The first electric car was built in Vienna on the eve of 1900 – neighboring Austria – Blog
Revolutionary discoveries, but also “small” discoveries, which however enrich everyday life, took place in Vienna. Wien Tourismus, the city’s tourism promotion agency, points this out to us.
The first electric car
Who would have thought: the world’s first electric car was invented in Vienna over 100 years ago. In 1899 the coachmaker Ludwig Lohner and Ferdinand Porsche built the first electric car for the Viennese Lohner workshops. The following year the novelty was presented at the Universal Exposition in Paris. And in 1900 the first hybrid car also followed. The reasons for this invention back then are similar to those for the electric cars of our time: Lohner was of the opinion that the air was “mercilessly marred by the large number of gasoline engines that stannondo”. And for a while it seemed that it was the electric motor and not the combustion engine that would dominate. But too high costs and a legal dispute over patents put an end to the so-called Lohner-Porsche in Vienna a couple of years later. www.lohner.at
The first indoor ski resort
The world’s first built indoor ski center was also in Vienna. The first indoor winter sports facility was opened in 1927 in the “snow palace” in the arrivals hall of the disused Nordwestbahnhof station. The artificial snow was made with sodium carbonate, sawdust and water. In 1927 the Snow Palace, with its two ski slopes, a toboggan run and a ski jump, was the great attraction in Vienna. After a great initial success, however, it had to close after less than a year, also due to the news spread by the media, which spoke of respiratory problems and soda irritations. However, this was the launch of an international trend that began in the 1930s, which continues to this day with indoor winter sports facilities.
The first waterproof mascara
The world’s first waterproof mascara was also invented in Vienna. For necessity. In the 1920s, Helene Winterstein Kambersky was a very popular singer in Vienna. Under the heat of her spotlights it often happened that her rimmel began to ooze. She together with her, chemist, she started experimenting in the kitchen and in the early thirties she invented the first waterproof mascara in the world. After the invention of her mascara by Helene Winterstein Kambersky, who due to a previous lead poisoning was confined to her own wheelchair, in 1936 she founded the cosmetics company and baptized it with her stage name, Nussy. The original tube mascara is still available and the Helene Winterstein Cosmetics company is still family owned. https://helenewinterstein.com
The correct method for washing hands
Washing hands and proper hand hygiene are currently very topical, “thanks” to Covid. The basic theory originated in Vienna. With this, Ignaz Semmelweis revolutionized medicine, but his ideas were too far ahead with the times. Semmelweis came from Hungary in the mid-19th century to work at the Vienna General Hospital. He observed that proportionally many mothers died of puerperal fever in the maternity ward run by doctors. On the other hand, in the ward where midwives worked, far fewer women got sick. He realized that the doctors brought bacteria from the anatomical room where they dissected corpses and passed them directly to the patients, because they did not wash their hands. For this reason Semmelweis is still considered today the “savior of mothers”. However, his discovery met with a lot of resistance from the medical body. He was opposed and considered insane, which caused him to break down psychologically. He died under circumstances never fully clarified in the asylum for Lower Austria in Döbling, currently a district of Vienna. Today we owe him a lot and Semmelweis has been fully rehabilitated. www.wien.info/it/tutta-vienna/semmelweis-e-il-sapone-358044
Psychoanalysis
Another doctor also revolutionized the world starting from Vienna: in 1899 the epochal work of Sigmund Freud “The Interpretation of Dreams” was published, with which he laid the foundations of psychoanalysis. For 47 years, the house at Berggasse 19 was the focal point of Freud’s life and activity, home to his studio and his family’s quarters. Today the Sigmund Freud Museum is located in this place where psychoanalysis was born. His therapeutic successes and scientific deductions from him made this physician, psychoanalyst and theorist famous far beyond Austria. Freud created a new, revolutionary image of the human being. As his prestigious international grew, the National Socialists burned his books. In 1938, at the age of 82, he was forced to leave Vienna and flee to London with his family. A year later he committed suicide in the British capital by overdosing on morphine with the help of his family doctor, due to incurable cancer. freud.wien.info
The first concert piano with eight octaves.
