History

23

LIESING

T HISTORY Liesing is a district that has been influenced greatly by politics and bureaucracy. The settlement of Liesing dates back to the middle-ages, where it shared close ties to the other villages around it. During the time where land either belonged to certain lords or the church, Liesing was a part of the latter. Together with Altmannsdorf, Hetzendorf, Erlaa, Mauer and Siebenhirten, the municipality of Liesing was under the jurisdiction of the Atzgersdorf parish. Liesing itself had a church, but did not control its own parish. Following the change of land laws in 1850, Liesing was brought under the administration of Hietzing, which at the time was not a part of Vienna. The second half of the 19th century is when Liesing began to grow. The construction of the Southern Railway (Südbahn) through Liesing in 1842, allowed the expansion of industry into the area. A chemical factory owned by Wagenmann and Braun existed just east of the Liesing railway station, and was connected via a branch to the railway line. The

VG location of this factory would be the spot where industry in Liesing would flourish in the coming decades.

Policy change once again affected Liesing in 1892, when Hietzing was incorporated as the 13th district of Vienna. However, since only the northern half of the municipality was incorporated, Liesing and the towns nearby were reorganized as the “Hietzing-Umgebung” district. In 1904, Liesing was granted its own judicial district, which was an important step into becoming a district in the future.

Liesing as a district came into existence in 1938 following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. Vienna was expanded to 25 districts and Liesing became the 25th district. During this period, the industrial area of Liesing grew significantly. The railway branch “Liesing Schleppbahn” was expanded to a number of new factories being built, mostly to support the German war effort during World War II. Following the defeat of Germany, Austria became independent again, but was occupied by the Allied powers. The reorganizing of 1938 was reversed in 1946 which once again led Liesing to become independent from Vienna. This led to Liesing falling under the Soviet zone of occupation, rather than the British zone.

However in 1954, a law was passed which re-incorporated Liesing into Vienna as its 23rd district, a year before the occupation ended. The end of the Allied occupation marked the beginning of a period of growth for the industry of Liesing. New factories opened up and the population saw a sharp increase in the 1960s. New residential complexes together with the construction of wide avenues led to the area taking its present day form.