{"id":31492,"date":"2021-04-16T04:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T03:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=31492"},"modified":"2025-03-27T16:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:56:29","slug":"vermaehlungsbrunnen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/vermaehlungsbrunnen\/","title":{"rendered":"The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen monument"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vbrunnensmall.jpg\" alt=\"Angel statue on the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-31494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vbrunnensmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vbrunnensmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You know the videos where someone stands still and everyone rushes past in high-speed? The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen is the historical equivalent: a seemingly ever-present monument on a square that&#8217;s changed considerably through the ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Baroque monument unveiled in 1732<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dedicated in thanks to Saint Joseph<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Depicts his marriage to the Virgin Mary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also starred in the movie <em>The Third Man<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a themed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-city-tours-l205280\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_CityTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">guided tour<\/a>* of Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/baroque\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30588\">Baroque Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One wedding &amp; a movie<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/vermaehlungsbrunnen.jpg\" alt=\"The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-45364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/vermaehlungsbrunnen.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/vermaehlungsbrunnen-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen in its not-quite-so-old surrounds)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the name translates as wedding fountain, the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen is actually a form of votive column: a monument erected in thanksgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emperor Leopold I (1640-1705) promised to build the monument in honour of St. Joseph should Leopold&#8217;s son (also named Joseph) return safely and successfully from a siege of the stronghold at Landau during the war of the Spanish succession at the start of the 1700s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A wooden implementation of this promise eventually appeared in 1707, by which time Leopold&#8217;s son had succeeded him as Emperor Joseph I (1678-1711).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with the more famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/plague-column-pestsaule\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"432\">plague column<\/a> elsewhere in Vienna, a stone monument later replaced the earlier version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That more durable update appeared around 1732 under the aegis of Emperor Charles VI (he of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/karlskirche\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22144\">Karlskirche<\/a> fame), who succeeded his brother Joseph in 1711.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vermaehlungsbrunnen1732.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vermaehlungsbrunnen1732.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vermaehlungsbrunnen1732-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen on Hoher Markt around 1733, as illustrated by Salomon Kleiner, engraved by Johann August Corvinus and published by Johann Andreas d. \u00c4. Pfeffel; collection of the Wien Museum, reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The monument&#8217;s name does actually make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two small fountains flank the set of columns, for example. And the central scene shows the marriage of Saint Joseph to the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That event served as a popular motif in much religious art. Raphael famously painted a similar scene in 1504, for example, as did El Greco around 100 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You find the monument on the Hoher Markt square, close to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"294\">Stephansdom cathedral<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vermaehlenbrunnen2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vermaehlenbrunnen2.jpg\" alt=\"Inscription on the side of the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen\" class=\"wp-image-59237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vermaehlenbrunnen2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vermaehlenbrunnen2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The 1732 inscription contains a dedication to Joseph and details how Charles VI&#8217;s new bronze and marble  construction replaces the one put up by his predecessors)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The location belongs to the historical centre of the city, predating the arrival of any Habsburgs by centuries: Roman officers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/vindobona\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"32729\">lived on this spot<\/a> and Emperor Marcus Aurelius may have stayed here. Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/roman-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"35392\">R\u00f6mermuseum<\/a> (Roman Museum) actually occupies house no. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite its age, the square looks largely modern, for which we can thank the bombs of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/wwii-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"69411\">World War II<\/a>. Yet the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen remains, like an ancient oak among all those upstart pines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We actually have a reasonable historical record of how the Hoher Markt looked immediately after the war, since it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31222\">plays a role<\/a> in the movie <em>The Third Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen appears several times in the film, most notably toward the end as the net closes in on the villainous Harry Lime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to find the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The monument lies centrally on the river side of the old town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as the R\u00f6mermuseum, another near neighbour is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/ankeruhr-anchor-clock\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"6414\">Ankeruhr<\/a>; clusters of tourists wait around this mechanical clock at midday to see the full rotation of its figures (one of which is Marcus Aurelius himself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subway: a short walk from the stations Stephansdom (U1 and U3), Herrengasse (U3) or Schottentor (U4 and U1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tram\/Bus: the 1A and 3A &#8220;old town&#8221; buses both stop at Hoher Markt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Hoher Markt, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1hQqwCSKloY-P-q500WQnU7HSh-NByT5h\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You know the videos where someone stands still and everyone rushes past in high-speed? The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen is the historical equivalent: a seemingly ever-present monument on a square that&#8217;s changed considerably through the ages. One wedding &amp; a movie (The Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen in its not-quite-so-old surrounds) Although the name translates as wedding fountain, the Verm\u00e4hlungsbrunnen is actually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31492"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81567,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31492\/revisions\/81567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}