Karl Marx Hof

Karl-Marx-Hof is one of the most popular Gemeindebauten (municipal tenement complex) in Vienna. It is located in Heiligenstadt, a neighborhood at the 19th district of Vienna – Dobling.




Karl-Marx-Hof was built on a land that had been under the Danube water, which was deep enough for large ships to travel over the area until the 12th century. By 1750, the water remained at Karl-Marx-Hof was a pool of water, which was ordered to be drained by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. It was then replaced by gardens, but were removed by mid-1920s to make room for the development of the third-largest housing project in Vienna. This program was undertaken by Vienna’s social democrats and financed by a special type of tax named after councilor Hugo Breitner. The project commissioned renowned architects from Vienna and from other parts of the world.


City planner, Karl Ehn, developed Karl-Marx-Hof around 1927 and 1930. It boasts 1,382 apartments with a floor measurement of 30 to 60 square meters each. These apartments were called “Ringstraße des Proletariats” (the Ring Street of the Proletariat). With a total land area of 1,000 meters, only 156,000 square meters or 18.5% of the land were developed as apartments, the remaining area was built into playgrounds and breathtaking gardens.











The Karl-Marx-Hof was designed for 5,000 people with dozens of amenities, including baths, Laundromats, library, doctors’ clinics, business offices and kindergartens. While the color range used in the Karl-Marx-Hof’s theme was not pastellic, the design of the building is referred to as “quite an experience both socially and aesthetically”. Until now, the City of Vienne still uses the same housing philosophy.


Karl-Marx-Hof was a popular site during February Uprising (Februaraufstand) of the 1934 Austrian Civil war. Anyone who participated in this well-known revolt barricaded themselves inside the Karl-Marx-Hof and were forced to surrender after the police, the Austrofascist paramilitary Heimwehr and the Austrian military bombarded the buildings regardless of unarmed residents. During the Anschluss, Karl-Marx-Hof was renamed as “Heiligenstadter Hof”, but was soon renamed back to its original name in 1945.


In the 1950’s, the Karl-Marx-Hof was repaired after heavy artillery damage. It was refurbished around 1989 and 1992. Today, the City of Vienna continues to use its housing philosophy, except a brutal design phase in the 1970s having returned to inventing concepts. Karl-Marx-Hof remains the longest single residential building in the world with a total of 1,100 meters and spanning four tram stops.