Prhistorical bathing fun: Simmering's secret canal history!

Prhistorical bathing fun: Simmering's secret canal history!

in Simmering, a district full of history, many remember the old days when the Vienna Neustädter Canal was not only a transport route, but also a unique place to swim. About 100 years ago, the residents used the over-the-work on hot summer days to get into the cool wet of the Praterau. Many children searched to cool down in the Vienna Neustädter Canal, of which the street “Am Kanal” in the 11th district is reminiscent of today. At that time, however, Baden in the canal was banned until 1930, since it originally served to transport the load, such as meinzirk.at.

Although the ban was in existence, the bad -minded could not be stopped. In his novel "Die Riviera von Simmering" (1930), the workers' poet Karl Kaniak describes how many people from the surrounding districts abuse the channel as a retreat. The children often even use load ships as trampolines. The police were not very pleased with this defiant attitude and had to intervene regularly to drive away the bathers - but that often turned out to be little successful.

The history of the channel

The Vienna Neustädter Canal, which was designed by Anton Behsel in 1816, was originally considered an artificial watercourse, which was built in 1797 and put into operation in 1803. The channel extends over 63 kilometers from Vienna to Wiener Neustadt. His main purpose was the transport of wood, bricks and coal from the southern Danube region to Vienna. The idea and the construction came on the initiative of the Vienna Neustädter coal society and were approved by Emperor Franz II. With 50 locks, the height difference of 100 meters was overcome, and the channel is now considered the third largest rivers in Vienna, such as Historywiki.wien.gv.at informed.

In the heyday of the channel, around the 1840s, over 3,700 ship loads were transported annually, which included over 58,000 m³ of wood and numerous bricks. The canal ships were able to transport up to 22 tons of loads. A horse could move as much in the water as on the street only about 1 ton. From 1879 the channel was no longer used for shipping, but served as a factory channel. In 1930 the water of the canal was finally derived into the Krottenbach and the sewer bed was finally closed in 1933.

Invitation to discover

In addition to the interesting history of the canal, the present in Simmering also comes alive. The district museum at Enkplatz 2 invites you to discover the exciting history of the channel and the aspang railway. The special exhibition not only offers information about the channel, but also presents over 3000 years old artifacts and exhibits. The exhibition runs until July 25, 2014 and is available free of charge, which is a good business for historically interested. Further information on the history of Simmerings can be found during the museum's summer break on July 4 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on July 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Interested parties can look forward to an exciting journey through the past and learn a lot about the development of the channel and the importance for the region, also thanks to the cooperation with the city archeology of Vienna, which makes a valuable contribution to this documentation, such as kipet.wordpress.com emphasized.