The first railway station here opened in 1858. It is also one of the best works of Otto Wagner. It is, as a whole, a major example of late-Historicist and early-Art Nouveau architecture in the city. The Wiener Stadtbahn, the public transportation system of Vienna, operated since 1898. The adjoining buildings and the lock are thought to be the work of Sigmund Taussig. The Schemerlbrücke is named after an Austrian official who designed the first plans to regulate the Danube in 1810. The Secessionist administration building has a roof platform that served as an observation post. It is adorned with imposing columns topped with lions made of bronze by Rudolf Meyr. Because of the prominent location of the weir, it was designed by Wagner as particularly impressive, as a gate to the city. The weir, the Schemerlbrücke and the administration building are the works of Otto Wagner. They help maintain sufficient amount of water in the canal so that ships could pass it, and they protect the canal from floods and ice. They were constructed with the purpose of transforming the Donaukanal into a winter harbour. These works of hydraulic engineering are located at the point where the Donaukanal leaves the Danube. Nussdorf weir, the Schemerlbrücke, and administration building The building is also home to Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze.Ģ. The entrance doors were designed by Georg Klimt, the gorgons above the doors are the work of Othmar Schimkowitz, and the six owls on the side façades are by Koloman Moser. It was also the title of the magazine of the movement. Under the dome there is the motto of the Secession in golden letters: ‘Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst ihre Freiheit’ (‘To every age its art, to every art its freedom.’) The other motto, ‘Ver Sacrum’ (‘Holy Spring’), is located next to the bronze entrance doors. Ever since, the white-golden colour pattern has been seen as a trademark of the Vienna Secession. The building stands out for its circular dome made of golden leaves of bronze dominating over the clean white walls. Secession means the seceding of a group of rebel artists from the long-established fine art institution. The Secession Building is an exhibition hall that was constructed as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession.

Vienna secession ear