8 May 2023

Looking for interesting places on a map? Forget maps! Explore the sewers and streets of Vienna on the tracks of the Cold War!

The Cold War has left its mark on Vienna! One of the most interesting and popular tours, the 'Dritte Mann Tour', takes visitors through the city's sewer system in the footsteps of Orson Welles in the role of Harry Lime in the classic film 'The Third Man'. The 1949 film, directed by Carol Reed, broke attendance records and topped the music charts in 1950 with a soundtrack by Viennese zither player Anton Karas. (Watch the trailer with the Harry Lime theme by Anton Karas on YouTube.)
Scenes from the thriller 'The Third Man', which depicts the gritty post-war Vienna, were filmed in the so-called Cholera Canal under Karlsplatz in November 1948. The Third Man tour begins in this area, opposite the Café Museum on Karlsplatz. The entrance is marked by an oversized red concrete grate with illuminated letters '3. Mann Tour' pointing the way down seven meters - into Vienna's underground.

With approximately 19,000 visitors per year, the 'Third Man' tour combines information about the technological innovations of the sewer system with the city's film history. Visitors gain an insight into the film world of yesteryear and the daily work of today's Wien Kanal employees, with a special focus on environmental education and proper waste disposal. Wien Kanal is Austria's largest sewer system operator, transporting about half a billion liters of wastewater to the main treatment plant in Simmering every day, and its employees fish 20,000 kg of garbage out of the underground pipes every day.
Visitors can take the approximately 50-minute tour from 4 May through 29 October, Thursday through Sunday between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Due to popular demand, it is recommended that visitors make reservations online at drittemanntour.at. Guided tours in English take place at 15:00 and by appointment.

Carol Reed's classic movie is not only set in Vienna's canal system. In addition to the sewer tour, visitors can continue their exploration of the city on a two and a half hour walking tour organized by Vienna Walks, which follows in the footsteps of Harry Lime on the cobbled streets of Vienna. The tour visits the most important film locations, tells stories about the film and reports on the 'other' post-war Vienna - war ruins, occupation, the black market and East-West espionage.

Image: Vienna's climate counselor Jürgen Czernohorszky is guided through the 'Dritte Mann Tour' on 6 May 2023. Photo: © PID/VOTAVA.