Living in the Sandleitenhof — what is it like?
Short and honest: you live in the largest municipal housing estate of interwar Red Vienna, in one of 1,587 flats around Matteottiplatz and its stone fountain, on the western edge of Ottakring, with trams 2 and 10 at the door. The trade-off: you get in through Wiener Wohnen, not through a listing — and the underground is a good twenty minutes away on foot.
Living Snapshot — the area in numbers
The Sandleitenhof is not a Grätzl of its own in Vienna Living Map’s data — what is rated are the residential areas around it: Wilhelminenberg about 300 metres to the west and the Sandleiten Grätzl about a kilometre to the north-east.
What shapes daily life
It was built in five phases from 1924, where a small garden settlement had stood around the turn of the century. The part south of Rosenackerstraße was planned by the group whose project the jury had chosen as the winner: Otto Wagner’s students Emil Hoppe, Otto Schönthal and Franz Matuschek. The north went to two other groups of architects. With 1,587 flats the estate is considered the largest municipal housing complex of interwar Red Vienna; originally more than 5,000 people lived here, today more than 4,000.
It was meant as a small town: 75 shops, a restaurant and café, studios and workshops, three large bath and laundry facilities, a library, a pharmacy, three after-school centres, a post office and a cinema and theatre hall with 600 seats. At its centre lies Matteottiplatz with its terrace and stone fountain, named in 1927 and again in 1953. On 12 February 1934, around midday, the police tried to enter the estate and were driven back by gunfire. In 1935/36 the young Behrens student Josef Vytiska built the parish church of St. Josef on Sandleitengasse.
What works surprisingly well
Quiet and cool by Viennese standards: in the nearest Grätzl, Wilhelminenberg, quiet stands at 8.4 (Vienna median 6.8) and the modelled summer-heat index at 43 out of 100 (median 56). Trams 2 and 10 stop at Liebknechtgasse, about two minutes on foot from the middle of the estate, and the Kongreßpark is about five minutes away on foot.
Part of the small town has stayed: the municipal library still belongs to the estate. And you do not live in a block on a street but in an estate that reaches across several streets and is open on all sides, with the fountain in the middle.
What you consciously accept
Nothing here can be bought, and nothing is rented through a listing: Wiener Wohnen allocates the flats like any municipal flat, with the Wiener Wohn-Ticket. And you live with more than 4,000 people in one estate — if you are looking for a small house with few neighbours, this is the wrong place.
The underground is far: the U3 at Ottakring is a good twenty minutes away on foot, and day to day you take the tram. And you notice little of the 600-seat cinema and theatre hall — today it is hardly used.
20 minutes of everyday life
Five stops, one evening after work — every observation is true exactly here, not everywhere.
- Liebknechtgasse 17:30
The stop of trams 2 and 10, a few steps from the edge of the estate. - Matteottiplatz 17:33
The middle of the Sandleitenhof: terrace and stone fountain, the square named after Giacomo Matteotti, in 1927 and again in 1953. - Rosenackerstraße 17:37
The street divides the estate: to the south the part by Hoppe, Schönthal and Matuschek, to the north the part by the two other groups. - Sandleitengasse 17:41
Here stands the parish church of St. Josef, built in 1935/36 by Josef Vytiska — a few years younger than the courtyards around it. - Kongreßpark 17:47
About five minutes on foot from the middle of the estate lies the Kongreßpark — the end of the evening walk.
Who is it for?
For anyone who wants to live in a piece of Vienna’s history, at the rent of a municipal flat, with the tram at the door and a park within walking distance. If you want to buy, need an underground station outside the house or are looking for a building with few households, look elsewhere.
Check the light per floor
The Sandleitenhof has courtyards, squares and street fronts — how much sun reaches a window depends on the side, the courtyard 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 Wilhelminenberg Grätzl portrait · The Sandleiten Grätzl portrait · Municipal housing in Vienna · Ottakring district · Karl-Marx-Hof · Arsenal
Method & sources
History, numbers, architects, facilities, 12 February 1934 and the church: Wikipedia, article “Sandleitenhof”. Matteottiplatz with terrace and stone fountain, the earlier garden settlement and the estate open on all sides: wien.info, “Wiens wichtigste Gemeindebauten”. Location on the western edge of Ottakring: SOHO in Ottakring. All read on 12 October 2026. Quiet and summer heat: Vienna Living Map’s own data for the Wilhelminenberg Grätzl; walking minutes from the straight-line distance times 1.3 at 80 metres per minute.
Frequently asked
What is the Sandleitenhof?
The largest municipal housing estate of interwar Red Vienna, in the 16th district: 1,587 flats, built in five phases from 1924, around Matteottiplatz. Today more than 4,000 people live here.
Which district is the Sandleitenhof in?
In the 16th district, Ottakring, postcode 1160, around Sandleitengasse, Rosenackerstraße and Liebknechtgasse. Trams 2 and 10 stop at Liebknechtgasse, and the U3 at Ottakring is a good twenty minutes away on foot.
Can you live in the Sandleitenhof?
Yes — through Wiener Wohnen, like any municipal flat, with the Wiener Wohn-Ticket. The flats cannot be bought, and they become free through the city, not through a listing.
Who planned the Sandleitenhof?
The part south of Rosenackerstraße was planned by Otto Wagner’s students Emil Hoppe, Otto Schönthal and Franz Matuschek, whose project the jury had chosen as the winner; the north by two other groups of architects. The parish church of St. Josef on Sandleitengasse was built in 1935/36 by Josef Vytiska.
What happened in the Sandleitenhof in February 1934?
On 12 February 1934, around midday, the police tried to enter the estate and were driven back by gunfire.
What is it like to live in the Sandleitenhof?
Quieter and cooler than the Viennese average, in the data of the Wilhelminenberg Grätzl, with the tram at the door and the Kongreßpark about five minutes away on foot. In exchange, an estate of more than 4,000 people, allocation through Wiener Wohnen and a good twenty minutes on foot to the underground. The Sandleitenhof has no score of its own; the Wilhelminenberg Grätzl reaches 87 out of 100.