The history of "Naturarena Hohe Warte"

The Hohe Warte, a hill on the easternmost edge of the Vienna Woods between the Döbling districts of Heiligenstadt and Unterdöbling, was and is still the home of the First Vienna Football Club 1894. All four of the club's sports facilities were and are located here. Today's home of Vienna, the "Hohe Warte" stadium - now "Naturarena Hohe Warte" - was created after the club lost its previous sports field on Gallmeyergasse in 1919 when the lease expired. In order to be able to continue to stay on the Hohe Warte, a former brickworks site with an impressive hilltop was adapted and the Hohe Warte Stadium was built there, which opened in 1921 after two years of construction and plans by Eduard Schönecker.

At the time of its construction, the Döblinger's new sports facility was the largest football stadium outside the British Isles and quickly became the home of the Austrian national team. By 1936, 35 international matches had taken place here, including the most important games of the Austrian team, which went down in history as the "miracle team". On April 15, 1923, an Austrian attendance record was set with 85,000 spectators at the international match against Italy, which was only surpassed in 1960.

On the following pages you have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the different eras of the “Hohe Warte” and discover the milestones that have made this stadium what it is today. Experiencing the history of the Hohe Warte also means experiencing part of Austrian history.

From its beginnings in the 1920s through the difficult times of war and reconstruction, modernization and international successes to its role today - each era tells its own unique story.