Living in the Sonnwendviertel — what is it like?
Short and honest: you live in a neighbourhood built from 2009 to 2023 on the former freight station, around a seven-hectare park, with the main station as a neighbour and streets that almost do without cars. The trade-off: everything is new, the trees included, and summers get warm.
Living Snapshot — the area in numbers
What is measured is Vienna Living Map’s Sonnwendviertel Grätzl. Its centre of gravity lies just west of the neighbourhood’s middle, towards Favoritenstraße — the values describe the new quarter together with its edge towards old Favoriten. Orientation, not a verdict on individual flats.
What shapes daily life
The Sonnwendviertel stands on the former freight station of the Südbahnhof, around 34 hectares that were cleared in 2009 and 2010. It was built from 2009 to 2023; according to the City of Vienna, 5,500 flats were created for about 13,000 people, 1,160 subsidised ones in the first eastern section alone.
According to the City of Vienna, the neighbourhood is car-free with few exceptions. In the middle lies the Helmut-Zilk-Park, at its edge the education campus for children from 0 to 14; in the east stand neighbourhood houses with mixed-use ground floors and public bistros, with community gardens in between. The Hauptbahnhof is the neighbour to the north.
What works surprisingly well
The train is close: the Hauptbahnhof adjoins it to the north, the U1 stops at Keplerplatz three blocks west, and since December 2019 tram D has run diagonally through the neighbourhood to Absberggasse. The Arsenalsteg, open since summer 2020, takes you across the tracks on foot and by bike.
The park is big: around 70,000 square metres, according to the City of Vienna the largest park created in Vienna in 40 years — with a lawn in the middle, flower meadows on more than half the area, an exercise park and 520 newly planted trees.
What you consciously accept
New also means young here. The park’s trees were planted with it, the neighbourhood is densely built, and there are no old crowns yet to shade a street in summer.
Warm and not entirely quiet: the neighbourhood’s modelled summer-heat index is 60 out of 100, above the Vienna median of 56, and on quiet it reaches 6.3, below the median of 6.8. The railway and the main station are neighbours — which way the windows face decides a lot.
20 minutes of everyday life
Five stops, one evening after work — every observation is true exactly here, not everywhere.
- U1 Keplerplatz 18:00
Getting off on Favoritenstraße, three blocks west of the neighbourhood. Old Favoriten still lies in between, then the former freight station begins. - Bildungscampus Sonnwendviertel 18:08
On Hlawkagasse, children from 0 to 14 learn under one roof: 11 kindergarten groups, 17 primary and 16 middle-school classes. - Helmut-Zilk-Park 18:11
Around 70,000 square metres: a large lawn in the middle, flower meadows around it and an exercise park with more than ten stations. - Gleis 21 18:15
On Bloch-Bauer-Promenade: a timber-hybrid housing project with 34 flats and shared rooms. - Arsenalsteg 18:19
The bridge over the Eastern Railway tracks, open since summer 2020. On the other side lies the Arsenal with its brick buildings from 1849 to 1856.
Who is it for?
For anyone who wants to live new, well connected and with a park at the door — families with the campus in the neighbourhood, commuters with the main station next door. If you are looking for Altbau, old trees and quiet back courtyards, you will not find them here.
Check the light before you buy
In the Sonnwendviertel the buildings stand close together, and whether a flat faces the park, the courtyard or the railway makes hours of difference in light. The light check calculates, for the address and floor, when direct sun reaches the windows — on 21 June and 21 December, with the official heights of the neighbouring buildings. The preview for one room is free. To the light check →
Open this place in Vienna Living Map →The Sonnwendviertel Grätzl portrait · Keplerplatz · Living near the Hauptbahnhof · Favoriten district · Karl-Marx-Hof · Arsenal
Method & sources
History and figures: Wikipedia, article “Sonnwendviertel”; City of Vienna, “Stadtentwicklungsgebiet Sonnwendviertel” and press releases on the Helmut-Zilk-Park (read on 30 September 2026). The Living Snapshot is the score of the Sonnwendviertel Grätzl from open data (City of Vienna OGD, OpenStreetMap, Wiener Linien, Statistics Austria) — orientation, not a rating of individual flats. The summer-heat index is a modelled value, not a measured temperature.
Frequently asked
How big is the Sonnwendviertel?
Around 34 hectares on the former freight station of the Südbahnhof. It was built from 2009 to 2023; according to the City of Vienna, 5,500 flats were created for about 13,000 people.
Is the Sonnwendviertel car-free?
According to the City of Vienna, yes, with few exceptions. Tram D has run diagonally through the neighbourhood since December 2019, the U1 stops at Keplerplatz, and the Hauptbahnhof lies to the north.
How big is the Helmut-Zilk-Park?
Around 70,000 square metres, according to the City of Vienna the largest park created in Vienna in the last 40 years. It has a large lawn, flower meadows, an exercise park and 520 newly planted trees.
Which school is in the Sonnwendviertel?
The Bildungscampus Sonnwendviertel on Hlawkagasse for children from 0 to 14: 11 kindergarten groups, 17 primary classes and 16 middle-school classes.
What is it like to live in the Sonnwendviertel?
New, almost car-free and with a big park — but dense, with young trees and warm summers. The Grätzl reaches a Living Score of 80, strong on transit (9.0), weaker on quiet (6.3); the summer-heat index is 60 out of 100.