The Sewers of Vienna

 

Vienna's illustrious sewers, made famous by the movie "The Third Man", are emblematic of the city's underworld. Just as in New York, the Viennese sewer system was initially constructed in response to a severe cholera epidemic, which ravaged the city in the early 1830's.

Along the banks of the river Wien, which (like so many of us) had eventually been diverted into a subterranean bed, a labyrinth of sewer canals was constructed.

These canals are still very much in use today. They are accessible from the river banks by means of overflow tunnels, many of which are locked by iron gates. The photo above was taken from the inside of a larger such tunnel, facing the river and the opposite side of its enclosure beyond. And no, the white crap on the open gate is not padding designed to protect the mentally ill, or anything similarly innocuous.

How old the layers of toilet paper are that grace the rungs, gates, railings, and anything else standing still for too long, is anyone's guess. Visitors, at any rate, are advised to bring gloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our colleague Peter Ryborz regularly gives tours of Vienna's seedy underworld, during which he gets to (legally) shoot guns and set off fireworks. His enviable set of keys allows one to instantly vanish from the streets in the style of Orson Welles.

For more information, visit his website and read his (German language) book, Unter Wien.

 

 

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