{"id":432,"date":"2015-09-01T12:48:18","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T10:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=432"},"modified":"2025-02-04T16:56:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T15:56:49","slug":"plague-column-pestsaule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/plague-column-pestsaule\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pests\u00e4ule plague column"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/perstsaeulethumb.jpg\" alt=\"Pest column angel\" class=\"wp-image-3816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/perstsaeulethumb.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/perstsaeulethumb-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In the absence of antibiotics, what&#8217;s a 17th-century city to do when the plague sweeps across Europe? Put up a few statues and trust to providence it would seem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Detailed decorated column erected around 1690<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A Viennese landmark on the pedestrianised Graben<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for the (in)famous protruding Habsburg lip on a lower relief<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a two-hour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_WalkingTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* for your trip<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/\">Vienna sights<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"pestsaule-history\">Pests\u00e4ule history<\/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\/2024\/05\/plaguecolumn2024.jpg\" alt=\"Plague column with the Graben behind\" class=\"wp-image-71730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/plaguecolumn2024.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/plaguecolumn2024-300x225.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\">(A view down the Graben with the Pests\u00e4ule on the left. Given the lack of pedestrians, I must have got up alarmingly early for this photo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life is rarely relaxed when your next visitor might bring thousands of friends waving swords and pitchforks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you can hardly blame the 17th-century Viennese for&nbsp;trying everything to get a bit of higher authority on their side. Just in case they ever needed divine help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1679, for example, one particularly unwelcome visitor was <em>Yersinia pestis<\/em>, better known as the bacteria that causes the plague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help ward off the epidemic, the authorities built a wooden Pests\u00e4ule (pest column) on the Graben in Vienna&#8217;s centre.<\/p>\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\/02\/pestcolumnangels.jpg\" alt=\"Cloud of angels on the pest column\" class=\"wp-image-42975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pestcolumnangels.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pestcolumnangels-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\">(Clouds of angels up the column)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Pests\u00e4ule drew its inspiration from the tradition of Marian or Holy Trinity columns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These columns were topped by the Virgin Mary or a representation of the Holy Trinity. People typically erected them as a declaration of faith or out of gratitude for surviving some dramatic event, like a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course,&nbsp;large columns of this nature also did no harm for the self-esteem and image of the sponsor, adding another tick in their book of good deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This wooden Pests\u00e4ule went up while the plague still raged through the city, but the Emperor of the time (Leopold I) committed himself to building a more durable alternative, presumably to give thanks for the eventual end of the epidemic.<\/p>\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\/2024\/02\/pestcolumn1732.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing of the pests\u00e4ule in 1733\" class=\"wp-image-68165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/pestcolumn1732.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/pestcolumn1732-300x225.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\">(View of the Pests\u00e4ule as drawn by Salomon Kleiner, engraved by Johann August Corvinus and published by Johann Andreas d. \u00c4. Pfeffel in 1733; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 95077\/79; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, Leopold didn&#8217;t hang around to lend much moral support to his suffering subjects. He fled the city, returning only when the all clear was given. Not the only time he ever did a runner: Leopold also abandoned Vienna before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/the-1683-siege-of-vienna\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"29264\">1683 siege<\/a> by the Ottoman empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Not even monarchs are safe from fate&#8217;s eye for a touch of irony, however. The plague &#8220;followed&#8221; Leopold to Prague.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-plague-column-itself\">The plague column itself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first designer of the new, permanent Pests\u00e4ule (Matthias Rauchmiller) died in 1686 before too much progress could be made.<\/p>\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\/02\/perscolumnbase.jpg\" alt=\"Base of the pest column\" class=\"wp-image-42976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/perscolumnbase.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/perscolumnbase-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\">(View of the lower level)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Various sculptors and others then became involved with the further development and construction, including a certain Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the architect responsible for such iconic Viennese buildings as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/history\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/spanishridingschool\/\">Spanish Riding School<\/a>, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/karlskirche\/\">Karlskirche<\/a> church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a dedication to the Holy Trinity, the number three or multiples of three play a strong role throughout the column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the design involves three vertical layers: the first human, then angels, then the Holy Trinity itself. You&#8217;ll also see the Pests\u00e4ule has three wings, nine large angels, three bronze scrolls, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look for the Emperor himself on the most open side, easily identified by the protruding lower lip: a facial characteristic common to the Habsburg dynasty.<\/p>\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\/02\/pestcolumnleopold.jpg\" alt=\"Leopold I and his protruding lip\" class=\"wp-image-42977\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pestcolumnleopold.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pestcolumnleopold-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\">(Emperor Leopold I)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even today, this medical condition (mandibular prognathism) is known as Habsburg Jaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-get-to-the-plague-column\">How to get to the plague column<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re in Vienna for longer than around 5 minutes, you&#8217;ll likely find yourself wandering down the pedestrianised Graben. This street runs between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"294\">Stephansdom cathedral<\/a> and the east side of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">Hofburg palace complex<\/a>. The plague column sits about half way along: you can&#8217;t miss it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there, check out two buildings opposite: the famous architect, Otto Wagner, built both the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/ankerhaus\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5125\">Ankerhaus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/grabenhof\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5023\">Grabenhof<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, take a trip to just outside the city and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/klosterneuburg-abbey\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"63157\">Klosterneuburg Abbey<\/a>. The treasury there includes a gorgeous 1679 silver filigree model of the original plague column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Graben, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1IxPFEhDg3FsX7IS7iCoTg5wgA-9Mi0Cq\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the absence of antibiotics, what&#8217;s a 17th-century city to do when the plague sweeps across Europe? Put up a few statues and trust to providence it would seem. Pests\u00e4ule history (A view down the Graben with the Pests\u00e4ule on the left. Given the lack of pedestrians, I must have got up alarmingly early for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3816,"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-432","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\/432","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=432"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80030,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions\/80030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}