6.7 “Grätzlmarie” projects: Focus on Community-building

6. Projects from the Community-building pillar

Frei-Tage street parties

A photo of people on the street with buildings from the Gründerzeit. Some are wearing yellow high-visibility vests, others are playing on the tarmac; on the left, a woman is sitting at a folding table.

Fig. 70: A Frei-Tag get-together on Darwingasse shows how the public space in front of the school can be used in different ways to bring people together. © City of Vienna/Bojan Schnabl

A series of three street parties transformed neighbourhood streets and thoroughfares — in this case Darwingasse, Volkertplatz and Aliiertenstraße — into places for people to linger and interact. The events also featured games like chess and badminton for people of all ages. The project offered an opportunity to engage with the issues of mobility, public space, climate adaptation, and safe recreational and physical activity spaces for children. The get-togethers strengthened community cohesion while opening up alternative spaces for interaction.

Photo: a rest area on the pavement between two trees, or rather raised tree pits. Two fabric folding chairs, a picnic blanket and a balloon invite you to take a break.

Fig. 71: The Frei-Tage events are informal neighbourhood get-togethers in the public space. © City of Vienna/Bojan Schnabl

Funding applicant: Eva Braxenthaler
Year implemented: 2023

Begegnung durch Bewegung – community sport & fitness activities

Four images, arranged side by side, of people in motion in public spaces. A mauve-coloured border between the images.

Fig. 72: Social interaction at the sport & fitness sessions organised by CAN – Civil Action Network. © CAN – Civil Action Network

CAN – Civil Action Network organised 16 free public outdoor sport & fitness workshops per year, eight each in the 2nd and 20th districts. The open-access format encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to join in, enlivening the public space and fostering sustainable community interaction.

Funding applicant: CAN – Civil Action Network
Year implemented: 2023 to 2025

VolkertKüche community kitchen

A woman, of whom only her two hands are actually visible, holds two plates of colourful Middle Eastern dishes up to the camera.

Fig. 73: The VolkertKüche community kitchen project was all about fostering social connections through communal cooking and eating. © Julia Deitermann

Talking brings people together – and cooking does too!

As part of the "Grätzlmarie"-funded community kitchen project "VolkertKüche – Küche für Alle", 2025 saw local residents get together for the third time to chat and enjoy free international cuisine on Volkertplatz. As well as fostering social interaction within the neighbourhood, the event also sent out a signal against isolation and in support of solidarity and community. Each of the six Saturday events over the past few years attracted between 60 and 90 participants.

Funding applicants: Julia Deitermann, Eva Jahn
Year implemented: 2023 to 2025

Women's plain language book club

Women are chatting whilst sitting on cushions in a public space.

Fig. 74: Coming together through conversation at the women's book club. © Margareta Klose

The book club organised by the Piramidops education initiative brought women learning German at B1 level together for discussion and language practice. At a total of nine Saturday sessions, the book club met to read simple texts by female writers with a connection to Vienna, which were translated into plain language for group discussion. The project combined language practice with education around feminist and literary themes and encouraged discussion and participation in the public space.

Funding applicant: Verein Piramidops (women's education initiative)
Year implemented: 2025

Gemeinsam statt einsam im Grätzl – neighbourhood community activities

A photograph of the main façade of the Protestant church with a gabled roof; in the pointed gable is a cross flanked by two figures. To the left and right are small towers, in front of which is the porch with arcades. The church is surrounded by trees, with a modern residential high-rise in the background.

Fig. 75: A varied programme of events was organised to combat social isolation and foster connection. © Am Tabor Lutheran Parish

A varied programme of interactive events was organised to combat social isolation and strengthen community spirit in the neighbourhood. Activities included a senior citizens' discussion group, two guided walking tours on "Viennese Stories and Legends" and two theatre workshops, plus a public after-work singalong workshop.

Funding applicant: Leopoldstadt and Brigittenau Lutheran Parish
Year implemented: 2025

Kaps-Gartl – community gardening at the Johann-Kaps-Hof municipal housing complex

A group of people, mostly women, with a man on either side, are looking at the camera and smiling. The third person from the right is BV Christine Dubravac-Wittholm. In the foreground are green climbing plants on a trellis; in the background is a modern council block.

Fig. 76: The community gardening project brings people together and fosters social cohesion. (l. to r.) Pers. 1: name unknown, Pers. 2: Ivana Cucujkić-Panić (Volkshilfe), Pers. 3: name unknown, Pers. 4: Andrea Husner – municipal housing tenant, Pers. 5+6: municipal housing tenants – names unknown, Pers. 7: Christine Dubravac-Widholm (CMDC 20), Pers. 8: Silvia Jankovic (WrW), Pers. 9: Alexander Steffek (wohnpartner) © Christian Dusner

The "Kaps-Gartl" community garden within this Wiener Wohnen municipal housing complex has become a hub for intercultural encounter. Everyone brings along their own plants and ideas for cultivation in the plastic- and pesticide-free garden. After receiving support from the "Grätzlmarie" scheme, the community garden — which is run in cooperation with Volkshilfe Wien and the Wohnpartner municipal housing community support teams — is now undergoing a significant upgrade.

"Thanks to the "Grätzlmarie" funding I've been able to start designing a garden containing more than just vegetable beds; over the next year I hope it will blossom into a community meeting space for local residents." (Andrea Husner, Johann-Kaps-Hof tenant and recipient of "Grätzlmarie" funding)

Funding applicants: Volkshilfe Wien (charity organisation), Wohnpartner (municipal housing community support teams)
Year implemented: 2025

Public open-air theatre performances

Two fairy-tale characters dressed in crimson, with orange hair standing on end, against a yellow forsythia background.

Public open-air theatre performances, for all ages and free of charge. With "Dreamland" and "The Queens of Hearts", the "Frischluft community theatre association" brought two colourful theatre productions to the Grätzl 20+2 programme area in 2025.

Funding applicant: Frischluft (community theatre association)
Year implemented: 2025

“Karl-Petrasch” street party

Seven people smiling cheerfully at the camera, wearing T-shirts in different colours that together spell out the word ‘Neighbour’. In the background, against a white wall, is a graphic cityscape with rooftops.

Fig. 78: The "Karl-Petrasch" street party brings together local residents from Karl-Meißl-Straße and Petraschgasse © Loreena Schwarz-Zurek

The "Karl-Petrasch" street party was held on Karl-Meißl-Straße and Petraschgasse on 16 May 2025, providing local residents with a great opportunity to get to know one another, forge contacts and swap ideas. This laid-back get-together with food and drink and a colourful, varied entertainment programme strengthened social cohesion and community spirit and laid the foundations for further initiatives in the neighbourhood.

Funding applicant: Loreena Schwarz-Zurek
Year implemented: 2025