Join us for a visit to one of the most fascinating Bezirksmuseums in Vienna. The Mariahilf or the 6th Bezirk tells the history of the marginalised in Vienna.

At the centre of the Mariahilf district museum you will see a nine-square-meter model of Magdalenengrund, Vienna's poorest district around 1900. The museum also highlights life in Mariahilf such as traditional trade, the Naschmarkt, the Theater an der Wien and a particular area of special skills in Mariahilf, the technique of stained glass painting, unique in Austria.
The museum is located in the former headquarters of the Vienna Workers' Health Insurance, built in 1914 as the last Art Nouveau building in Vienna.
The Magdalenengrund settlement was only established at the beginning of the 18th century replacing the previous vineyards. The district was also called "Ratzenstadel" after the Raizen, poor Serbs who lived there. The name refers to the poor hygienic conditions, which are also reflected in the legend of the "Pied Piper of Magdalenengrund" - the legend coinciding with that of the "Pied Piper of Hammeln" from Lower Saxony.
Mariahilfer Straße was a Roman road and a traditional connection from Vienna to the west. But it was the Naschmarkt with its wholesale market that shaped Magdalenengrund. The district was characterised by its numerous baths - actually more like showers and therefore disrespectfully referred to as "drip baths", such as the municipal public bath, the Karolinenbad, the Esterhazybad and others. In addition, restaurants and service industries supplying the market flourished. Among these were also those that the gay community frequented - until the Nazis closed them all.
As a counterweight to the dirt and lust in the Bezirk, Gumpendorf was originally a small village going back to the 11th century. You can still see country houses and summer residences of the nobility in the area.
There is no loo, shop or café in the museum, so you might wish to walk up to Mariahilfer Straße for a glass of bubbly after your visit - or perhaps to one of the remaining gay spots...
You will find the exhibition room on the mezzanine and this is why the museum is not freely accessible. The narrow lift is only available after a dozen steps up from the entrance.
Bezirksmuseum 6. Mariahilf
Mollardgasse 8, 1060 Wien
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