"Graben" means "ditch", and that is exactly what this street was: the ditch around the Roman camp and later the first medieval wall. As the city grew it was filled in and became an elongated market square. Today it is Vienna's most elegant promenade.

1An emperor's vow

In 1679 a plague epidemic ravaged the city and killed thousands. Emperor Leopold I, who fled Vienna, vowed to put up a column if the plague ended. A temporary wooden one went up that same year. The final marble version took over a decade: Matthias Rauchmiller began work on it and, after his death, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Paul Strudel took part, following a programme by the court stage designer Lodovico Burnacini. It was consecrated on 29 October 1693.

2A 21-metre cloud

The column is about 21 metres tall and is arranged in three levels: humans at the bottom, angels in the middle and the Holy Trinity at the top. Look halfway up for Leopold himself, kneeling in prayer, with the famous Habsburg lip. Below him, a figure of Faith holding a cross pushes a gaunt old woman into the abyss: the plague, defeated.

The monument celebrates both the end of the plague and the victory over the Ottomans in 1683: the emperor's piety as the city's shield.

3What to look for

  • Leopold I on his knees, with crown and mantle.
  • The falling old woman, symbol of the plague, near the base.
  • The gilded Trinity at the top.

Documented

Leopold I vowed the column during the plague of 1679; the marble version was consecrated on 29 October 1693 after work by Rauchmiller, Fischer von Erlach, Strudel and Burnacini.

Sources and credits

Wien Geschichte Wiki, entries "Pestsäule" and "Graben"; Bundesdenkmalamt, "Dehio Wien. I. Bezirk – Innere Stadt"; German Wikipedia, "Wiener Pestsäule".

Photos:

  • The Plague Column on the Graben, in white marble with clouds, angels and the gilded Trinity at the top: Pymouss, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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