Rotunde Wien

1873 · Iron Dome Structure · Work 57 of 1,871

Rotunde Wien, 1873, Iron Dome Structure

The Rotunde of the Vienna world exhibition in the Prater, its enormous iron dome ringed by radiating ribs and topped with a crowned lantern, low galleries reaching out from the drum.

What it was used for
Central building of the Vienna World's Fair of 1873 in the Prater, opened on 1 May. Designed by John Scott Russell, executed by the Duisburg firm of Harkort, with Karl von Hasenauer responsible for the architectural treatment. The dome measures 108 m across and 84 m high, rests on 32 iron columns and covers some 8,000 square metres; a gilded imperial crown stood on top. The exhibition was a disaster: eight days after the opening, on 9 May 1873, the Vienna stock exchange crashed; cholera raged that summer, and from July to October 2,983 people died in Vienna. Instead of the expected 15 to 20 million, 7.25 million visitors came, and the deficit ran to about 14.8 million gulden. The Rotunde itself served as a trade-fair hall until 1937 and burned down on 17 September 1937; 1,000 tons of glowing steel and 400 tons of burning timber collapsed into itself.
What was new
A self-supporting iron dome 108 m across - a good two and a half times the largest masonry domes: the Pantheon in Rome measures 43.44 m, the dome of St Peter's about 42 m. It was made possible by habits of thought from shipbuilding; Scott Russell had previously built the Great Eastern with Brunel. How long it remained the largest dome in the world is disputed: an American research library writes "for over a century", other accounts name a Belgrade exhibition hall of 1957 as its successor. All that is solid is that in 1873 it was the largest.

Further reading