Vienna's Dark Streets: The Jack Unterweger Crime Trail
# Vienna's Imperial Streets Concealed One of Austria's Most Disturbing Serial Killers
In Vienna, Austria, between 1990 and 1991, a man the press would nickname 'Jack the Strangler' moved through the city's red-light district and wooded outskirts, suspected in the murders of multiple women while the public celebrated him as a reformed literary genius.
A City with a Hidden Criminal Landscape
Vienna is best known for its Habsburgs, its coffee houses, and its concert halls. But the same city harboured one of Austria's most unsettling true crime stories — a case that exposed the dangers of myth-making around convicted killers. For visitors drawn to the darker chapters of history, Vienna's streets, parks, and outer neighbourhoods carry a weight that no museum exhibit can fully replicate.
Viator's Vienna crime tours category lists walking experiences focused on the city's criminal and dark historical past. You can browse currently available options at Viator's Vienna Crime Tours page, where operators and schedules are updated regularly. Always contact the operator directly to confirm availability, duration, and pricing before booking.
Who Was Jack Unterweger?
Jack Unterweger had already been convicted of murdering an 18-year-old woman before his infamous 1990–1991 killing spree. He served 15 years in prison, during which he reinvented himself as a published author and poet — celebrated by Austrian intellectuals and journalists who campaigned for his release. He was paroled, and the killings resumed almost immediately.
After his release, Unterweger is believed to have killed at least eight women across Austria and the Czech Republic. His victims — many of them sex workers — were typically strangled with their own clothing and left in wooded areas near urban centres. In Vienna specifically, the neighbourhood of Penzing and areas linked to the city's red-light district became associated with the investigation.
