Abbegasse (Breitensee) was named in 1930 after Ernst Abbe.
Ernst Abbe (1850 – 1905) was a German physicist, optical scientist, entrepreneur, and social reformer. Together with Otto Schott and Carl Zeiss, he laid the foundation of modern optics. Abbe developed numerous optical instruments. He was a co-owner of Carl Zeiss AG, a German manufacturer of research microscopes, astronomical telescopes, planetariums and other optical systems. Abbe established the Zeiss foundation in 1889. The foundations charter of 1896 showed Abbe‘s social commitment. For example, employees had co-determination rights, paid vacation, profit-sharing, a documented right to retirement pay, continued payment of wages in the event of illness, and starting in 1900, an eight-hour workday.
Abbegasse was the first street I visited back in August 2010 and I didn’t know at this point, that it would be the kick off for a major photography project of mine. I just had to shoot a test-roll of Lazer film by my company revolog. I felt uninspired and needed new input and thought of going to the alphabetically first street of Vienna to take photos. It would be some time until I visited the next street in the alphabet though. I guess good ideas have to ripen.
