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DIS started off life in 1992 in Schrutkagasse in the 13th District. The school had another name, then - 'Pawen International Community School' that now houses a Rudolf Steiner school. We began with 9 students and we finished in June 1992 with over 170. This was quite a fast growth rate and showed us how much the business community in Vienna needed an International School to assist them in their needs! In fact, we outgrew the building. By the end of the second year it was terribly noisy during break time in such a small building. There was a small garden, which got very muddy in winter when students played out there. Needless to say, there was no gymnasium or assembly hall. We needed a move.

We found a building at Gudrunstrasse 184, in the 10th District, which was home to DIS for 7 years - from 1992 to 1999. It was an office building originally used as a torpedo factory during World War II. This was clear from the shape of the lift - very long and thin. Our school occupied the whole of the first floor and half of the ground floor. Sharing the ground floor with our Performing Arts Studio, Kindergarten and Primary classes was a Chinese restaurant.


Last day at Gudrunstrasse

Many memorable performances took place in the Performing Arts Studio. Getting the whole school into the Studio for an assembly was quite a squash. Some students now in Middle School have fond memories of their time in the rooms on the ground floor, where Kindergarten and Primary ('Reception' as it used to be called) classes were. In Break and Lunch, students crossed the car park over to the Waldmueller Park, where they played football or climbed around in the playground.

The first floor consisted of a long corridor with classrooms on either side. At the Gudrunstrasse end were the Elementary School classrooms, in the middle the Middle School rooms and at the far end was the High School. The main Library was at the High School end but there was also an Elementary Library at the other end. In fact it took less than a minute to walk from one end of the School to the other. Space was one thing we did not have!


Art Studio

Starting our first school year in Josef Gall-Gasse was an event largely notable for dust, drilling noise and cardboard boxes. It was the closest anyone had taught or learned in what seemed like a building site. The third and fourth floors were not open, so High School teachers shared classrooms on the second floor and students found it hard to find their teacher. In quick succession the front entrance, the Theatre, the cafeteria, the Art Centre, the Computer Centre, the Science Laboratories, the Business Centre, the Winter Garden and the gym and the Stage and Hall all became ready for use. The Art Studio took a little longer to complete because a mold for the stair had to be made so that concrete could be poured in from the roof and then set for 2 weeks before use. Students and teachers had all put up with a lot but it had been worth it. DIS finally had its own very beautiful home!

Then, only two years later we were preparing for the 10th anniversary of the school's foundation which was marked by community projects, school photographs and notable lectures.


New Wing rebuild

In 2003 the school managed to take over the lease of what was formerly the "Artists in Residence" section adjoining the school. This section is officially on Boecklinstrasse but is interconnected with the main school. The "new wing" is home to Middle School homerooms, language offices and language teaching rooms.

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