Vienna
I., Rathausstrasse 21
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The
building located at the back of the new university building and at the border
of the Votiv quarter was built in 1880 from a plan by city architect Anton
Adametz. Its style mirrored the expectations of the contemporary upper
middle-class. The owner of the four-story building was Emanuel Prince
Collalto et San Salvatore, military commander of Vienna and principal of the
corps headquarters. In 1918 the house was bought by Nettie Kunitzer. In the
thirties of the 20th century it changed hands again and the
present owner is the Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt (AUVA), an
insurance company.
From 1903 Adolf Lorenz had his practice on the second
floor at this address. In the early years his name was already associated not
only with the outpatient clinic for orthopaedic surgery in the Vienna General
Hospital - which he used to call my most expensive hobbyi -
but also with his private practice. The vicinity of the university and the
General Hospital contributed to the development of an academic quarter, an
area preferred for living and working purposes by several other authorities
of the Vienna Medical School as well. The address Rathausstrasse 21 became
a well-known synonym for orthopaedics much like the address Berggasse 19 was
for psychotherapy. There Sigmund Freud had his consulting rooms after moving
from his first site in Rathausstrasse 7. Evidence of the international
reputation of this address for orthopaedic treatment is provided by the still
existing voluminous card index with medical histories.
On November 13, 1909 the Lorenz family has moved from Garnisongasse 3
to Rathausstrasse 21. Plans at the building control office show that in the
same year the practice was joined with the opposite appartment (no. 10).
Consulting and private rooms comprised a total area of approximately 490 m2.
In 1930 the family moved their permanent residence to Altenberg and gave up
the Viennese apartment. The consulting rooms with a total area of 245 m2
remained. They consist of 4 large and 7 smaller rooms which have mostly been
preserved in their original state.
In the 1920s the consulting rooms were used as a joint practice by
father and son. After Adolf Lorenz' death, his son, Albert, used the practice
without any alterations until shortly before his death in 1970. Afterwards
the Lorenz consulting rooms were used by his widow Helga (1910 - 1993) as a
curative sports institute until 1993.
The original sign of Prof. Lorenz and that of the later joint practice
(foyer) inevitably evoke in the visitor of this historic site a feeling of
the untiring work of these two famous orthopaedists.
On December 17, 1993 upon the initiative of the Adolf-Lorenz-Society
founded in 1992, a commemorative plaque designed by the academic sculptor
Prof. Rudolf Friedl and affixed to the facade of the building at
Rathausstrasse 21 was unveiled in a special ceremony.
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For
a tour of the consulting rooms the following route is recommended:
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The tour starts in front of the
entrance door in the foyer (room 1). Passing through the short corridor one
reaches the small office (room 2). Afterwards one returns through the
corridor and turns left entering the fireplace room (room 3). Back through
the hallway and passing the large double door, one enters the gymnastics
room (room 4). Turning to the right one enters Lorenz' study, the last stop
on the tour.
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