// infos in German see here https://4lthangrund.jetzt/call-4-action/ //

4lthangrund – Space for Culture, Space for All

Our Current Situation

4lthangrund, as a cultural center, currently has rental agreements until the end of 2025.
Part of the area – the “Alte WU” – is scheduled for demolition, and our current space is located exactly in this zone.

In the future, new educational facilities (including BOKU and the University of Vienna) are planned. Establishing cultural spaces within the new buildings seems like a possibility, but there are still many uncertainties and long periods to bridge until then.

Right now, we are in ongoing conversations with the various involved stakeholders. While these talks are developing positively, our immediate future remains unclear.

Who We Are

Since 2018, we have been working with the vision of creating cultural and community space on the Althangrund site, ensuring local socio-cultural access for everyone.

What started as a small initiative has since grown into a vibrant cultural center with around 40 different groups and activities.

Why We Need Your Support

We want to raise awareness of our situation and the issues that come with it.
That’s why we are taking action in several steps – and we are counting on your support!

Your participation and involvement are welcome at every stage. In the coming months, we will need your collective backing to secure long-term cultural space.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, September 13th – 1 PM to 7 PM
🛍️ A Punkt Market – Solidarity for 4lthangrund

Saturday 15.11. 15h – 06h Herbstfest & This is our Dancefloor!

💌 We are also collecting solidarity statements!
If you’d like to contribute, write to us at: 4lle@4lthangrund.jetzt

Petition: Space for All!

Space for All! – Legally Secured Spaces for Social and Cultural Life

Short description:
A livable Vienna needs social and cultural spaces whose existence is legally secured. While there are laws that guarantee the construction of parking lots, culture is not firmly anchored. The City of Vienna’s urban development plan (STEP) names this task, but does not set clear framework conditions. The support intentions of STEP 2035 require political responsibility: legal protection of existing places, affordable contracts, support in removing barriers, and binding requirements for new buildings involving users and stakeholders. The cultural center 4lthangrund is currently also under threat. Instead of vague promises for the future, we need well-secured spaces for everyone – now!

Full text:
A livable Vienna needs social and cultural infrastructure – not just as a promise for the future, but now. Non-profit initiatives, cultural and neighborhood centers already make an essential contribution to social cohesion, cultural participation, and democratic strengthening today. These spaces exist, but often only temporarily. Their existence is threatened by insecure contracts, rising rents, and the lack of long-term perspectives.

The City of Vienna’s Urban Development Plan STEP 2035 itself acknowledges this problem:
“High and likely continuing rent increases make the search for space for social, health-related, and cultural infrastructure, as well as non-profit initiatives, increasingly challenging” (p. 46).
And it promises: “Urban planning secures areas and spaces where activities of non-profit initiatives can take place”.
But such declarations of intent remain ineffective as long as they are not legally binding.

The cultural center 4lthangrund illustrates what is at stake. Since 2018, it has existed in the 9th district as a self-organized space. More than 35 groups regularly organize neighborhood meetings, events, concerts, and exchanges here. Every year, over 7,000 people use the spaces. A center intended to be permanent is operating under a temporary arrangement that ends in January 2026. A comparable, affordable space does not exist – which threatens the end of this work.

We demand concrete and practical support to preserve the 4lthangrund cultural center. This and many other spaces are under threat – urgent action is needed, even in the short term.

The support intentions of STEP 2035 must be translated into concrete legal foundations. Existing spaces need secure long-term perspectives: open-ended rental agreements, ideally based on operating costs. The City of Vienna has the responsibility to provide suitable properties, to actively purchase real estate, and to dedicate it to this purpose. Community-oriented ownership models such as the Habitats Network can be an important supplement – there are already examples, such as the „Haus der Statistik“ in Berlin. Equally necessary is the promotion of structural measures that enable accessibility and inclusive access.

In addition, new spaces for social and cultural use are needed – both in development areas and in existing districts. This requires clear benchmarks, similar to those already established in the Sports Facilities Development Plan (e.g., 3.5 m² of sports area per resident). The foundations currently being developed by the City of Vienna for planning social infrastructure must explicitly take into account cultural, neighborhood, and self-organized social spaces – and must involve those who already maintain and develop this infrastructure. New buildings must also include binding requirements: barrier-free access, sanitary infrastructure, kitchen facilities, and long-term affordable contracts oriented toward operating costs.

Binding spatial requirements already exist – but for other purposes: under the Vienna Garage Act, one parking space is required per 100 m² of residential floor space; under the Building Code (§119a), playgrounds are required depending on the number of apartments. So why not also legally secure space for social and cultural cohesion?

We experience every day the priceless added value that spaces like 4lthangrund create. They are places of community, exchange, and self-organization. Places where all generations come together, work, care, laugh, argue, and make their voices heard. Vienna calls itself the “European Capital of Democracy 2025.” But democracy needs places where it is lived. For these places to continue to exist, we need legal foundations and concrete solutions for currently threatened spaces – not later, but now.

What did already happen:

Presseconference & Demonstration „Bass gegen Hass X Raum für Alle!“: https://4lthangrund.jetzt/waehlen-gehen-und-demo-rueckblick/

Springfest & This is our Dancefloor! 17.05.2025: https://4lthangrund.jetzt/fruehlingfest-17-05-2025-springfest/

Summerfest @ 4lthangrund 30.08. https://4lthangrund.jetzt/sommerfest-2025/