Pestsäule, Vienna 3.69

The Pestsäule or Dreifaltigkeitssäule is a Holy Trinity column located on the Graben, a street in the inner city of Vienna, Austria. Erected after the Great Plague epidemic in 1679, the Baroque memorial is one of the most well-known and prominent sculptural pieces of art in the city.HistoryIn 1679, Vienna was visited by one of the last big plague 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 column together with nine sculpted angel (for the Nine Choirs of Angels).In 1683, Matthias Rauchmiller was commissioned to do the marble works, but he died in 1686 and only left a few angel figures. Several new designs followed, among others by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, who designed the sculptures at the base of the column. Finally, the project management was assigned to Paul Strudel, who based his work on the concept of theatre engineer Lodovico Burnacini.