ABSTRACT
In May 1889 in one of Vienna’s publishing houses an inconspicuous little book with an elaborate title appeared, Der Städtebau nach seinen künstlerichen Grundsätzen (City Planning According to its Artistic Principles). The book had an even more complex subtitle, Ein Betrag zur Lösung Modernster Fragen der Architektur und monumentalen Plastik unter besondered Beziehung auf Wien (Contribution for solving the modern questions of architecture and monumental art with special reference to Vienna).1 The author was Camillo Sitte, architect, and, at the time of the publication, director of the State School of Applied Arts in Vienna. He explained in his own introductory remarks why he undertook the writing of the manuscript:
It seemed appropriate, then, to examine a number of lovely old squares and whole urban layouts – seeking out the bases of their beauty, in the hope that if properly understood these would constitute a compilation of principles which, when followed, would lead to similar admirable effects. In keeping with this intention, the present work is to be neither a history of town planning nor a polemical tract, but instead will offer study materials and theoretical deductions for the expert. It will form a part of our vast intellectual edifice of practical aesthetics; for the professional city planner, it may prove to be a useful contribution to that fund of experience and rules on which he depends in drawing up his plans for the parcelling of land.2
