Not many cities in the world are likely to lure tourists to industrial facilities such as incinerators or heating plants.

Vienna, however, is an exception.

In the Spittelau district in the north of the city, there is a municipal waste incinerator, which is also the heating plant for the entire northern half of Vienna, with a particularly unusual and interesting façade.

A work of art by Hundertwasser

When a large part of the façade was destroyed by fire in the late 1980s, Wien Energie, the company that runs the heating plant, decided to launch an architectural competition to restore it.

This competition was won by the famous architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whose most famous work - the Hundertwasserhaus - can be found in the southern part of Vienna.

The reconstruction was carried out between 1988 and 1992 in the typical highly eccentric and very colourful style of this architect.

A tall stove with gilded circular objects dominates the incinerator and heating plant.

Spittelau heating plant

How to get there

The incinerator is right next to a metro and train station and is therefore accessible from the centre in about 10 minutes.

Metro - Spittelau station about 10 metres away (lines U4 and U6)
Tram - Spittelau stop approx. 100 metres (line 10)
Bus - Spittelau stop approx. 100 metres (line 37A)
S-Bahn and train - Wien Spittelau station approx. 80 metres (lines S40, R40, REX40, REX41)