Living on Billrothstraße — what is it like?
Short and honest: Billrothstraße in Döbling was called Hirschengasse until 1894, and part of it runs over the channelled Wolfsgraben stream. Along it stand a municipal block by Ella Briggs (1925–1926), the Kopenhagenhof with 440 flats (1956–1959) and the Rudolfinerhaus, where Vienna’s first non-religious nursing school began in 1882. The trade-off: it is quiet towards the Cottageviertel and louder towards Döblinger Hauptstraße.
Living Snapshot — the area in numbers
Billrothstraße is not a Grätzl of its own in Vienna Living Map’s data — what is rated are the residential areas around it: the Cottageviertel a good 900 metres to the south-west, across the district border, and Döbling Zentrum just under 1.2 kilometres to the east.
What shapes daily life
The street follows a stream: between Hardtgasse and Döblinger Hauptstraße it runs over the Wolfsgraben, channelled underground today. Until 1894 it was called Hirschengasse, after the inn “Zum braunen Hirschen”; on 18 July 1894 the city council named it after the surgeon Theodor Billroth.
Billroth left his own mark here: at the Rudolfinerhaus, number 78, Vienna’s first non-religious training school for nurses began in 1882; he wrote its textbook and set the medical programme for the building, completed in 1894 to plans by Franz von Gruber. Further down stand the city’s housing blocks: the Luitpold-Stern-Hof (number 1), the Pestalozzihof (5), the Kopenhagenhof (8–10), the Josef-Wiedermann-Hof (32) and the Rosa-Albach-Retty-Hof (42–48).
What works surprisingly well
The surroundings are quiet and cool by Viennese standards: in the nearest Grätzl, the Cottageviertel, quiet is at 8.1 (Viennese median 6.8) and the modelled summer-heat index at 44 out of 100 (median 55).
A century of housing stands on one street: the Pestalozzihof by Ella Briggs with 122 flats in staggered volumes (1925–1926), the Kopenhagenhof with eight-storey buildings in parkland (1956–1959), named after Copenhagen’s help for Viennese children after both World Wars.
What you consciously accept
Not every address in between is quiet: the Döbling Zentrum Grätzl, just under 1.2 kilometres to the east, sits below Vienna’s median for quiet at 5.2 (median 6.8). The closer to Döblinger Hauptstraße, the more city.
Living here means an old building or a municipal block of the twenties or fifties — how much light a flat gets depends on the building opposite, the side of the street and the floor.
20 minutes of everyday life
Six stops, one evening after work, from number 1 to 78 — every observation is true exactly here, not everywhere.
- Billrothstraße 1 17:30
The Luitpold-Stern-Hof at the start of the street, the first of the city’s housing blocks on it. - Billrothstraße 5 17:31
The Pestalozzihof by Ella Briggs, 1925–1926: staggered cubic volumes, a street courtyard, the corner following the curve of Billrothstraße. A bronze by Max Krejca has stood here since 1927. - Billrothstraße 8–10 17:32
The Kopenhagenhof, 440 flats of 1956–1959, where the Oberdöblinger Brauhaus brewery once stood. A plaque recalls Danish help for Viennese children. - Billrothstraße 32 17:38
The Josef-Wiedermann-Hof. Further up, at 42–48, comes the Rosa-Albach-Retty-Hof. - Billrothstraße 68 17:43
The house in which the composer Hugo Wolf lived. - Billrothstraße 78 17:46
The Rudolfinerhaus: Vienna’s first non-religious nursing school in 1882, the hospital since 1885, the building completed in 1894.
Who is it for?
For anyone who wants to live in Döbling without living in the villa quarter — in a municipal block or an old building, close to the quiet Cottageviertel. If you want it still, look at the high house numbers, further from Döblinger Hauptstraße.
Check the light per floor
Municipal blocks of five and eight storeys, old buildings and villas close together: whether sun reaches a window is decided by the building opposite and the floor. 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 Döbling Zentrum Grätzl portrait · Municipal housing in Vienna · Architecture in Vienna · Döbling district · Karl-Marx-Hof · Arsenal
Method & sources
Name, Wolfsgraben and buildings: Wien Geschichte Wiki (City of Vienna), article “Billrothstraße”. Pestalozzihof, Kopenhagenhof and Rudolfinerhaus: Wien Geschichte Wiki, articles of the same names. All read on 23 October 2026. Location of the house numbers: City of Vienna address service. Quiet and summer heat: Vienna Living Map’s own data for the Cottageviertel Grätzl.
Frequently asked
Where is Billrothstraße?
In the 19th district, Döbling, postcode 1190, in Ober- and Unterdöbling. Between Hardtgasse and Döblinger Hauptstraße it follows the course of the Wolfsgraben stream, channelled today.
Why is it called Billrothstraße?
After the surgeon Theodor Billroth: the city council named it on 18 July 1894. Before that it was called Hirschengasse, after the inn “Zum braunen Hirschen”.
What is the Kopenhagenhof?
A municipal housing complex at Billrothstraße 8–10, Schegargasse and Hardtgasse, built in 1956–1959 with 440 flats in street buildings and eight-storey buildings in parkland. It recalls Copenhagen’s help for Viennese children after both World Wars; the Oberdöblinger Brauhaus brewery stood here before.
What is the Rudolfinerhaus?
A hospital at Billrothstraße 78. The Rudolfiner Association was founded in 1875; in 1882 Vienna’s first non-religious training school for nurses began here, the hospital opened in 1885, and the building was completed in 1894 to plans by Franz von Gruber. Theodor Billroth wrote the nursing textbook used in the house.
What is it like to live on Billrothstraße?
Between quiet quarters — in the data for the nearest Grätzl, the Cottageviertel, quieter and cooler than the Viennese average — with housing blocks of the twenties and fifties. In exchange, Döbling Zentrum to the east sits below the Viennese median for quiet.