Young Vienna
Encyclopedia
Young Vienna was a society of fin de siècle
writers who met in Vienna's Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897. Their work is often broadly categorized as "Viennese coffeehouse literature" or as part of a larger Wiener Moderne
movement that affected many disciplines.
The group turned away from the prevailing Naturalism
of the time and experimented with various facets of Modernism
, including Symbolism
and Impressionism
. Members were known for their indolence and decadence, traits satirized by Karl Kraus
in his 1897 essay Die Demolierte Literatur (Demolished Literature).
Hermann Bahr
was considered the group's spokesman. Other members included Arthur Schnitzler
, Felix Dörmann, Peter Altenberg
, Richard Beer-Hofmann
, Felix Salten
, Raoul Auernheimer
, Hugo von Hofmannsthal
, and, though he would later distance himself from the group, Karl Kraus
.
Though little work was accomplished at the café, the writers exchanged manuscripts, criticism, and often mistresses.
The group dissolved on 20 January 1897, a day before Café Griensteidl was to be demolished. According to Schnitzler's diary, Felix Salten
, angry with a negative review Kraus had given him, attacked the young journalist in the café. Many of the members continued to meet at the nearby Café Central.
Fin de siècle
Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century". The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning...
writers who met in Vienna's Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897. Their work is often broadly categorized as "Viennese coffeehouse literature" or as part of a larger Wiener Moderne
Wiener Moderne
The Wiener Moderne or Viennese Modern Age is a term describing the culture of Vienna in the period between approximately 1890 and 1910. It refers especially to the development of modernism in the Austrian capital and its effect on the spheres of philosophy, literature, music, art, design and...
movement that affected many disciplines.
The group turned away from the prevailing Naturalism
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
of the time and experimented with various facets of Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, including Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and Impressionism
Impressionism (literature)
Influenced by the Impressionist art movement, many writers adopted a style that relied on associations. The Dutch Tachtigers explicitly tried to incorporate impressionism into their prose, poems, and other literary works...
. Members were known for their indolence and decadence, traits satirized by Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
in his 1897 essay Die Demolierte Literatur (Demolished Literature).
Hermann Bahr
Hermann Bahr
Hermann Bahr was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic.-Biography:Born and raised in Linz, Bahr studied Philosophy, Law, Economics and Philology in Vienna, Czernowitz and Berlin. During a prolonged stay in Paris he discovered his interest in literature and art...
was considered the group's spokesman. Other members included Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
, Felix Dörmann, Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He was key to the genesis of early modernism in the city.-Biography:...
, Richard Beer-Hofmann
Richard Beer-Hofmann
Richard Beer-Hofmann was an Austrian dramatist and poet.After the early death of his mother, Beer-Hofmann was raised by his aunt's family in Brno and Vienna. In the 1880s he studied law in Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 1890...
, Felix Salten
Felix Salten
Felix Salten was an Austrian author and critic in Vienna. His most famous work is Bambi .-Life:...
, Raoul Auernheimer
Raoul Auernheimer
Raoul Auernheimer was an Austrian jurist and writer.Auernheimer was the son of German businessman Johann Wilhelm Auernheimer and his Hungarian wife Charlotte "Jenny" Büchler. After receiving his Abitur, Auernheimer began to study law at the university in his hometown...
, Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal ; , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Early life:...
, and, though he would later distance himself from the group, Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
.
Though little work was accomplished at the café, the writers exchanged manuscripts, criticism, and often mistresses.
The group dissolved on 20 January 1897, a day before Café Griensteidl was to be demolished. According to Schnitzler's diary, Felix Salten
Felix Salten
Felix Salten was an Austrian author and critic in Vienna. His most famous work is Bambi .-Life:...
, angry with a negative review Kraus had given him, attacked the young journalist in the café. Many of the members continued to meet at the nearby Café Central.