Having lost its economic, political, and military prowess Vienna clung to its artistic institutions--something that continues to this day. While the city had lost some of its prestige as a power-center, it had lost none of its pride in being the cradle of so much music and art. The musical elite, therefore, had a great deal of sway within the Empire and tried their hardest to protect it from falling into the hands of foreigners, while maintaining high standards (de La Grange 1973, 420).

Xenophobia was also on the rise in the capital city. Karl Lueger was elected mayor in 1897 on the Anti-Semitism Party platform. He, like many others, placed blame on the Jews living in Vienna for hording money and clogging up the city's artistic institutions. His election only continued an unfortunate trend in Europe's historical trajectory, one that would culminate in the rise of a man who held Lueger in high regard--Adolf Hitler.