The origin of the name Sievering

The first official mention of Sievering dates to 1114 and names it Sufringen. Over time, the name evolved into Suueringan, Sivring and finally into Sievering. The affix -ing in many Germanic place names has the meaning the place of the people belonging to; Sievering thus means the place of the people belonging to a man named Suver(o)/Sufr. A link was probably made to Saint Severinus of Noricum in the Middle Ages, who is believed to have been a missionary in the area at the start of this period. Severinus is depicted in Sievering's coat of arms and the Sieveringer Pfarrkirche, a Roman-Catholic church in Sievering, is dedicated to him.

Sievering from the Roman Empire to the end of the Middle Ages

At the time of the Roman Empire, there was a large quarry in Sievering, from which stones were used in the construction of the military base Vindobona. There was certainly also a fairly large worker colony. In 1897, a Mithraeum was uncovered at number 132 in the Sieveringer Straße. It was built by the 10th Legion and is now in the City of Vienna's historical museum. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants were farmers who were essentially reliant on their own produce. Wine was produced for sale. The division of Sievering into Obersievering and Untersievering took place in the 14th century; this was documented for the first time in 1330. In 1334, the area was granted to the Klosterneuburg Monastery, but it was returned to the crown in the 15th century. Both Obersievering and Untersievering knew several rulers until they were finally handed to the Hofkammer (Chancellery) in Vienna. A chapel dedicated to Saint Andrew is mentioned in 1330. In 1348, this chapel was transformed into the Sieveringer Pfarrkirche; the first priest is named as Jacob de Medlaer. The Klosterneuburg Monastery did not take over the parish until 1510.

Sievering since the Middle Ages

Sievering and the surrounding settlements suffered greatly during the Ottoman wars in Europe, which greatly impeded their development. In 1634, Obersievering and Untersievering once again received new rulers; Obersievering went to the Camaldolese from Kahlenberg, while Untersievering went to the Gaming Monastery. When the plague hit Vienna in 1713, Sievering suffered particularly badly. 30 of the 33 houses in Obersievering were afflicted, in Untersievering the numbers were 32 of 34. 267 people in all died of the plague in Sievering. In the following decades, Obersievering developed much less rapidly than Untersievering as a result of its cooler, moister climate and poor transport links. In 1767, Obersievering had 41 houses and 26 farmhouses, while Untersievering had just 5 farmhouses. By 1819, Untersievering had overtaken the settlement further upstream - in its 56 houses, Untersievering had 467 inhabitants, while in Obersievering, 377 people were living in 52 houses. From 1789 onwards, private individuals built canals and ponds, planted fruit trees, bred sheep, set up a park and built a farmhouse. In 1832, wood merchant Josef Müller was finally able to reunite both settlements under one owner. He later sold them to Anton Edler von Wirth, who had also purchased Oberdöbling in 1824.

When they were integrated into the city of Vienna in 1892 together with Unterdöbling, Oberdöbling, Heiligenstadt, Nußdorf, Grinzing, Josefsdorf and Kahlenbergerdorf, Obersievering had 626 inhabitants and Untersievering 1,996. Obersievering consisted of 78 houses, Untersievering 214. Around 1900, large apartment blocks were thrown up in the lower Sieveringer Straße, and the surrounding hills were gradually built over. The old centres of Obersievering and Untersievering are nonetheless still recognisable. Tram line 39, which used to run to Sievering, was opened in 1902.