Tribute to progress and technology | MON | 03 07 2023 | 17:55

Jul 3, 2023 at 5:55 pm

From May 1 to October 31, 1873, the whole world gathered at the Vienna Prater. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, the Vienna World Fair was held on an area of more than 230 hectares from Praterhauptallee to Nordbahnlinie, that is, from Volksprater to Lusthaus.

The result was a real exhibition city with 200 buildings as good as a machinery hall or an amateur pavilion, where innovative technologies, works of art and cultural achievements were presented. The East Wing offered a glimpse into the wonderful foreign world and, for that time, the strange world outside Europe. More than seven million spectators visited the Vienna World Exhibition and made this exhibition not only one of the most important international exhibitions of the 19th century, but also the bearer of the image of Austria as a modern and progressive country.

Lexicographer Eva Offenthaler put on a virtual exhibition about this major event of 1873 for the Austrian Academy of Sciences. On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, it once again tours the Vienna World Fair and dedicates itself to the history of this publicly effective exhibition from the first impulses onwards.