among the typical features of viennese fin-de-siècle apartment buildings are palatial facades, magnificent foyers, and lofty living spaces—as well as gloomy, shaft-like inner courtyards. though not visible in postcard pictures and instagram photos of the magnificent ringstraße, nearly all residents of vienna’s inner districts suffer from the consequences of this urban planning failure. high real estate prices, reckless investors, and ignorant building codes that made it legal to build on up to 80% of a plot of land gave rise to intricate, dark backyard complexes, inhabited by the servants and poorer residents. as dreary as the view from one of the windows may be, looking up reveals the often exciting geometric shapes of the courtyards and the irregular eaves lines. worth a poster—in order to cheer up those who have nothing but a dull, grey wall in front of their window.