Colonna della Peste
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The Plague Column, also called the Trinity Column, is one of Vienna's most famous Baroque monuments. It recalls the end of the 1679 epidemic and was consecrated in 1693.
A promise during the epidemic
In 1679 Vienna was struck by one of the last great plague epidemics. Emperor Leopold I promised to raise a column to the Holy Trinity.
The first design did not last. In 1687 the emperor laid the foundation stone of the column we see now.
Many artists, one monument
The work passed from hand to hand. The sculptor Matthias Rauchmüller died early. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach changed the base, and Paul Strudel led the sculptors.
The plan for the figures was devised by a Jesuit, Father Franciscus Menegatti. Each statue tells part of the story.
What to look at
At the bottom there are reliefs and coats of arms. Halfway up, the emperor kneels in prayer. Higher still, the stone rises like a pyramid towards the golden Trinity.
The Graben has an ancient history too. Its name means ditch: it recalls the ditch of a Roman camp.
Under Emperor Charles VI, on summer mornings, a sermon was preached beneath the column to a large crowd.
The last major restoration was completed in 1981. The column is one of the symbols of central Vienna.
