Hernals to 1918 . Archaeological digs place the first settlements in the Hernals district in the
Neolithic Era, near the Als Stream, whose waters were teaming with fish. Digs from the
Roman times reveal brickyards near today's Elterleinplatz. During the
Middle Ages, the villages (
Vororte) of Hernals and Dornbach were built along the Als, while Neuwaldegg was founded at the start of the
Modern Era. The founding of Hernals as the 17th district of Vienna came during the end of the 19th century. After the suburb cities (
Vorstädte) of Vienna were annexed in 1850, discussions began in the 1870s to annex more of the surrounding areas. Although the areas were against such an annexation, Emperor
Franz Joseph I declared in 1888 that it would be so. The decree took effect on January 1, 1892 and united Hernals, Dornbach, and Neuwaldegg together as the 17th district. At that time, the Hernals township was the most significant of the three and was the most populous township of
Lower Austria beside
Vienna. In 1890, 74,657 people and 1,803 houses composed the newly established district. District director Kretschek and the advisor of the Hernals township Sebastian Grünbeck re-established the St. Anna Chapel, the building of the Jörgerbad spa, the building of various schools, administration of the streets, and expansions of the Hernals cemetery. In 1894, the city wall was torn down and the rail lines were built. The Hernalser Market was moved to Zimmermannplatz.
Hernals 1919-1945 . After
World War I, the
social democrats initiated the municipal construction of housing estates (
Gemeindebauten) in Hernals. In 1922,
Karl Ehn built 164 new apartments in Balderichgasse. The largest
Gemeindebau erected between the world wars in Hernals was completed in 1929 in Wattgasse, where 294 apartments were built. The expansion was halted due to financial pressures in the
Austrian government, and the number of community apartments remained below the Vienna average at 1,467. As a largely proletarian district, Hernals became unstable after the
Schattendorf Executions, and on July 15, 1927 the police attacked 158 people in Hernalser Hauptstraße. Enraged protesters stormed the police station at
Hernalser Hauptstraße 158 and set fire to the police equipment on the street. Two trees that had been damaged by the fire were later cared for as "revolutionary trees" but finally died in the mid-30s. The unrest escalated further on June 16 when five people lost their lives. However, the
Austrian Civil War in February 1934 took place outside of Hernals only. With the prohibition of the
social democrats, a new district government was installed.
Hernals since 1945 The end of the
second World War was marked by the Soviet troops marching into Hernals on
April 7, 1945. They stayed until September, when they were absolved by the American occupation forces. In addition to rebuilding the destroyed houses, the main focus was placed on building new homes. In the span from 1945 to 1955 alone, 1,050 apartments were built; 2,948 more were built in the years up to 1991. Since the 1990s, there have been five smaller changes in district boundaries. In 1990, the border with the
Währing District was moved, in the area between the streets Czartoryskigasse and Herbeckstraße, which meant a small loss of territory for Hernals. In 1992, in the area of Savoyenstraße, Wilhelminenstraße and Oberwiedenstraße, Hernals gained a small undeveloped area from the
Ottakring district.[5] Then in 1995, Hernals gained a residential area from the
Währing District, in the area of the roads Höhenstraße, Keylwerthgasse und Salmannsdorfer Straße. In 1998, the border with Ottakring was moved north (in the area of Spinozagasse street between Steinmüllergasse and Rosenackerstraße).[7] The most recent boundary change took place in 2001, in the area of Kongresspark, which since then has remained entirely in the
Ottakring District. ==Population==