Vienna’s Zeitgeist According to a 125-Year-Old Ferrous Lady

The Wiener Riesenrad, the oldest ferris wheel of its kind, has had a stellar Hollywood career in the past 125 years. The iron muse has performed in many Hollywood films and was the backdrop of unforgettable moments. In “Before Sunrise,” Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke share their first long-awaited kiss in one of the wagons at sunset. Shooting the scene seems to have been a bit of a challenge, though. The French actress was afraid of heights and completely petrified while Ethan tried to make out with her. James Bond also shared a romantic moment with his Bond girl in “The Living Daylights.” The most spectacular film stunt, however, was the appearance of the Ferris Wheel in an Austrian-Hungarian silent short film from 1914, titled “Der Todesritt auf dem Riesenrad” (Death Ride on the Ferris Wheel). In it, the French circus performer Madame Solange d’Atalide sat on a horse atop a cabin as it completed a full rotation. Of course, the Ferris Wheel was also part in The Third Man, much on that a bit later. 

Yet, very few were likely to have been able to pay the eight guilders that a ride on the Ferris Wheel cost back then. Just before World War I, Vienna was a city of contrasts. While the nobility and the rising bourgeoisie lived in prosperity, the majority fought against social decline.

In 1898, allegedly to draw attention to social need and mass misery, Viennese artist Marie Kindl (no relation to the author of this article) completed a lap on the Ferris Wheel on June 30, 1898, by biting down on a rope that hung outside of one of the wagons. At the same time, she used her hands to fire a shot from a loaded pistol. Warnings and threats were shouted at her to climb back into the cabin. The fire brigade rolled out a jumping sheet, but she neither went back into the wagon nor did she fall. When she reached the bottom, she blew kisses to the now cheering crowd. 

The businessman Eduard Steiner acquired the Giant Ferris Wheel in 1919 and put it back into operation. The happy phase lasted only a short while as yet another war loomed. As soon as the Nazis arrived, the Ferris Wheel became their property. In 1944, the Wiener Riesenrad burnt down almost completely, but the iron skeleton remained intact. Post-war Vienna was divided into four areas, each occupied by one of the Allied Forces and any development needed approval by all. In order to rebuild the Prater and Wiener Riesenrad, a city-wide fundraiser was held, and donations came pouring in. In 1947, the Ferris Wheel was finally restored and resumed operation, albeit with fewer and simpler wagons. In 2016, however, new cabins, true to the originals, replaced the post-war cabins. Today, the red and white cabins look as splendid as they did when the attraction opened in 1897. Steiner himself died in the concentration camp of Auschwitz in 1944. In 1953, the Ferris Wheel was restituted to three Steiner heiresses. To this day, the Ferris Wheel is in private hands.