Meaning of the Stadtbahn

In former times:
At the turn to the 20th century, a lot of people moved to Vienna. In these times Vienna was the 6th biggest city worldwide. The traditional and aristocratic city turned to a metropolis.
The symbol of the change was the realization of the grandiose project of Otto Wagner: The first public means of mass transportation – the METROPOLITAN RAILWAY. Up to now it was only possible to arrive from one place to the other with a horse tramway or a hore carriage. At the time before the metropolitan railway was built, people had no possibility to move around easily in the city, as with a car or the subway. They had to get up very early and walk long distances by foot to get to their place of employment. The new railway disburded the people´s daily life a lot, both on the daily way to work or to school and the shopping activity.

Nowadays:
During the 20th century the Vienna railway system was expanded in an enormous way. Many new lines were constructed through out the whole city, like the U1, U2 and U3. Some of the stations of the U4 and the U6 were part of former city railway. Because of the subway it was possible to move around in the city in very short time. It connected the suburbs to the city center. This new way of mass transportation is quick and comfortable. For instance, with the U4 it is possible to get from Heiligenstadt to Hütteldorf within 29 minutes. Thousands of people use the subway every day. They use it to go to work or to school, but they also use it to get around easily during their leisure time. One disadvantage of the subway is the crowd during peak time, mainly in summer in the old railway cars, where is no air condition. Some people avoid the subway during late hours, as they are afraid of being mugged, or harassed by drunken persons. In spite of that it is now impossible to live in a big city like Vienna without the subway.