Neighborhood
Gumpendorf / Rosa Lila Villa
in Vienna, Austria
Community spaces and queer infrastructure with history.
Where it is
Gumpendorf is a quarter within the 6th district of Mariahilf; the Türkis Rosa Lila Villa stands at Linke Wienzeile 102, not far from the Naschmarkt.
Address: 1060 Vienna
What it is
The Villa is a queer residential, counselling and events centre and a symbol of Vienna's LGBTIQ history; on the ground floor a venue with a garden invites a stop. The surrounding Gumpendorf, on the southern edge of Mariahilf, is a quiet, residential quarter within walking distance of the Naschmarkt.
History
The Rosa Lila Villa traces back to the squatter movement and the early gay and lesbian movement of the late 1970s and 80s; the building, slated for demolition, was squatted in 1982. A lease was signed in 1984, even though homosexuality was still criminalised in Austria at the time; since 2012 the house has carried the expanded name Türkis Rosa Lila Villa.