Also brought into the production of instruments Vienna, the city of music, is at the top of the world and has unparalleled innovations on the market. First it does everyone, the Bösendorfer piano factory. For almost two hundred years it has not only been the oldest manufacturer in the premium segment, but also represents a unique sound, appreciated all over the world. The Bösendorfer Piano Factory produces three hundred hand-finished instruments every year. In 1900 he made headlines with the invention of a concert piano which for the first time boasted a full eight octave tonal range. Ludwig Bösendorfer’s Imperial still represents the excellence of the art of piano making and the company’s musical legacy. The best played and played Bösendorfer, from Duke Ellington to Oscar Peterson, from the Beatles to Bernstein, from Liszt to Gulda, from Michael Jackson and Tori Amos. The Viennese sales office – the Bösendorfer Salon flagship store – is located in the Musikverein building, where the musical heart of the city beats. www.boesendorfer.com
The first theater binoculars
And it is no coincidence that theater binoculars were also invented in the capital of music. Friedrich Voigtländer invented the first two-lens theater binoculars in Vienna and obtained the imperial privilege for their production in 1823. Until then, what was happening on the theater and opera stage was followed with a simple telescope. Even today the small and practical binoculars also called “opera binoculars” are widely used.
The first mass-produced chair
The Viennese Thonet coffee chair is Vienna’s most famous design furniture and is among the most produced seats in the world. The classic chair number 14 designed by Michael Thonet in 1860 is a success story that started modern furniture production. The new manufacturing procedure based on the division of tasks made it possible for the first time to produce an industrial in series. The chair, which today has the number 214 in the catalog, could be divided into six individual parts, allowing it to be sent all over the world. With his invention, which consisted of bending solid wood with water vapor, Michael Thonet revolutionized furniture manufacturing. Born in the Rhineland, he founded a workshop in Vienna in 1849. However, Michael Thonet soon moved production to Moravia, where cheaper wood and workers were available. The Gebrüder Thonet workshop has grown into a world-class industrial company, whose roots lie in Vienna. www.gebruederthonetvienna.com
The bouncy castle for jumping
Kids all over the world love inflatables. And these too began their triumphal march from Vienna. Elisabeth Kolarik not only runs several restaurants in the Prater area, but in 1977 she too invented the inflatable jump, naming it Luftburg, “castle of air”. Elisabeth Kolarik wanted a castle-shaped jumping mat for her little girl. The fact that it has become a gigantic bouncy castle can be traced back to a misconception about the measures. The sale and rental of bouncy castles became a key business. Everything has also developed in the Prater for children’s catering activities, where naturally alongside other attractions for the little ones there is above all the bouncy castle – in the Luftburg restaurant of the same name, which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary. https://kolarik.at
The viennoiseries
In the German-speaking area the word “viennoiserie” is not used. In countries like France, Great Britain or the USA “viennoiserie”, that is “things from Vienna” indicates the excellent Viennese baked goods. And there is a good reason. In fact, the croissant has conquered the world starting from Vienna. In the nineteenth century Vienna was famous for the art of baking and pastry-making. Bakers from all over the world came to Vienna to train. And some Viennese brought their art abroad. For example, August Zang, who moved to Paris in 1838 and from there spread the Viennese croissant and baked goods. Maison Zang soon became synonymous with the Viennese high art of baking and Zang made a fortune. The original soft croissant was then perfected in Paris to become the typical croissant. Currently the Viennese art of baking is experiencing a moment of revival and is revived in a modern version in bakeries such as that of Joseph Brot. www.joseph.co.at
All information on the 2022 theme “Celebrate Life. Experience Vienna. ” at the address: celebrate.wien.info
[Contributo di Wien Tourismus]
IN THE PHOTO, the electric car that the Lohner company presented at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900, with the Latin name “Semper vivus”.
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