Die Gruft (German: "the crypt") is a charity run by the Caritas of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna in the 6th district of Vienna Mariahilf on the premises below the Church of Mariahilf (often: Barnabite Church). It opened in 1986, and is currently open 24 hours a day offering meals, shower facilities, shelters, overnight accommodation, medical and psychiatric care to people experiencing homelessness. [1]
Die Gruft was founded in 1986 by Salvatorian pastor and theologian Albert Gabriel (then pastor at the Mariahilfer Church) with the support of students from the nearby Amerling School. It originally served as a warming room for the homeless during advent. It was particularly intended to help out poor people, elderly people and orphans. They offered tea and simple hot meals for two hours daily in the former plague cemetery below the Mariahilfer Church. [2] Since October 1994, the crypt has been open 24 hours a day through the support of the Social Welfare Fund. In July 1996, Caritas Wien took over management of the institution. [3]
Free food is served three times daily, for a total of 81,897 food portions in 2007. In addition, there were 25,477 overnight stays in 2007 and 1,165 received care by social workers. Of those, about 15% were women. [4]
Half of the funding is provided by the Social Welfare Fund - around 500,000 euros in 2008 [5] - the other half by donations. In 2012, 97,285 meals were donated - more than ever before - and there were 19,453 overnight stays, slightly more than in 2011. [6]
In 2009, Caritas opened a Zweite Gruft (German: "second crypt") in Vienna's 18th district, Währing, specifically for EU foreigners. [7]
Due to an increased demand for space at the site below the Mariahilfer Church, an expansion of the crypt began on 31 August 2012. On 19 September 2013, an above-ground building for daytime care of the homeless opened. This added 450 m2 of usable space in and around the vicarage of the Barnabite Church. [8]
Mariahilf is the 6th municipal district of Vienna, Austria. It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850. Mariahilf is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings. It has a population of 31,621 within an area of 1.48 square kilometres (0.6 sq mi).
Edith Leyrer is an Austrian actress. She has worked in several theatres in Austria and Germany and is known for her cabaret work. She has also appeared in films including the 1968 television film of Robert Stolz's Wenn die kleinen Veilchen blühen.
The Raimund Theater is a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria.
Frederick Douglas Stephan "Fred" Baker was an Austrian-British filmmaker, media scholar, and archaeologist.
The Haus des Meeres is a public aquarium in Vienna, Austria. It is located in Esterhazy Park in downtown Mariahilf district, one block south of the busy Mariahilfer Straße. The Haus des Meeres houses over ten thousand aquatic beings on an area of around 4,000 square meters (43,000 sq ft) inside a tall concrete flak tower built during World War II. In 2012 the Haus des Meeres attracted a record high of 650,000 visitors. The Haus des Meeres is managed by Aqua Terra Zoo, a private non-profit organization which, according to its web site, receives only marginal financial support from municipal authorities. However, the maintenance costs for the former flak tower are paid by the taxpayer.
On 4 July 2011, Otto von Habsburg, also known as Otto of Austria, former head of the House of Habsburg and Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1922–2007) and former Crown Prince (1916–1918) and, by pretense, Emperor-King, of Austria-Hungary, died at 98 years of age.
Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae, often abbreviated as sub auspiciis doctoral graduation, is a special form of doctoral graduation and the highest possible distinction for academic achievements for a doctoral degree in Austria.
Monika Salzer is an Austrian psychotherapist, Protestant theologian and pastor, columnist, and author. She worked in hospitals handling clinical pastoral care for the seriously ill, including the education of voluntary caretakers. Later, she had a private practice as a systematic psychotherapist, helped to restructure the organisation of the Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria, was a columnist for the Kronen Zeitung, and co-founded the protest initiative Omas gegen Rechts.
Otto Schulmeister was an Austrian journalist, who was described as the doyen of Austrian journalism. He was editor-in-chief of Die Presse from 1961 to 1976 and its publisher from 1976 to 1989. He was the father of former ORF correspondent Paul Schulmeister, and economist Stephan Schulmeister. Formerly a NSDAP member, it was revealed in 2009 that he worked for the CIA from the 1960s.
The Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice is located at the Ballhausplatz in the centre of Vienna, opposite the President's office and the Austrian Chancellory. The monument was created by German conceptual artist Olaf Nicolai. The inscription atop the three-step sculpture features the poem by Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay consisting of just two words: all alone.
Sozialwerke Pfarrer Sieber (SWS) is a Swiss charitable foundation and relief organisation based the municipality of Zürich. Initiated in 1963 by Ernst Sieber, a pastor associated with the Reformierte Kirche des Kantons Zürich, the relief organisation was founded in 1988. SWS supports disadvantaged people, to help to alleviate the hardships around addiction, disease, violence and homelessness.
The award Das Goldene Brett vorm Kopf is a negative prize awarded by the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Pseudosciences. The prize is organised by the Viennese regional group, the Society for Critical Thinking. The jury considers the "most astonishing pseudo-scientific nuisance" of the year in German-speaking countries. The award was presented for the first time in 2011 during the Sceptics Conference in Vienna. In 2016, the prize was presented simultaneously for the first time in Vienna and Hamburg.
The Filial Church Hasenleiten is one of the Roman Catholic churches in Vienna's 11th district of Simmering dedicated to St. John Maria Vianney, and is a listed monument.
Erika Weinzierl was an Austrian historian, gender researcher, and historian of Nazism. A member of the Austrian People's Party and the Curatorium of the Austrian Mauthausen Committee, she was the second director of the Department of Contemporary History of the University of Vienna, succeeding Ludwig Jedlicka. Weinzierl was a recipient of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, the Preis der Stadt Wien für Geisteswissenschaften, the Benemerenti medal, and the Theodor Körner Prize.
Caritas Austria is a social aid organisation of the Roman Catholic Church and a member of Caritas Internationalis, which was founded in 1903. There are nine Dioceses in Austria. Each Diocese reports to a Caritas institution which reports to the Diocesan bishop and not to Caritas Austria.
The PEMA Holding is an Austrian real estate company. It developed several real estate projects in Austria, Germany and South Tyrol. The company with locations in Innsbruck and Vienna is owned by Markus Schafferer.
Ringturm is a prominent skyscraper in Vienna, Austria, and is the headquarters of the Vienna Insurance Group. It was built from 1953 to 1955 after a design by Erich Boltenstern at the Schottenring. The tower is 73 m (240 ft) tall, with 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft) of office space, and is the second highest building within the Vienna Ringstraße, after the Stephansdom. It is a venue for architecture exhibitions, and is known for being turned into a piece of art annually, wrapped in cloth designed by notable artists including Robert Hammerstiel, Xenia Hausner, Arnulf Rainer and Mihael Milunović.
Gerlinde Haid (born Hofer was an Austrian folk music researcher.
Eleonore Schönborn was an Austrian politician. She and her family were expelled from Czechoslovakia in 1945, settling in Austria. She became the first woman to hold a procuriate in Vorarlberg, and to be elected to the Schruns municipal council. She was director of the Montafoner Heimatmuseum, and co-founded an association for care of senior citizens at their homes. Schönborn had four children, including Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and the actor Michael Schönborn. She received awards for her work for cultural and social improvements in the region, including the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria.
Vienna, the capital of Austria, has an active LGBTQIA+ community. Vienna is considered Austria's queer capital, with several LGBTQIA+ spaces, organisations and a history of LGBTQIA+ activism going back to the late 19th century.
| People | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | |||||||||||||||||||
| Responses |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| By country |
| ||||||||||||||||||
