Features
Austrian features
“Fahr’ma Euer Gnaden” – Do you want a lift folks? by Peter Gieler
“Fahr’ ma Euer Gnaden” – colloquially – Anyone want a lift? Is still the quaint invitation of the Viennese Fiaker for a trip through the heart of old Vienna.
In 1693, Leopold I issued the first licence for a fiaker, then a heavy, very uncomfortable and difficult to manouver carriage pulled by two carthorses. The name fiaker derives from the French.
The square in front of the Church of St. Fiacre in Paris was the place where all the hackney coaches lined up waiting for customers. When such coaches-for-hire were introduced in Vienna, that name was adopted, and both the coaches and their coachmen were called Fiaker.
At that time, the great rivals to the fiaker were the sedan chairs, and when in 1702, all fiakers had to be registered, this caused additional problems. Each carriage had to carry a registered number and the driver had to keep the fares to a fixed price.
The most difficult problem was that they were not allowed to stand at a fixed point to wait for passengers and so they travelled slowly through the inner city calling out to entice customers. In 1785, the fiakers were officially allowed to stand at two specific sites, one outside St. Stephen’s Cathedral. 1859 marked the high point of fiaker in Vienna, when there were 1149 registered drivers.
The Fiaker was very popular with visitors to the Heurigen, especially outside those Heurigen and dance restaurants where the Schrammel Quartett and later the Strauss family played. Indeed, a number of fiakers had good singing voices, including Josef ‘Nockerl’ Bratfisch, the personal fiaker to Crown Prince Rudolf, and ‘Fiakermilli’ (Emilie Pemmer).
She managed to obtain a police licence to wear a special riding costume, and had been a well-known Viennese folksinger before her marriage to the fiaker L.Demel in 1874. Richard Strauss is reputed to have based his ‘Arabella’ on ‘Fiakermilli’.
The years after the end of World War II saw the fewest fiakers ever. Motorised transport was becoming increasingly popular and the Viennese had lost interest in the fiaker, really because they could not afford to pay the fare. Indeed had it not been for the highly romantic imagination of American tourists, the fiaker in Vienna would have completely disappeared.
Uniforms have always been a passion with Austrians, and that included the Viennese. Thus the fiaker had their own uniform, which is still strictly adhered to, to avoid the ‘jeans and trainer’ drivers. Thus it is always a smart jacket and tie and a bowler hat, whether the fiaker is male or female.
The fiaker and his team have not had it easy during the past few years. A number of ‘do good’ Viennese ladies were increasingly concerned with the problem of horse dung and after many years of discussion it was finally decided in 2004, that the problem would be solved by installing ‘ pooh-bags’ in the inner city.
Since June 21, 2004, Fiakers travel through the city with these contraptions. There have been further suggestions that the horses should wear nappies and also plastic shoes to deaden the sound of the hoofs. One sometimes wonders how sad these people are. There is still something wonderful hearing the fiaker in the city outskirts setting off for the inner city whilst one is still contemplating getting up.
The clip clop of the hoofs against the gentle rumble of a passing tram is still one of my favourite Viennese sounds. Today, those horse-drawn cabs are very popular with tourists as a leisurely way of sightseeing in the city centre.
The Fiaker Museum offers a small but very illustrative documentation of the history of this lovable, old-time Viennese institution.
Where Fiakers are to be found: Stephansplatz, Heldenplatz, in front of the Albertina (Augustinerstrasse) and next to St. Peter's Church (Jungferngasse), all in the 1st district.
Fiaker Museum 17, Veronikagasse 12 U6: Josefstädter Strasse, tram 44: Hernalser Gürtel tel. 40 106- 0 17, Veronikagasse 12 U6: Josefstädter Strasse, tram 44: Hernalser Gürtel
tel. 40 106- 0
1st Wed of the month 10 a.m. - 12 noon and by prior arrangement
Experience a wide range of cultural and social events including; concerts, wine tastings, lectures, film evenings, excursions and social gatherings.
