Young Vienna

Café Griensteidl in 1896 (Reinhold Völkel)

Young Vienna (Jung-Wien) was a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Vienna's Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses in the late nineteenth century. ^[1]

The group turned away from the prevailing Naturalism of the time and experimented with various facets of Modernism, including Symbolism and Impressionism. In his review of turn of the century Vienna, historian Carl Schorske wrote of the movement that they "challenged the moralistic stance of nineteenth century literature in favor of sociological truth and psychological - especially sexual - openness."^[1]

Hermann Bahr was considered the group's spokesman. Other members included Arthur Schnitzler, Felix Dörmann, Peter Altenberg, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Felix Salten, Raoul Auernheimer, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Karl Kraus.^[2] Kraus would later distance himself from the group, and in his essay "The Demolished Literature," written soon after the Café Griensteidl's demolition in 1897, he criticized the group and predicted that it "would soon expire for lack of a foyer." After the café's demolition the group (sans Kraus) continued to meet at the nearby Café Central. ^[3]

External links

• German-language article in the Österreich Lexicon
• Footnote mentioning the closing of Café Griensteidl
• Literary Encyclopedia article on Karl Kraus

References

1. Carl E. Schorske (1981). Fin-De-Siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture. New York: Random House. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-394-74478-0.
2. Gabrielle H. Cody; Evert Sprinchorn (2007). The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama: A-L. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-14422-3.
3. Humphries, Rob (2001). The Rough Guide to Vienna. London: Rough Guides, ltd. ISBN 978-1-85828-725-6.