A green area near the former “Löweltores” was given this name because families and many couples would gather there on public holidays when the weather was nice. From time to time, sinister companions also ended up in this area. This case is about an officer who wanted to take his own life because of humiliation in the police force and an unhappy love affair.
Fortunately, things turned out differently: Rudolf Gruber was to make a career in the Vienna police force. So the civil servant sat down in the coffee house in the “Paradeisgartl” when he saw an older man he knew. He had arrested the man for theft. The gentleman was uncomfortable with the situation. He paid and left the restaurant. Before doing so, he threw something under the table. That was his biggest mistake.
The detective bent under the table and took a so-called barrier bag . He then followed the suspect but lost sight of him. On Kärntnerstraße, at house number 1072, he saw a large crowd of people. The maid Anna Watzek, who worked for the apartment owner Theresia Gradl, was fatally injured in the head and robbed.
But Rudolf Gruber kept thinking about the man in the coffee house at Paradeisgartl. The suspect’ s name was Josef König and he lived with his wife on Landstrasse. The policeman made his way to the address where he did not find the wanted man. The couple had moved to Breitenfeld. Inspector Gruber went to the new address where he found the lawbreaker . The suspect had to follow the detective to the police station.
He was also suspected of the robbery and murder of the second-hand goods dealer Johanna Andreska in Breitenfeld. The seized bulky bag was assigned to her. Inspector Gruber cross-examined Josef König. He finally confessed to murdering the second-hand goods dealer Johanna Andreska and the maid Anna Watzek. The man from Neuharzdorf in Bohemia was sentenced to death by hanging.
Time Travel Tip: The “Paradeisgartl” park was located in the area of today’s Burgtheateruntil 1872 and occupied the area of the Volksgarten.
Editor: Michael Ellenbogen
