 23-storey office tower (1953-1955) for the Wiener Städtische insurance, closing the end of the Ringstraße. The light mast on top, 20 m above the roof, shows the weather forecast in coloured light signals from the national weather service. 5 min
5
Rossauer Kaserne
Rossauer Lände 1. A fortress-like brick 'defensive barracks' (1865-1869), 270 m long with about 1,300 windows and crenellated towers, built after the 1848 revolution to control the city; it was part of a planned ring of barracks between the centre and the suburbs. 10 min
6
Spittelau Incineration Plant (Hundertwasser)
Spittelauer Lände 45. The 1966-1971 waste incinerator and district-heating plant got Friedensreich Hundertwasser's façades and chimney after a 1987 fire; the 113-tonne steel ball was hoisted on 16 July 1991 and has shone with 1,250 lights since 1993. Its first heat customers were the AKH general hospital, two public baths and housing. 10 min
A working waste-to-energy plant that heats part of the city, wrapped by Friedensreich Hundertwasser after a fire in 1987: coloured tiles, onion forms and a 113-tonne golden steel…
7
Schemerlbrücke and Nussdorf weir
Vienna's northernmost canal bridge, where the Donaukanal leaves the Danube, built 1894-1899 to Otto Wagner's design. Its weir panels can be lowered into the water to control the flow into the canal, with a lock next to it; the two bronze lions are by Rudolf Weyr (Gräf & Stift took the lion as its logo). 15 min

Walking directions

Along the Danube Canal: Urania to Otto Wagner's weir

The route, stop by stop

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