Living at the Arenbergpark — what is it like?
Short and honest: you live by a park in the 3rd district that the city bought and opened in 1900, with two flak towers from 1942 and 1943 inside it, bus 4A about a minute on foot away and the U3 about seven minutes on foot away. The trade-off: in the data it is less quiet here and hotter in summer than the Viennese average — and the towers are staying.
Living Snapshot — the area in numbers
The Arenbergpark is not a Grätzl of its own in Vienna Living Map’s data — what is measured is the Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl, whose centre lies about 100 metres away. Orientation for the surroundings, not a verdict on individual flats.
What shapes daily life
Before there was a park here, the grounds had noble owners: in 1785 the Esterházy family, in 1810 Archduke Charles. On 11 May 1900 the city bought them, and on 16 September 1900 the Arenbergpark opened. It did not stay whole: from 1906 to 1908 part of it was divided into plots.
In 1942 and 1943 the Nazi regime had two flak towers built in the park, flak tower pair VIII: a gun tower and a fire-control tower, finished in October 1943, designed by Friedrich Tamms. The Vienna pairs were not blown up, because that was not possible next to the residential buildings. The larger tower serves the MAK as a depot. According to ORF, both were closed in 2015: there had been no visits to the fire-control tower since 2012, and the MAK tower had not been open to the public since September 2011. A data centre called “Danube” was planned for around ten million euros; it was never built.
What works surprisingly well
Distances are short: bus 4A stops at Ziehrerplatz, about a minute on foot from the middle of the park, and the U3 station Rochusgasse is about seven minutes on foot away. For public transport the Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl reaches 9.0 out of 10. And the park has been open to everyone since 1900.
What you consciously accept
It is neither quiet nor cool here: the Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl sits below Vienna’s median for quiet at 6.0 (median 6.8) and above the average of the modelled summer-heat index at 65 (average 56).
The towers are staying: they could not be blown up next to the residential buildings, and according to ORF they could no longer be entered in 2015. They are part of the view into the park — as buildings of the Nazi regime from the war, not as scenery.
20 minutes of everyday life
Five stops, one evening after work — every observation is true exactly here, not everywhere.
- Rochusgasse 17:30
The U3 stops here, about seven minutes on foot from the middle of the park. - Arenbergpark 17:37
A public park since 16 September 1900; the city had bought the grounds in May of the same year. - The larger tower 17:40
Built in 1942/43, today a depot of the MAK. According to ORF it had not been open to the public since September 2011. - The fire-control tower 17:43
The second tower of the pair, finished in October 1943. According to ORF there had been no visits here since 2012. - Ziehrerplatz 17:47
Bus 4A stops here, about a minute on foot from the middle of the park — the end of the evening walk.
Who is it for?
For anyone who wants to live with bus and U-Bahn within walking distance, by a park whose history you can see. If quiet and cool summers come first for you, this place will honestly disappoint — the data says so.
Check the light per floor
How much sun reaches a window at the Arenbergpark depends on the side, the floor and the buildings opposite — and there are two towers in the park. The light check calculates, for the address and the floor, when direct sun reaches the windows — on 21 June and 21 December, from the officially measured heights of the neighbouring buildings. The preview for one room is free. To the light check →
Open this place in Vienna Living Map →The Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl portrait · Living in the Village im Dritten · Noise and quiet in Vienna · Landstraße district · Karl-Marx-Hof · Arsenal
Method & sources
Owners, purchase and opening in 1900, the division into plots and the towers in the park: Wikipedia, article “Arenbergpark”. Pair VIII, gun and fire-control tower, completion in October 1943, Friedrich Tamms and why the Vienna pairs were left standing: Wikipedia, article “Flakturm”. Closure of the towers and the planned data centre: ORF, report of 8 April 2015. All read on 12 October 2026. Lines from the Wiener Linien timetable (GTFS). Quiet, summer heat and public transport: Vienna Living Map’s own data for the Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl; walking minutes from the straight-line distance from the middle of the park times 1.3 at 80 metres per minute. The summer-heat index is a modelled value, not a measured temperature.
Frequently asked
What is the Arenbergpark?
A public park in the 3rd district, Landstraße, postcode 1030. The city bought the grounds on 11 May 1900 and opened the park on 16 September 1900. Two flak towers from 1942 and 1943 stand in the park.
What are the flak towers in the Arenbergpark?
Two buildings of the Nazi regime from the Second World War, flak tower pair VIII: a gun tower and a fire-control tower, finished in October 1943, designed by Friedrich Tamms. The larger tower serves the MAK as a depot.
Can you visit the flak towers in the Arenbergpark?
According to an ORF report from April 2015, both were closed: there had been no visits to the fire-control tower since 2012, and the MAK tower had not been open to the public since September 2011.
Why are the flak towers still standing?
The Vienna flak tower pairs were not blown up, because that was not possible next to the residential buildings.
How is the Arenbergpark connected?
Bus 4A stops at Ziehrerplatz, about a minute on foot from the middle of the park; the U3 station Rochusgasse is about seven minutes on foot away.
What is it like to live at the Arenbergpark?
With bus and U-Bahn within walking distance and a park outside the door. In exchange, in the data, less quiet and more summer heat than the Viennese average, and two towers from the war that are staying. The Arenbergpark has no score of its own; the Landstraßer Hauptstraße Grätzl reaches 81 out of 100.