The exhibition "Scientific World-Conception in Vienna – Places of the Vienna Circle" at the Vienna Library in City Hall (5 June to 19 September 2025) presented the ideas and meeting places of the Vienna Circle in their scientific, social, and political context. The influential circle around Moritz Schlick first appeared in public in 1929, shaped the cultural life of “Red Vienna,” and was almost entirely driven into exile after 1938.

At these meetings, Wittgenstein’s Tractatus was also discussed in depth. Wittgenstein himself declined invitations to attend the meetings, but met with Schlick and Waismann in smaller groups.

On a side note: one of the last remaining paternoster lifts is still in operation at Vienna City Hall.

External link: Vienna Library in City Hall

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Beginning in 1924, regular Thursday evening meetings of the group that would later become known as the Vienna Circle were held at the seminar rooms of the Mathematical Seminar (Institute of Physics) of the University of Vienna, located at Boltzmanngasse 5. Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus was a central topic of discussion at these gatherings. Wittgenstein himself, however, declined invitations to attend the meetings, though he maintained contact in more private settings, particularly with Moritz Schlick and Friedrich Waismann.

Just a few steps away lies the Strudlhofstiege, immortalised in literature by Heimito von Doderer. The historical and philosophical legacy of the Vienna Circle is today preserved by the Institute Vienna Circle, located at Alser Straße 23.

Source: Janik, A.S., & Veigl, H. (1998). Wittgenstein in Wien. Ein biographischer Streifzug durch die Stadt und ihre Geschichte. Springer.

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Here is a translation into British English: At Lange Gasse 72, Florianigasse 42 and Währingerstraße 33–35 in Vienna, memorial plaques commemorate the mathematician Kurt Gödel, who lived at these addresses between 1927 and 1929 and took part in meetings of the Vienna Circle. There are indications of a mutual reception between Gödel and Wittgenstein, who also examined the philosophical foundations of mathematics. However, there is no evidence that the two ever met in person.

Source: Monk, R. (1991). Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. Vintage.

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Friedrich Waismann, a member of the Vienna Circle, resided at Fruchtgasse 3 in Vienna’s second district. Between 1927 and 1936, he engaged in a series of discussions with Ludwig Wittgenstein and soon came to serve as a kind of "spokesperson" for Wittgenstein in relation to the Vienna Circle. Wittgenstein, however, disclaimed any responsibility for Waismann’s interpretations and later distanced himself from him entirely. Waismann’s notes were published posthumously in 1967.

Source: Janik, A.S., & Veigl, H. (1998). Wittgenstein in Wien. Ein biographischer Streifzug durch die Stadt und ihre Geschichte. Springer.

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At this spot on the Philosopher’s Staircase at the University of Vienna, Moritz Schlick was murdered in 1936. Schlick, who served as the leader of the Vienna Circle, was also connected to Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus sparked considerable interest within the Vienna Circle.

Quelle: Edmonds, D. (2020). The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna Circle. Princeton University Press.

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At 68 Prinz-Eugen-Straße in Vienna’s 4th district lived Moritz Schlick, the leading figure of the Vienna Circle. From the summer of 1927 onwards, regular meetings took place between Schlick, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and selected members of the Circle. It soon became clear, however, that Wittgenstein was by no means the positivist he had initially been taken to be (Monk, 1991, p. 243).

Source: Janik, A.S., & Veigl, H. (1998). Wittgenstein in Wien. Ein biographischer Streifzug durch die Stadt und ihre Geschichte. Springer.

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