The colourful façade and extraordinary interior of the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna's Kegelgasse was designed entirely by the famous artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
The Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna's third district is one of our top 10 sights in Vienna and probably the most visited residential building in Austria. Visitors from all over the world flock to Kegelgasse in the centre of Vienna to marvel at the colourful building.
As with the design of the Wiener Fernwärme and the KUNST HAUS WIEN, the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser has immortalised himself here.
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PICTURES: Hundertwasser House in Vienna
Photo gallery: Hundertwasser House in Vienna
Creation of the Hundertwasser House
The Hundertwasserhaus was built between 1983 and 1985 in collaboration with the Austrian architect Josef Krawina. At the time, the city gave the two creative minds a completely free hand.
In 1981, however, Krawina dropped out of the project due to disagreements over the façade design, and from then on Hundertwasser received support from the architect Peter Pelikan.
The result is impressive and is internationally renowned today. Hundertwasser himself is said to have said about his work in 1986: "This house is my soul!
Typical Hundertwasser: Even the floor is crooked
Even from a distance, the curved lines, the colourful façade and the colourfully framed windows of the Hundertwasser House catch the eye. Inside, too, there are hardly any straight lines; the floors in the corridors have unevenness and sloping surfaces. All characteristics that immediately bring the famous artist to mind.
Did you know? The façade of the Hundertwasser House was not one hundred percent the result of the artist's creative spirit, because each inhabitant of the house is allowed to decorate the outer wall of their windows themselves with the most vivid colours and shapes.
"Horizontal surfaces belong to nature"
Another feature of Hundertwasser's works is the greening of horizontal surfaces without exception, because in his opinion man should take as little space away from nature as possible. And so the "House for People and Trees" is not only a feast for the eyes, but also functions as a green oasis in the middle of the city with over 200 trees and shrubs on balconies and roof terraces.
Visit to the Hundertwasser House
Out of consideration for the residents, the Hundertwasser House can only be visited from the outside. On the ground floor is the Viennese coffee house "Kunst und Café" (Art and Café), where Hundertwasser guides visitors through his work in a video. Directly opposite is the entrance to the Hundertwasser Village.
Tip: If you want to learn more about the artist and his works, you should visit KUNST HAUS WIEN, which is only a few hundred metres away. This was also designed by Hundertwasser and also contains a permanent Hundertwasser exhibition.
Hundertwasser Village
Since the stream of visitors to the Hundertwasser House did not want to stop, the call for a corresponding tourist infrastructure gradually became louder. This was to be met by the Hundertwasser Village, which was opened on 17 June 1991.
The "Village bei Hundertwasserhaus" also originated from the ideas of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and was created in 1990 and 1991 in a former tyre workshop. Here, too, a veritable forest thrives on the roof, which with 30 trees, some of which are 15 metres high, provides a habitat for many animals in Vienna's inner city.
The interior of the Hundertwasser Village with its winding corridors is reminiscent of an oriental bazaar. With free admission, it invites visitors to discover the interior design of a building conceived by Hundertwasser.
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