which basically correspond to the urban area inscribed on the World Heritage List.

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1 9. SUMMARY The present study reflects the express political wish of the City of Vienna that the historic center of Vienna be represented on the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. Currently it is not possible to tell when exactly the plans for Wien-Mitte will actually be implemented, given that the planning process involved is both timeconsuming and complex. In any case, building works can only start after a final solution has been found to the financial aspects of the Wien-Mitte project that are still under discussion. The present report, compiled within the very short time of two months during the summer by an interdisciplinary team, provides an analytical explanation of the origin, development and legal background of the Wien-Mitte project, and explains the architectonic reasons for the choice of site. The controversial and emotional debate on the Wien-Mitte project has certainly not come to an end by October The City of Vienna takes a genuine interest in having a dialogue with all those interested in the project during the detailed planning phase. In this context, the City of Vienna agrees to make an effort to ensure that the Wien-Mitte development project is compatible with the World Heritage site "Historic Center of Vienna". In conclusion, it should be stated in connection with this project that the City of Vienna has certainly carried out all reviews to the best of its technical knowledge. All analyses and visualizations relating to architectonics and monument protection (see section 3.3 of the present report), in particular, the visibility analysis on the basis of a 3D-urban model developed on the basis of scientific criteria, show that the visual integrity of the old historic center of Vienna is not endangered by the project. The urban development area of Wien-Mitte is located on the easternmost point of the buffer zone and is shielded off from the core area of the World Heritage site by the historic buildings on 56

2 the bank of the Wien River. Moreover, it does not impair any of the characteristic and traditional views of the historic town and none of the important lines of vision from the old city. Moreover, it must be reiterated that today the developers have a legal claim to the realization of the project. Within the legal framework and the scopes of action, neither the federal government, nor the province or municipality of Vienna can prevent the realization of the project. The lengthy authorization process of the Wien-Mitte project overlapped with the application for inscription of the historic city center on the World Heritage List. However, it must be emphasized that the project and the problems faced in this context were not concealed in the nomination papers submitted to UNESCO (p. 48). Instead, they were discussed with the evaluator Dr. Josef Stulc who was in charge of reviewing the nomination of Vienna in February of 2001, and were finally the subject of detailed discussions and thorough analysis with Dr. Jukka Jokilehto who was sent to Vienna by the office of the World Heritage Committee in November of 2001 with the specific task of appraising the project. Fig. 32: View over the historic city center of Vienna with the imperial castle in the center of the picture and the new MuseumsQuartier cultural complex, which opened in 2001, in the foreground. 57

3 For the sake of completeness, two more projects should be mentioned here, both of which are currently being planned or implemented adjacent to the Wien-Mitte development site. A new building with a maximum height of 87 meters, named "City-Tower", is being erected north of Wien- Mitte, in Marxergasse. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has been informed and is aware of this development. Secondly the present building of Hotel Hilton, 60 meters high and located south of Wien-Mitte in Landstraßer Hauptstraße, is to be modernized and adapted. The modernization will include a new façade, and due to changes to the roof structure (such as the encasing of technical superstructures) the current maximum permitted ridge height of 63.5 meters will be exceeded by approximately 1.5 metres in the new project. From the City of Vienna's perspective, the project "Adaptation of Vienna Hilton Hotel" is compatible with the World Heritage site "Historic Center of Vienna". The City of Vienna will be happy to provide any further information the UNESCO World Heritage Committee may require. * Austria has a contemporary Preservation of Monuments Act which, along with its numerous amendments, goes back to the year 1923, reflecting the great tradition and experiences with monument protection in Austria. * Since 1972 there has been, in addition to the Preservation of Monuments Act, a separate Protection Zones Act for Vienna. Both of the largest of these protection zones with a total of approx. 1,600 objects create the adjoining protection zones of the Inner City and the Ringstrasse, which basically correspond to the urban area inscribed on the World Heritage List. * In addition to the Protection Zones Act, the Vienna Old Town Conservation Fund was founded in This Fund is an exemplary institution in Europe. In renovating historically valuable buildings no matter if they are privately, state, or church owned the Fund covers the additional costs for the preservation of historically valuable buildings. Since the foundation of this Fund until the end of 2001, 3,687 objects have been supported with some 169,2 million. 58

