A Different Kind of Vienna Tour
Wien einmal anders
The Third Man Walking Tour
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This flier announces the
THIRD MAN walking
tour in Vienna—in German
and English.
Auf den Spuren eines Filmklassikers
In the footsteps of a film classic
The Third Man has always been one of my favorite films. Set in post-war Vienna, this classic motion picture is filled with scenes shot on location all over the Austrian capital. So I was very pleased when Dr. Brigitte Timmermann, the founder of Vienna Walks & Talks, was kind enough to take the time to talk with me about her special Third Man Vienna tours and how she came to offer them. I was invited to the headquarters of Vienna Walks & Talks in a classic-looking structure on Vienna's Werdertorgasse.
Upon entering the large, computer-filled but gemütlich office, one of the first things you learn is that Vienna Walks & Talks is a Timmermann family operation (after first making friends with the family's large barking dog). Dr. Timmermann, who earned her doctorate in history and English literature, still personally guides many of the tours for the operation she began in 1987, but she now has the full-time help of her three children: Barbara, Kerstin, and Christopher. As we talked, two of her children were preparing for the next day's tours. Christopher, who also maintains the Timmermann Web site, was on the computer. He is also an accomplished photographer.
Dr. Timmermann told me that she enjoyed giving her normal Vienna walking tours in the beginning, but she wanted wanted to offer something more. She began to look for a unique kind of tour that was truly different, but would allow her to better share her hometown of Vienna with the many tourists who come from all over the world. On a visit to London she found her inspiration. There were London walking tours with themes like “Jack the Ripper” and Shakespeare. “I wondered how I could adapt something like that for Vienna,” Brigitte explained. Her love of Graham Greene's books helped her decide. “I thought about what kind of special theme would suit Vienna best. The Third Man, with its many Vienna locations, seemed ideal.”
The Timmermanns' Der dritte Mann tour allows Vienna visitors and film buffs to retrace the steps of Orson Welles (as Harry Lime) and Joseph Cotten (as Holly Martins) when they made this movie in 1948, under the direction of Carol Reed. A third of all the scenes in The Third Man were shot on location in (and under) Vienna. One site used for the filming of the classic sewer scenes is included in the tour, although Orson Welles took one whiff of underground Vienna before refusing to continue filming there. His sewer scenes were later shot in a London studio, but many underground shots in the finished film were actually filmed in Vienna.
Der dritte Mann: Auf den Spuren
eines Filmklassikers by Brigitte
Timmermann, published in German.
An English version is also available.
See ordering info/links below.
Although the Third Man tour is definitely one of the most popular, today the Timmermann team, all state-certified tour guides (staatlich geprüfte Fremdenführer), offers some 60 different tours, from “Vienna highlights by bike” to music and “coach-and-stroll” tours that allow patrons to cover greater distances by bus but also have the enjoyment of discovering the city on foot. The Timmermanns average about two tours per day. Brigitte also enjoys offering her own special Graham Greene literary tour covering the author's works, including the The Third Man script he wrote for the film. They fit in vacations for each other by mutual agreement when they can.
In October 2002, another Timmermann project appeared in print. Brigitte worked with the British film director and anthropologist Frederick Baker to produce Der dritte Mann: Auf den Spuren eines Filmklassikers, a book first published in German by the Czernin Verlag. Timmermann's book (now also in English from Shippen Rock Publishing) is a wonderful combination of film dialog, historical facts (by Timmermann) about the making of The Third Man, and a “picture” essay by Baker using stills from the motion picture. (See book ordering info below.)
Before our conversation ended, Brigitte's son Christopher graciously offered to give me a special sample Third Man tour the next day, since my schedule did not allow me to take the regular tour, offered only on Mondays and Fridays at 4:00 pm. The photographs on the Third Man Tour Photos page were taken during his special tour. (Thanks again, Christopher!)
Despite her love of Vienna and Austria, Brigitte Timmermann also enjoys traveling to other parts of the world, especially the British Isles, where she has spent much time. But on your next trip to Vienna, you may have the pleasure of having her or one of the other Timmermanns as your Vienna tour guide.
NEXT > Third Man Tour Photos
MORE > The Third Man in the German Classroom
BOOK > The Third Man's Vienna - Celebrating a Film Classic - 49 euro
Shippen Rock Publishing, ISBN: 3-9502050-1-2
BUCH > Der dritte Mann - Auf den Spuren eines Filmklassikers - 49 euro
Shippen Rock Publishing, ISBN: 3-9505050-0-4
WEB > Vienna Walks + Talks (English or German)
WEB > Der dritte Mann (book + tour)
WEB > 3mpc - The Third Man Museum (Vienna)
WEB > Kultour Berlin (walking tours)
Related Pages
Third Man Tour Photos
A collection of photos from the walking tour.
The Third Man in the German Classroom
The first part of an article on the WHAT, WHY and HOW for using the film for German instruction, with worksheets.
Review: The Third Man DVD
My review of the Criterion DVD restoration of this film.
All Third Man Dialogs
The contents page with links to all of our Third Man German dialogues and worksheets.
The Third Man: Trivia & Goofs
Fun with The Third Man.
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