Today is a lazy day for me. There’s no long-distance travel. No hour-long commute. I happen to live in Simmering, so getting to um….Simmering is easy. The 11th is one of Vienna’s bigger districts. Simmering is actually three smaller villages rolled into one bigger district, well that’s the theory anyway. The villages of Simmering and Kaiserebersdorf make up the 11th. The third village of Albern is a bit of an enigma, as today the little village is represented by just a small harbour on the Danube. That’s a story for another time. Today I’m heading to Kaiserebersdorf at the bottom of Vienna, and it’s just 10 minutes by tram.

The number 6 tram winds its way past the central cemetery and into the suburbs, arriving at the end of the line. There’s not much to see at the end, but I spot a little church across the road, a small park and a cute little display that says ‘Kaiserebersdorf’ in colourful writing. It’s worth a shot and I wander off to the church. I discover that behind the little park and the cute little Kaiserebsdorf art display is a great big play park that backs onto the prison wall. It’s an odd juxtaposition.

It looks like part of the prison is under renovation, or there’s a nice new block of apartments going next to the prison. Either way, someone’s getting work done. Leaving the prison behind, I head for the church. It’s not difficult to spot as it’s the oldest building in the area, by quite a stretch. The church itself has a few nice features including a cracking looking ‘Sun clock’ along one wall. I thought it was just a nice mural, but the shadow creeping along the digits tells me otherwise. I like it a lot.

I keep moving past the old Bank bar, which doesn’t seem that old towards the train station. I don’t plan on getting that far, but it’s a good direction to head in. Along the way, I discover three things.

1. Everything is a bit modern.

2. It’s incredibly easy to ‘fall out’ of Vienna. The border to lower Austria is right on my left.

3. I find a Schartner Bombe!

I have no idea what that last thing is, but it looks like a bull shaped like an old fashioned cartoon bomb. It’s cute. Schartner Bombe is the maker of Fruit drinks, all based here in Kaiserebersdorf, which is nice. Leaving the cow/bomb thing where it is (why does it exist?) I return to my walk and, if I’m honest, I don’t see anything to take a shot of. Taking a right, I find myself back at the tram line, in what is Kaiserebersdorf’s centre. It’s frightfully modern, that for sure. Featuring a supermarket, Apotheke and even a solar-powered world clock. It’s a bit much, to be honest. I take a break on the steps of an equally modern bank, take a swig of pop and reroute my plans. I have two options. Behind me is a large street that’s awfully modern but features a few bars and restaurants, or head bank to the end of the tram line and take the left instead of the right. The latter wins.

I’m hoping, away from the centre there’ll be something to see worth photographing. At first glance, things do look better. There are a few older looking buildings. A little way up and I find a nice little open space where I take a break and enjoy the ambience. It’s peaceful. There’s a little church shrine at one end that grabs my attention, it’s the first thing I shoot in 30 mins. The date above it says 1763, So Kaiserebersdorf has some age to it after all.

Continuing up the street though there’s precious little going on. I head off the main road and into a backstreet that I’m familiar with. I’ve visited this part of Kaiserebersdorf a fair bit. I’m looking for my ace in the hole, the Schloss Neugebäude. On the way there, in the heat of the day, I find a little hidden treasure, the Simmeringwald. I had no idea we have woods to play in. Simmering and Kaiserebersdorf have plenty of flowers growing in vast hothouses, but the woods are a surprise. It’s small but I put a pin in it to visit again when I’m not baking to death.

The Schloss is at the end of the road, and annoyingly, it’s closed. Today has been a bit of a letdown. The gardens of the Schloss are nice, but I really wanted a little look at the interior. Perhaps the weekend offers a better chance to see inside as a hot Tuesday isn’t Prime tourist season.

I get to the bus stop and head home a little sad. Kaiserebersdorf was one of the founding villages of Simmering, but it feels very much like its heart has been ripped out and modernised. Space is still here, but her community is gone. Kaiserebsdorf is now a commuter town. And that’s a shame. Its character has all but vanished, except for a few places here and there. However, maybe, just maybe there’s something interesting still to find in Kaiserebersdorf. A future revisit would be a good idea I think.

Getting There.

Travelling to Kaiserebersdorf is easy. At the time of writing the Number 6 tram took visitors down to the village, but these days it has been replaced by the 11 and the 71. Simmering station offers you connections by S-bahn to the nearby Hauptbahnhof and Stadlau stations, While the U3 U-Bahn line terminates at Simmering. From there the trams can be taken.

If your heading to Schloss Negebaude, take the 73A bus from the train station and get off at the Schloss Neugebaude stop. The castle is a great place to visit in mid-summer when most weekends feature events with live music and film screenings.

Further Reading.

If you’d like to know more about Kaiserebersdorf, check out the link below (German only)

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Kaiserebersdorf_(Vorort)