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I was born in Vienna, lived there for 30 years. The article summarizes a bunch of complex topics, but the summary is - end of an empire. Vienna today is the se

I was born in Vienna, lived there for 30 years. The article summarizes a bunch of complex topics, but the summary is - end of an empire. Vienna today is the second largest German-speaking city, a nearly 2mil entity in an 8mil country. Everything is oversized for its new host, it is meant to run an empire, but yet only has a tiny sliver. This sense of loss, mourning, permeates. A bit like the character of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, caught in the past, a grande dame, crazy yet irrestible. Billy Wilder grew up in Vienna of course.

masswerk 8y ago
There was also a generational dynamic: The 19th century saw the rise of a founder generation, who pretty much defined bourgeoisie in Austria. This also gave rise to a variety of literary, artistic minded and intellectual salons, which provided in turn a chance for artists, literates, etc to shine. The next generation, the founders' offsprings growing up in this kind of environment, was naturally oriented towards these ideals, but, at the same time, with a need to revolt against this bourgeois environment of the salons of their mothers. If not artists and/or intellectuals in their own right, they provided for a solid landscape of eager and potent patrons. (Wittgenstein, who donated his share of the heritage of a major steal empire to a magazine, the Brenner, to be forwarded to artists of the choice of the editor, may serve as an example.) However, there was also a need to revolt against the last revolt, which had become the bourgeoisie's darling since. E.g., the Secession was revolting against a prior revolt, the Künstlerhaus. "Jung Wien" (young Vienna), a literary movement populated by the first generation of offsprings of the bourgeois salons, became soon the target of the next cohort of intellectuals like Karl Kraus, and so on. A dynamic, always enforced by – and in turn reinforcing – the genuine Viennese angst of anybody gaining recognition too easily.
bane 8y ago
We spent a couple weeks touring the old empire last year. My wife and I were really stunned at how much we really enjoyed Vienna, where we stayed a good week. We stayed a ways out from the city at an AirBnB and just sort of enjoyed "living" there. We found it beautiful, safe, pleasant people. The remains of the old empire are of course stunning, but the rest of the city itself was wonderful. Easily one of our favorite cities in Europe. We also found it interesting how entirely different it is, despite the similar language, from Germany -- which we've been to almost half a dozen times and have never really quite taken to (no offense meant to any Germans).
- sibeliuss 8y ago
  Visited Vienna for the first time in 2016 and was equally stunned!

masswerk 8y ago

There was also a generational dynamic: The 19th century saw the rise of a founder generation, who pretty much defined bourgeoisie in Austria. This also gave rise to a variety of literary, artistic minded and intellectual salons, which provided in turn a chance for artists, literates, etc to shine. The next generation, the founders' offsprings growing up in this kind of environment, was naturally oriented towards these ideals, but, at the same time, with a need to revolt against this bourgeois environment of the salons of their mothers. If not artists and/or intellectuals in their own right, they provided for a solid landscape of eager and potent patrons. (Wittgenstein, who donated his share of the heritage of a major steal empire to a magazine, the Brenner, to be forwarded to artists of the choice of the editor, may serve as an example.) However, there was also a need to revolt against the last revolt, which had become the bourgeoisie's darling since. E.g., the Secession was revolting against a prior revolt, the Künstlerhaus. "Jung Wien" (young Vienna), a literary movement populated by the first generation of offsprings of the bourgeois salons, became soon the target of the next cohort of intellectuals like Karl Kraus, and so on. A dynamic, always enforced by – and in turn reinforcing – the genuine Viennese angst of anybody gaining recognition too easily.

bane 8y ago

We spent a couple weeks touring the old empire last year. My wife and I were really stunned at how much we really enjoyed Vienna, where we stayed a good week. We stayed a ways out from the city at an AirBnB and just sort of enjoyed "living" there. We found it beautiful, safe, pleasant people. The remains of the old empire are of course stunning, but the rest of the city itself was wonderful. Easily one of our favorite cities in Europe. We also found it interesting how entirely different it is, despite the similar language, from Germany -- which we've been to almost half a dozen times and have never really quite taken to (no offense meant to any Germans).

sibeliuss 8y ago
Visited Vienna for the first time in 2016 and was equally stunned!