In 1834 he went to Vienna, where he devoted himself to literary work, and wrote the drama Die Letzte Weisse Rose, which was played first in Stuttgart and later in Carlsruhe and Frankfort-on-the-Main, and won great popularity.

With the assistance of Minister Nothomb and the author Hendrik Conscience he founded in 1841 the periodical Die Grenzboten;[1] but on account of the obstacles which the Prussian government placed in the way of its circulation in Germany, Kuranda removed its headquarters to Leipzig, where it soon became an important factor in Austrian politics.

He was placed under police surveillance because he refused to sign an engagement not to write upon politics, and some time elapsed before he could again publish the periodical, which he made the organ of the so-called "Grossdeutsche" liberal party in Austria, and in which he pleaded for the restoration of constitutional conditions.

Kuranda had pointed out in the Oesterreichische Post that Brunner collected material for his accusations against the Jews "from very unclean and suspicious sources, whereby he spread untruthfulness and slander."

On 20 March 1861 Kuranda was sent to the Landtag of Lower Austria as delegate for the district of Vienna, and was subsequently elected to the Reichsrat, retaining his seat in that body for twenty years.

As vice-president of the Israelitische Allianz zu Wien he promoted the study of Wissenschaft des Judentums (Jewish science and history) in which he took great interest.