Fire in the Redouten Halls of the Hofburg

The catastrophe of November 1992

In the night of November 27, 1992, fire broke out in the larger of the Redouten Halls. This was discovered a little after 1 o’clock in the morning by a member of the security staff who sounded the alarm. After just three minutes the Vienna Fire Department were extinguishing the flames; 240 firemen were on site but the roof collapsed at 2:30 am. Half an hour later the entire roof truss was on fire.

As the fire threatened to engulf the adjacent buildings of the Hofburg, 69 of the famous Lippizaner studs from the Spanish Riding School were brought to safety in the nearby Volksgarten. Thousands of books were salvaged from the State Hall of the National Library next door.

The last flames were not extinguished until November 28 at 8:15 am. No one could guess the extent of the damage at this point.