4 Amounts in subsidy (ATS) Year Fig. 33: Diagram of subsidies provided by the Vienna Old Town Conservation Fund * Unlike many other historical cities in Europe, Vienna has been able to effectively tackle its traffic problems. Substantial parts of the Vienna City Center have been turned into pedestrian zones since Vienna s committed parking management is exemplary throughout Europe. 1 Parking cars have been completely eliminated from a number of historic squares (Franziskanerplatz, Josefsplatz, etc.) within the historic city center. * Hardly any other metropolis has an environmental quality comparable to that of Vienna. After all, almost 50% of Vienna are green areas. Fig. 34: Approx. 50% of Vienna are green areas. View from the Municipal Park (Stadtpark) towards the Baroque building of St. Charles' Church, which can be seen at the top left. With commitment and large investments the city has succeeded in considerably reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions in the past few years. The air in Vienna is continuously monitored by an area-wide emission network. Sulfur dioxide emissions, which are particularly harmful to monuments, have been drastically reduced since In 1978 the average was at 73 microgram per cubic meter. By 1999 the amount was reduced to only 7 microgram. The preservation of original substance in buildings under monument protection has thus also been considerably improved in Vienna. 1 In simplified terms, "parking management in Vienna means that only people who directly live in a district have a right to permanently park their cars in public space. However, only if they pay for it. People who do not have their permanent residence in Vienna s first district, i.e. the core zone of the World Heritage area, cannot park their cars there for more than 2 hours at once, even if they pay for it. 59

5 The Vienna City Administration has already reacted to the criticism by the World Heritage Committee and has elaborated a detailed management plan for the World Heritage which will be implemented with commitment in the next few years. The management plan will follow the recommendations of the UNESCO World Heritage Commission, and will, in particular, provide for the supervision and if necessary limitation of future large restoration projects in core and buffer zones. Furthermore, the management plan will ensure effective supervision of restoration and extension projects such as in the field of roof extensions, and will, in general, continue to improve technological possibilities to preserve historic buildings. * In recent years, Vienna has received wide international recognition with regard to old town conservation, urban redevelopment and urban renewal. For example, the Vienna Case Study on Urban Renewal and Housing Modernization was published by the UN-ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) in This study described urban renewal in Vienna as a model for other cities of the other cities of the region. Fig. 35: Austrian Tourist Poll It is significant that the internationally renowned consulting agency Mercer in its current quality of life survey of the world s leading cities particularly pronounces the high quality of life in Vienna. Vienna ranks second in the quality of life survey of 215 cities worldwide % 50 Percent % 9% 3% fully satisfied enthusiastic minor complaints a few negative sides Holiday experience 60

6 * In due time Vienna has tried to keep tourism in balance and has focused on quality rather than mass tourism. Currently, Vienna is visited by approx million tourists annually who according to a recent poll concentrate on the city's sights, image, and culture. In the thoughts of its visitors Vienna is and will remain one of the great cultural cities. To summarize, one should once again bear in mind that the historic center of Vienna has received the status of a World Heritage site as a result of a number of factors: - the urban and architectonic qualities testifying to its history, - the stock of buildings that have evolved over the course of time, from the Middle Ages, over the Baroque period to the Gründerzeit with the onset of Modernism, - Vienna s significance as the musical capital of Vienna. All of these criteria continue to be undisputed and together they contribute to Vienna rightly being viewed as part of the World Heritage site. In addition, new visualizations (visibility analysis on the basis of a 3D model of a city) show that the appearance of the historic center of Vienna is not negatively impacted by the Wien-Mitte project. Its delisting from the World Cultural Heritage List would thus certainly be unwarranted. Fig. 36: The building of the Wiener Musikverein, built to the plans of the architect Theophil Hansen. View into the Golden Hall from which the New Year s Day concert of the Viennese Philharmonic is broadcast throughout the entire world. 61