The Stephansplatz is a

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

at the geographical centre of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria. It is named after its most prominent building, the Stephansdom, Vienna's cathedral and one of the tallest churches in the world. Before the 20th century, a row of houses separated Stephansplatz from Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, but since their destruction, the name Stephansplatz started to be used for the wider area covering both. To the west and south, respectively, run the exclusive shopping streets

Graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

(literally "ditch") and

Kärntner Straße The Kärntner Straße (English: Carinthian Street) is one of the most famous streets in the center of Vienna. It begins near the Vienna Ring Road on Karlsplatz, leading past the Vienna State Opera and north to Stephansplatz, Vienna, Stephanspla ...

("Kärnten" is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

). Opposite the Stephansdom is the Haas-Haus, a piece of striking

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

by Hans Hollein. Although public opinion was originally skeptical about the combination of the mediaeval cathedral and the glass and steel building, it is now considered an example of how old and new architecture can mix harmoniously .

Stock im Eisen

The ''Stock-im-Eisen'' ("staff in iron") is located at the corner of Kärntner Straße and Graben in a niche on the corner of the

Palais Equitable The Palais Equitable is an office building in Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (now part of Stephansplatz, Vienna, Stephansplatz) in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria, that was built in the 19th century for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United ...

. It is a section of tree trunk into which hundreds of nails have been hammered since the Middle Ages, and which is ringed by an iron band closed by a large

padlock Padlocks are portable Lock (security device), locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain, chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent wikt:use, use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '':wikt: ...

. The earliest written mention of it dates to 1533 and it is the subject of legends about the Devil.

U-Bahn station

The U-Bahn station at Stephansplatz is one of the busiest in the city, and is the only junction between the U1 and U3 underground lines. It is also the nearest U-Bahn station to many of the tourist attractions in the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

Virgilkapelle

In 1973, during excavation works for the U-Bahn station, a

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

chapel was discovered 12 metres under current

ground level Ground level may refer to: * Earth's surface * Storey of a building/structure on (level with) the ground; also called the "ground floor" * Ground Level, Australian band * "Ground Level", a song by Stereo MCs from the album ''Connected'' See also ...

. It was built around 1250 as a ''capella subterranea'' in the Magdalenenkapelle (the outline of which is shown on the pavement of the Stephansplatz). It is possible that it was originally intended as a chapel for burials, but at least by the 14th century had become a crypt for a mercantile family.

In Popular Culture

The site was the scene of the assassination of Viktor Kedrin in the hugely popular

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Show

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three (streaming service), BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence age ...

, he is murdered outside a sushi restaurant by the assassin Villanelle slicing his femoral artery.

History

At the end of the 19th century, the entire square and its immediate surroundings underwent a redesign with increased building density. (Demolition of the area around the neighboring Brandstätte, moving back the building line at Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, removal of the Schmidlinsches Haus, etc.). In this context, Stephansplatz also briefly became a retail center, featuring the Rothberger department store and Anton Kranner's commercial building.

References

External links

360° panorama of Stephansplatz
at Panoramic Earth {{Authority control Squares in Vienna Transport in Vienna Innere Stadt Odonyms referring to religion