In summer 2016 the Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein project to transform the Ringturm into a monumental art installation took place for the ninth time. The title of the installation, which towered above the Danube Canal, was Sorgenfrei (Unburdened), by Ivan Exner. It marked the 25th anniversary of Czech Group company Kooperativa pojišťovna, a.s., Vienna Insurance Group.
A special ceremony celebrating the completion of the giant canvas took place on Friday 24 June 2016 on the 20th floor of the Ringturm. It was attended by Thomas Drozda, Austrian Federal Minister for Arts and Culture, Constitution and Media, and Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, who opened the artistic covering.
“The foundations for Kooperativa, the first private insurance company in the former Communist bloc, were laid 25 years ago. This year’s covering of the Ringturm not only marks this jubilee, it also reflects the Group’s close links with the Czech Republic and our Czech employees,” commented Günter Geyer, Chairman of the Managing Board of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, the Vienna Insurance Group’s main shareholder.
Watch this video for some spectacular views of the 2016 covering of the Ringturm:
