The story of Naturarena Hohe Warte: Destruction and Reconstruction

"Battlefield" Hohe Warte

In February 1934, the Hohe Warte becomes the scene of the Austrian civil war. Artillery positions are placed on the Hohe Warte, including on the sports field. On February 12, 1934, the nearby Karl-Marx-Hof was shot at from there. The residents are still in the residential complex. An eyewitness described the events:

“Then all three of us lay in the double bed, huddled together, and the shooting didn't stop much. The next day, around 10 a.m., my father left. He walked past the sports field via the Hohe Warte and there were cannons from the federal army and they fired into the 'Blue Arch' [one of the arched passages in the housing complex]. He said to the commander: 'Captain, do you know who you are shooting at? You're shooting at women and children!” (Quoted by Reppé, Susanne, The Karl Marx Hof. History of a municipal building and its residents, Vienna 1993.)

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