“It all started with an ideas competition that arose from the youth council, in which the city wanted to offer young people a place to meet and hold events,” remembers cultural councilor Stephan Schimanowa, SPÖ. A concept was then created that was implemented in the building on Eisentorgasse.
In 1997, the local council decided to renovate the former girls’ high school on Eisentorgasse and create the “House of Youth” there. In December 1999, the “Haus der Jugend Mödling” association was founded as a supporting organization; the current chairman is Stephan Schimanowa.
It has proven to be a successful concept because of the youth work carried out there, the youth center Hauscafé, the concerts and events in the Redbox, the BACH education center of Diakonie Austria, where refugees and migrants can get an educational qualification, and “Hobby Lobby – Don’t feel like sitting on the couch (free learning assistance and sports activities) are very popular.
“Last year, exactly 4,612 visitors visited the in-house café on 160 opening days. This shows how important it is to offer young people a space and various leisure activities and that the youth center makes a significant contribution to this,” emphasized Schimanowa. Only the originally planned youth hostel “didn’t work out as planned. In the end it was too time-consuming,” admits Schimanowa.
Redbox is also experiencing an upswing
“But in general, our House of Youth has proven to be one of the most innovative youth projects; This year the Redbox is to be fully revitalized again, there are plans to triple the number of events, and we will bring some big names to Mödling.” A real highlight in spring is the appearance of musician Manu Delago, who will perform “Mad About Lemon” on Tuesday, March 5th.
The concerts and youth culture events in the Redbox were also attended by a total of 2,582 people in 2023. The program was able to combine already proven concert series such as the “Noiseflash” for young bands, but also with new formats such as the reggae event “Mundartig in Mödling”, the jam session, the “Redbox Kino” and the events far beyond the city’s borders well-known slam poetry events.
A big birthday party for the 25th anniversary is planned for the fall.