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Heritage Austria
Austria's Legacy: Heading South – The Semmering Invasion
Semmering was an insider's tip before the Viennese community started discovering it as an entertainment district. The conquest of this pre-Alpine region and its development into one of the most sophisticated and noble spas of the Habsburg Monarchy began with an enormous logistical effort. The new production of ORF III Heritage Austria showcases the people behind the rapid rise of this region and shows the fervent work behind this rise in the technical possibilities of the time. Karl Ritter von Geega planned a railway connection through the rock and valley – an unshakable prerequisite for the success of the Simmering project – and managed to open the new road in May 1854 alongside the young Emperor Franz Joseph. The architect Wilhelm von Flatsch built the massive Grand Hotel Südbahn with four hundred rooms, as did the architects Fellner and Helmer on the competing Panhans project. Newspaper magnate Viktor Silberer built the so-called “Silberer-Schlössl”, regardless of the costs, which remains a landmark of this area today.
Director: Wolfgang Winkler
Image source: ORF/Pammer Film
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