Pestsäule (Vienna)
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The Plague Column (german: die Wiener Pestsäule), or Trinity Column (german: Dreifaltigkeitssäule), is a Holy Trinity column located on the Graben, a street in the
inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Erected after the
Great Plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
epidemic in 1679, the Baroque memorial is one of the best known and most prominent sculptural artworks in the city. Christine M. Boeckl, author of ''Images of Plague and Pestilence'', calls it "one of the most ambitious and innovative sculptural ensembles created anywhere in Europe in the post- Bernini era."


History

In 1679, Vienna suffered one of the last great
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...
epidemics. Fleeing the city, the Habsburg emperor Leopold I vowed to erect a mercy column if the epidemic would end. In the same year, a provisional wooden column made by Johann Frühwirth was inaugurated, showing the Holy Trinity on a
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
column together with nine sculpted angels (for the ''Nine Choirs of Angels''). In 1683,
Matthias Rauchmiller Matthias Rauchmiller (also known as Matthias Rauchmüller) was a painter, sculptor and ivory carver active and influential in Vienna after 1675. Born on January 11, 1645, in Radolfzell (near Lake Constance, in Germany), he died in Vienna on Febr ...
was commissioned to create a general design as well as some sculptures. Rauchmiller died in 1686, but his basic conception and three of his angel figures can still be seen on the modern monument. Several new designs followed, among others by
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...
, who designed the sculptures at the base of the column. Finally, the project management was assigned to
Paul Strudel Paul Strudel or Paul Strudl (c. 1648 – 20 November 1708) was an Austrian sculptor, architect, engineer, and painter, ennobled as Baron von Strudel and Vochburg. "Landesmuseum Niederösterreich - Geschichte/Personen - Paul Strudel" (history ...
, who based his work on the concept of theatre engineer Lodovico Burnacini. Below the Trinity figure, Burnacini envisioned a cloud pyramid with angel sculptures as well as the kneeling emperor Leopold, praying to a sculpture of faith. Among others, the sculptors
Tobias Kracker Tobias Kracker (April 21, 1655-February 5, 1736) was a sculptor and painter from a family of artists who worked in Vienna during the 17th century and later throughout the Habsburg monarchy. He was trained in the school of his eponymous father (To ...
and Johann Bendel contributed to the column. The column was inaugurated in 1694. In spite of the long construction period, the frequent amendments of the design and the large number of sculptors involved, the monument appears quite homogeneous. During the design period, it changed from a conservative memorial column to a High Baroque scene, narrating a story in a theatrical form. The monument thus indicates the transition to the era of High Baroque in Vienna. It highly influenced the style and was imitated in the whole Austrian region.


Iconography

The column has a complex iconography, the basic message of which is that the plague and the Ottomans' Second Siege of Vienna (1683), both of them punishments for sin, were averted or defeated by the piety and intercession of the Emperor Leopold I. (The pillar thus also represents a (victory) monument to that emperor.) In the iconography, the Trinity expresses itself several times in the number three, namely vertically in three stages:Thomas Winkelbauer: ''1522-1699, Freedom of suffrage and prince power. Lands and subjects of the House of Habsburg in the denominational age '' (=
Herwig Wolfram Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna Sc ...
(ed.): '' Austrian History. ''). Part 2. Ueberreuter, Vienna 2003, , p. 189 et seq.
# the pedestal, reserved for mankind, in the upper third of which Leopold I prays to God as an intercessor; # a second, higher level occupied by angels, in an intermediate zone between God and mankind; # and the highest level, reserved for the Holy Trinity. In addition, there is also a tripartite division in plan, which establishes a connection between the sacral program and the three parts of the Habsburg monarchy: # The western face is dedicated to God the Father and bears a
double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, origina ...
, the coat of arms of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, as well as the coats of arms of the
Inner Austria Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchi ...
n lands, the duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. Between the western and eastern wings are the coats of arms for the core countries of the monarchy. # The eastern face is associated with the Son of God and bears the coats of arms of the kingdoms of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
and Dalmatia, as well as Bosnia. #The northern face, which belongs to the Holy Spirit, is decorated with the coats of arms of the
Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
, the Margraviate of
Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...
and
Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
, as well as the
Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Piast ...
.


Gallery

File:PESTSAULE-VIENNA-Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram (13).jpg, Top of the Plague Column File:GuentherZ 2009-12-03 0122 Wien01 Graben Pestsaeule beleuchtet.JPG, Plague Column at night File:Pestsäule Vienna Aug 2006.jpg, Coat of arms of Hungary File:CoA Archdukes of Austria Pestsäule Vienna.jpg, Coat of arms of the archdukes of Austria


See also

* Plague Column, Košice * Plague Column, Kutná Hora


References


External links


Plague Column Vienna
a Video {{DEFAULTSORT:Pestsaule (Vienna) Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Buildings and structures in Vienna Monuments and memorials in Austria Monumental columns Baroque sculptures 1680s sculptures 1690s sculptures Tourist attractions in Vienna Buildings and structures completed in 1693 Marian and Holy Trinity columns Outdoor sculptures in Austria 1693 establishments in Austria