Vienna blooms on: Apfelallee and free swimming courses for kids!

Vienna blooms on: Apfelallee and free swimming courses for kids!

On April 15, 2025, two new projects of the children's and youth million were officially started on the Danube Island in Vienna. Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling praised the commitment of young people in the city and presented the initiative, which pursues the goal of making Vienna more child and youth-friendly. The projects include a newly created apple tree avenue and free swimming courses for children and adolescents.

The Apfelbaumallee consists of 40 freshly planted apple trees, including varieties such as Elstar, Jonagold, Cox Orange and Boskop, and has Total costs of around 30,000 euros, financed by the child and youth million. This project was initiated by young people from the Juvivo.06 association and is intended to promote understanding of nature and climate protection among young people. The apple trees are available to visitors to the Danube Island for a free fruit harvest.

swimming courses for everyone

The second project is called "Water Adventure - Free Swimming Courses" and is aimed at 1,048 children and adolescents who did not have the opportunity to learn to swim during the pandemic. The swimming courses start in the summer of 2025 and offer the participants the entire pool entry costs for themselves and an accompanying person. The age group for the courses ranges from 6 to 17 years and comprises 10 units in which there is also the possibility to acquire swimming badges.

Registration for these swimming courses begins on June 2, 2025, and the courses are carried out in various urban baths, including the Amalienbad, Simmering, Theresienbad, Hietzing, Donaustadt, Döbling and the Großfeldsiedlung.

participation of young people

The child and youth million is a participation initiative of the city of Vienna, which has been providing one million euros for projects every two years since 2021. In the last round, 148 ideas were submitted, 49 of whom were placed for election. More than 4,700 children and adolescents have coordinated online, and finally 10 projects were selected, which include the initiatives presented today. The entire process is organized and accompanied by the Junge Vienna coordination office near Wienxtra.

In the past, the child and youth million were successful with their concrete implementation. In the online voting between May 21 and June 14, 2024, 4,714 Viennese aged 5 to 20 years took part to choose their favorite projects. A total of 227 ideas submitted were selected 10 winning projects. These projects range from skater and dirt jump parks to cycling playgrounds and are intended to promote the participatory experience of young people.

The strategy for promoting children and adolescents in Vienna is based on the results of the “Werkstadt Junges Vienna”, where over 22,500 young people brought their ideas and suggestions. The Child and youth strategy of the city of Vienna has the goal of making Vienna the most child-friendly city, and bundles measures from various departments to take into account the needs of children and young people in political decisions.

Overall, the development of the projects shows how intensively the city of Vienna is working on improving the quality of life of young people by offering them space for creative development and valuable learning experiences.