A punk cake, which for Emma Wenda is simply part of a successful birthday. Of course, she should not be missing at this year’s celebration on the occasion of her 110th birthday in the Laaerberg house.
She is the oldest still living Viennese. This was presented by Mayor Michael Ludwig, who congratulated the jubilee warmly: “Ms. Wenda impressively shows us that you are never too old to dare. At the age of 95 she got into a helicopter and made a sightseeing flight. Today, at the age of 110, we therefore not only celebrate an extraordinary age, but also an extraordinary life. I therefore wish her all the best!”
A moving life
Emma Wenda was born in Biedermannsdorf in 1915 and looks back on an eventful life: two world wars, the Spanish flu, Corona, numerous operations – she survived all of this. She has been the oldest citizen of Vienna since 2024 and is also one of the oldest living people across Austria.
As a trained cook, Emma Wenda took the brave step into a so -called “men’s profession” in the middle of World War II. From 1940 until her retirement in 1970, she worked as a tram maker at the Vienna lines and thus hit a career that was anything but a matter of course in her time. Since many men were on the front, women like them took over important tasks in the public service.
Emma Wenda was in use for the Viennese lines for 30 years – on open wagons, in icy wind, with pinch pliers and an unshakable sense of justice. During the war, she showed civil courage when others looked away.
Even after her retirement, she remained enterprising and traveled a lot. She has been living in the houses to life for 18 years now – initially in the Wienerberg house, since 2016 in the Laaerberg house. She particularly likes to spend her time on the terrace of the house, where she lets the sun shine in the face and rechargges new energy.
“Emma Wenda embodies in a wonderful way what the houses are on life for: a self -determined life down to old age. This is exactly what our approximately 5,000 colleagues are involved every day. This assignment is very particularly valued by the infectious joie de vivre of Emma Wenda today.”
congratulates Mag. Christian Hennefeind, managing director of the houses for life, the jubilee.
The Viennese lines and managing director Alexandra Reinagl warmly congratulate her for the anniversary: “Emma’s story is our story. We say thank you – for your courage, your attitude and tireless efforts in #team open.
Ms. Wenda is currently the oldest resident of the houses to life-but she is not alone: more than 80 hundred years of life in the Viennese pensioner. The trend is rising, as a look at the wine-wide numbers shows: If the federal capital counted around 200 years ago twenty years ago, there are now over 400 people. “On the one hand, the fact that more and more people in Vienna achieve such old age is due to the very good health care in our city and, above all, it is thanks to the excellent nursing and medical care here in the house.”
Mayor Ludwig emphasizes.
Service
Printable photos can be downloaded shortly under the following link: presse.wien.gv.at/bilder