At 1,100 metres (0.68 mi) in length and spanning four tram stops, Karl-Marx-Hof is one of the longest single residential buildings in the world.

[citation needed] Karl-Marx-Hof was built on land that, until the 12th century, had been under the waters of the Danube, deep enough for ships to travel over the area.

By 1750, all that remained was a pool of water, which was drained on the order of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.

Gardens were then built in the area, but these were removed by the Vienna city council, then under the "Red Vienna" period of control by the Social Democratic Party of Austria to make room for the erection of Karl-Marx-Hof, financed by a special tax named after councillor Hugo Breitner, commissioning locally and internationally renowned architects.

During the February Uprising of the 1934 Austrian Civil War, insurgents engaged in the revolt barricaded themselves inside the building and were forced to surrender after the Austrian army, the police, and the Austrofascist paramilitary Heimwehr bombarded the site regardless of the unarmed dwellers, mainly worker families, with light artillery.