The second river: how Vienna dug itself a Danube
In 1954 the Danube brought 9,600 cubic metres of water a second. Vienna answered with a second riverbed, 21 km long, and an island on which no house may stand. A one-minute film from the City’s own aerial images — and how to look under your own address.
Transcript (German)
Was lag vor 70 Jahren unter deiner Wohnung? Janis-Joplin-Promenade 12, Seestadt. Heute Wohnungen – 1956 die Landebahn von Aspern. Azima zeigt das für jede Adresse in Wien: dieselbe Stelle aus der Luft, von 1938 bis heute. Und manchmal ist die Geschichte darunter größer als ein Haus. Im Juli 1954 bringt die Donau 9.600 Kubikmeter pro Sekunde nach Wien. Fast vier olympische Schwimmbecken – jede Sekunde. 1972 kommen die Bagger – und bleiben 16 Jahre. 38 Millionen Kubikmeter Erde – ein Fußballfeld, aufgeschüttet auf über fünf Kilometer: höher als der Großglockner. Daraus wird die Donauinsel. Und die Stadt entscheidet: Darauf kommt kein einziges Haus. 2002 und 2013 kommen die nächsten großen Hochwasser. Das zweite Flussbett nimmt sie auf. Die Stadt bleibt trocken. Wie sah deine Adresse aus? viennalivingmap.com – Kapitel Objekt.
July 1954
From 8 to 28 July 1954, the Danube runs in flood for three weeks. At its peak it brings 9,600 cubic metres of water a second — almost four Olympic swimming pools, every second. The regulation of 1870–1875 had given the river a fixed bed and left a floodplain beside it; 1954 shows that it is not enough.
A second riverbed
On 12 September 1969 the city council decides on the answer: a second riverbed next to the first, the New Danube. Digging starts in 1972, and the excavators stay for 16 years. 38 million cubic metres of earth are moved. Piled on a football pitch, that would be a column 5,322 metres high — higher than the Großglockner.
An island without a house
From the spoil, an island grows between the two beds, 21 kilometres long. In 1979 the City decides that not a single house will be built on it. Today it is meadow, woodland and beach — and in a flood, the edge of a channel that takes the water past the city. The next major floods came in 2002 and 2013. The adjacent urban area stayed dry.
And under your address?
The film opens at Janis-Joplin-Promenade 12 in Seestadt: flats today, in 1956 the runway of Aspern airfield, which closed in 1977. Azima offers the same time travel for every address in Vienna — in the “Property” chapter, the same spot in twenty of the City’s survey flights from 1938 to 2025, on one slider.
Your address from above, 1938 to today — type it in, and Azima opens at the slider:
The address goes to the City of Vienna address service for the search, never to Vienna Living Map. The result stays on this device. No account.
How the time travel works — twenty surveys, the seasons, the gap 1992–2014 →
Frequently asked
How long did it take to build the Danube Island?
Excavation of the New Danube began in 1972; the island was built from the spoil until 1988 (excavation finished on 13 October 1987). The city council decided on the project on 12 September 1969, prompted by the flood of July 1954.
How long is the Danube Island?
21 kilometres, with about 4 km² of area — figures from the City of Vienna’s LIFE-DICCA project.
Why are there no houses on the Danube Island?
In 1979 the City decided that the whole island stays free of buildings. It is flood protection and recreation space at the same time: the New Danube runs beside it as a relief channel that takes floodwater past the city.
Did the New Danube work?
Yes. In the major floods of 2002 and 2013 the adjacent urban area was not flooded, thanks to the New Danube and the island (Wien Geschichte Wiki, “Hochwasser”).
How much earth was moved?
38 million cubic metres according to the City of Vienna’s LIFE-DICCA report. Piled on a standard football pitch (105 × 68 m) that would be 5,322 m high — higher than the Großglockner at 3,798 m.
The shortest day · Green roofs in Vienna · The series on TikTok
Sources: Wien Geschichte Wiki (“Hochwasser”, “Donauinsel”, “Seestadt”) · wien.gv.at, flood protection on the Danube · City of Vienna, LIFE-DICCA lay report 2024 (38 million m³, 21 km, about 4 km²) · aerial images: City of Vienna — data.wien.gv.at, CC BY 4.0 · map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Comparisons calculated: 9,600 m³/s ÷ 2,500 m³ per Olympic pool = 3.84; 38,000,000 m³ ÷ 7,140 m² = 5,322 m.