Josefstadt

(Above: great French cafe in the foreground, in the back is Piaristenkirche)

The Josefstadt, Vienna′s 8th District, is the smallest with a population of only 23,000. Its located just behind the City Hall, making this area known for university students and civil servants. Most mayors of Vienna have lived here, as does the current Federal president. Due to its proximity to the University of Vienna, Josefstadt is also the home of many students.

This is a comfortable residential area, but there are few tourist attractions. Since the Green Party appeals to both, students and nationalized Austrian citizens, Josefstadt became the second district in Austria to get a Green administration.The charming side of the Josefstadt include small cafes, bars, galleries and independent shops. There are various student dormitories in the fashionable eastern part of the Josefstadt and a large population of foreigners in the not-at-all-fashionable western part near the Gürtel road, which is Vienna′s prime red-light area.


Palais Schönborn is one of the few classic sightseeing spots in the Josefstadt (The current cardinal of Vienna is a Schönborn). The Palais is now property of the City of Vienna and serves as the "Österreichische Volkskundemuseum", a museum of folk culture. Other palaces in the Eight district are the more centrally located Palais Auersperg and the Palais Trautson, both very big and impressive palaces. On contrast, Palais Damian and Palais Strozzi are sad shells of previously splendid Baroque palaces.

Another museum is dedicated mostly to Gustav Klimt. He had his workshop in the Josefstadt and created some of his most famous paintings here.

The Piaristenkirche is a masterpiece by Lukas von HildebrandtOne with its characteristic twin-tower. Another church worth noting is the Baroque Dreifaltigkeitskirche or the bizarre Mechitaristenkirche.

Within Austria, the Josefstadt has a reputation for being a theater district. There are many backyard stages and small theaters, including the La Petite with only 19 seats. There are several Cabaret stages, including the legendary Cabaret Niedermayer. The Theater in der Josefstadt is a big player, founded in 1788 and is therefore the second-oldest theater in Vienna, after the Burgtheater. The Vienna International Theatre, has many English speaking performances.

The State of Vienna University

So far, this is what I under stand is going on with the university system in Vienna.


Education federal funding allowed for free university admission which created educational boom in the beginning of the millennium. With the increase of students, construction of new buildings and the redevelopment of old ones was needed. Study fees were introduced by the center-right coalition in 2001.

Then, with the University Act of 2002, all Austrian universities became autonomous, self-dependent and performance-orientated. As a result, the University of Vienna reorganized in 2004, making the Medical Faculty became a separate university.

Now, the University of Vienna is home to 86,000 students from 130 countries who choose from fifty four bachelors, 112 masters, five Diploma and eight PhD programs, comprising fifteen faculties and three centers at over sixty locations throughout Vienna to give 10,000 lectures at the University of Vienna a year.

Like the city, the University of Vienna orientated towards international research and teaching including the Erasmus-Socrates Program and membership in several international networks.

Meanwhile, the effects of education cuts have begun to take the toll with result from worldwide university rankings. The debate over a reintroduction of study fees at Austrian colleges and universities has intensified over the past year and will probably continue as the University of Vienna was knocked down eleven places on a British research firm’s World University Ranking, from 132 to 142. The university was given just 55.27 overall points.

The People’s Party to had tried to abolish the mandatory fees students before the 2008 general elections after the end of the grand coalition of the ÖVP with the Social Democrats. Both SPÖ and ÖVP agree that Austria’s universities need subsidies to improve the quality of offered courses, but the Social Democrats strictly rule out a comeback of fees.

ÖVP Science Minister Beatrix Karl is in favor of the idea. Karl warned in early September that several universities would need to be shut down if their budgets were not increased soon. Karl tried to persuade the SPÖ by using Socialist ideology: "Why shouldn’t the wealthier ones contribute more to the education system by paying semester fees?"

Austria invested 1.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) into higher education institutions in 2006 compared to the United States which contributes 2.9% of its GDP into universities and other higher education institutes.

Several courses like medicine, journalism and media studies, and psychology face significantly more students at institutes across Austria than they can cope with, as current laws demand entry for all students who meet the qualifications.

Thousands of students began street demonstrations earlier in the year to express their disagreement with the European Bologna Process which aims to create comparable and compatible academic degrees and quality assurance standards throughout the continent, creating a more Western Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees. Vienna University was occupied for more than two months in 2009 by hundreds of students angered by overcrowded courses and the low quality of lectures.

Without quick thinking parliamentary negotiations could leave some higher education faculties unable to reopen for a fall semester in October.