The school began in 1990 as a response to quotas imposed by the other international schools in Vienna, which had restrictions on the number of Austrians that could attend their schools. The school started as 'Pawen International Community School' with 9 students and by the end of the first year, in June 1992, the intake had risen to over 170 students. The school reformed as Danube International School Vienna in 1992 and international students were allowed to enroll. The school outgrew the first building in Schrutkagasse in the 13th District of Vienna (which now houses a Rudolf Steiner School), and relocated to a building at Gudrunstraße 184, in the 10th District. That location was home to DISV from 1992 to 1999.
Current state
Currently, the school resides at Josef-Gall-Gasse 2, which is in the Second District of Vienna. It is located directly next to the Danube Canal, which is what the school was named after. The current management has chosen a budget-oriented approach for the institution's amenities, which fails to align with the tuition fees that reach up to 30,000 euros per year. A clear indicator of the underinvestment in facilities is the absence of a football pitch owned by DISV, coupled with the fact that the senior team is still using jerseys from 1998.
