The new part of Vienna is to breathe the spirit of the Central European region

Vienna - The atmosphere of a Central European city, where Czech, Slovak, or Hungarian are to be spoken, is set to be embodied by a completely new urban district in the northeast of Vienna. The urban project, which is set to begin development in 2008 on the former Aspern airport, plans to feature permanent exhibitions of cities in the Centropa region and attract students from neighboring countries. This is reported today in the Austrian daily Die Presse in its Vienna supplement.
    In Vienna, the allegedly most ambitious urban project, with concrete implementation developed by a team of Swedish architects, does not want to be just another housing estate. In addition to apartments, offices, and shopping centers, scientific and university facilities are also slated to be established here.
    The first phase is expected to see the construction of student dormitories starting in the spring of 2008, which will not solely serve Austrian students but will specifically target students from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, with plans to include students from other countries later on.
    In the first phase, 500,000 square meters of area will be built upon. At the same time, the first 1,000 apartments and manufacturing enterprises will be created. The head of the Vienna Economic Support Fund (WWFF), Bernd Riessland, believes that the project will play an important role in integrating the Centropa region, which includes southern Moravia, western Slovakia, Hungary, and eastern Austria.
    This special regional function should be fulfilled not only by providing accommodation for students from neighboring countries but also by becoming a district of "diplomatic offices" for cities in those countries. In these centers, cities from Brno to Bratislava to Sopron could present their cuisine, culture, or scientific achievements.
    "For example, artists from Slovakia could have a base there, where an international audience would also be present," looks to the future Riessland, who has reportedly begun learning Slovak himself.
    The "city embassies" are also meant to help improve communication between the countries, and in the medium term, similar projects could emerge in those countries as well. In the following four to five months, the cities in neighboring countries will reportedly be asked if they wish to participate in such cooperation.
    Aspern Airport (Flugfeld Aspern), on whose grounds the multicultural district will be established, began serving its original purpose in 1912 and remained the central base for Austrian civil and military aviation until World War II. After the war, it was used by the Soviet army. In 1954, Aspern was replaced by the international airport in Schwechat, which is still the main air gateway of Vienna today. Aspern was definitively closed in 1977.