Data description of "building age map, Vienna, around 1920".

Building age maps inventory the construction dates of buildings. While many cities routinely map the construction dates of present building stocks, building age maps of the distant past are mostly not available. An exception is the building age map of Vienna around 1920.

Long-term evolution of fish communities in European mountainous rivers: past log driving effects, river management and species introduction (Salzach River, Danube).

Using historical sources from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, we investigated the long-term evolution of the fish community in a mountainous river network and the influence of different human uses and management measures. Within the alpine Salzach catchment, historical presence was reconstructed for 26 fish species, abundance classes for 19 species. Due to channelization, flood protection and dam erections, the spatial distribution of fish species was reduced during the 20th century.

Urban land for a growing city at the banks of a moving river: Vienna's spread into the Danube island Unterer Werd from the late 17th to the beginning of the 20th century.

In the relation between urban development and the Viennese Danube different periods can be identified from the late 17th to the early 20th century. These periods were strongly intertwined with both the history of the river and the history of the city. Urban expansion into the floodplains is demonstrated in this paper by investigating the island Unterer Werd, next to the city centre.

Changes in water and land: the reconstructed Viennese riverscape from 1500 to the present.

Medieval Vienna was situated at the main arm of the swiftly flowing alpine Danube. From the fourteenth century onwards, the river gradually moved away from the city. This marked the beginning of 500 years of human intervention to prevent further displacement of the river and to preserve the waterway as a vital supply line.

Two steps back, one step forward: reconstructing the dynamic Danube riverscape under human influence in Vienna.

As part of an interdisciplinary project on the environmental history of the Viennese Danube, the past river landscape was reconstructed. This article describes the different types of historical sources used for the GIS-based reconstruction, the underlying methodological approach and its limitations regarding reliability and information value. The reconstruction was based on three cornerstones: (1) the available historical sources; (2) knowledge about morphological processes typical for the Austrian Danube prior to regulation; and (3) the interpretation of past hydraulic measures with respect to their effectiveness and their impact on the river's behaviour.