1927: The First Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival)

The first Wiener Festwochen took place from June 5–19, 1927. A rich programme consisting of opera and concerts, art exhibitions and sporting competitions, as well as excursions in the immediate vicinity and in the broader region was to stimulate tourism – and it succeeded: the number of overnight stays in June 1927 was considerably higher than in the previous year. The Wiener Festwochen, however, was more than just a cultural exhibition for tourists to flock to. The commitment to culture and above all to music, which had always played an important role in the self- and outside perception of the city, offered a momentary chance to transcend political and social divisions: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and worker’s choral groups participated equally at the opening event, and the Neue Freie Presse, the newspaper of the Viennese bourgeoisie, wished for a “political party truce” (politischen Burgfrieden) during the festival period.  About four weeks following the end of the festival, the fire at the Palace of Justice – a reaction to the scandalous acquittal in the Schattendorf trial – made the attempt at a unifying commitment to culture appear as an illusion.