The Pestsäule (plague column or Holy Trinity Column) is one of the most notable pieces of sculpture in Vienna and located on Graben, a well-known shopping street in the first district of the city.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
For a densely populated city like Vienna, which was a major trading crossroads between east and west, Lack of a sewerage or drainage systems was a great weak point, which finally led to a great Plague outbreak in 1679 and death of nearly 76,000 of its residents. Emperor Leopold Idecided to flee the city immediately, but he vowed to erect a Holy Trinity Column at the end of the epidemic to commemorate the city's deliverance from the Great Plague. Holy Trinity Columns were religious monuments in the form of a column, decorated by sculptures of angels, saints and other Christian symbols. The purpose of building such columns, which were common in the Catholic countries of Europe in 17. and 18. centuries, was usually thanksgiving for the ending of a disaster and was a symbol of public faith. Pestsäule was erected for the same reason.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
It was first a simple wooden column made by Johann Frühwirth, showing the Holy Trinity on a Corinthian column, in the form of the mercy seat (Ge:Gnadenstuhls), the crucified Christ and the Holy Spirit as a dove , and sculptures of nine angels which were symbolizing the Nine Choirs of Angels. This motif was very common in Austria. It took a long time (about 10 years) for the Pestäule to evolve into the current form. In 1683, marble works was started by Matthias Rauchmiller, but he died before he could complete his work. Several other Austrian sculptors worked on the design, among them Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Paul Strudel are of note. The column was finally inaugurated in 1693.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
The core of the column is made of brick, but the sculptures are entirely made of marble from Untersberg in Salzburg, except for the statue of the Emperor Leopold I, which is made of Lasa Marble from South Tyrol. The column has a complicated iconographic program. The uppermost stage represents heaven and is dedicated to the Holy Trinity Figure and statues of Cherubim(or Cherubs: little angels belong to the first sphere of Christian angelic hierarchy) on a pyramid of clouds. Lower parts of the clouds are reserved by impressive statues of angels in different modes.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
In addition, the base of the design is divided into three wings and are all covered with the coats of arms and emblems of the regions which were under the rule of the emperor. The west wing is devoted to “God the Father, the Creator” (Latin: DEO PATRI CREATORI), wearing a double-headed eagle, the emblem of the Holy Roman Empire, and the crest of the Inner Austrian provinces of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. Between eastern and western wing houses the arms of Upper Austria and Lower Austria, the core countries of the monarchy.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
The eastern wing is assigned to the “God the Son, the Redeemer “(Latin: DEO FILIO REDEMPTORI) and bears the coat of arms of Hungary, Croatia, Dalmatia and Bosnia (originally Slavonia). The northern wing is devoted to the “God the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier” (Latin: DEO SPIRITUI SANCTIFICATORI) and is decorated with the arms of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.
.JPG "Statue of Kaiser Leopold I") |
| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
The basic premise in erecting such column might be this: by personal devotion and intercession of the Emperor Leopold I, the city has survived from two disasters, the plague and the second Turkish siege (1683). The column thus could be interpreted as a Victory Monument to the Emperor. The corresponding statue shows the Emperor kneeling before God and praying, while he has taken off his crown.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
Below the Emperor’s statue is a symbolic representation of victory over the plague through the power of faith. An ugly witch, who symbolizes the plague, is being pushed into depth by an angel. A young woman with a cross in her hand is also a symbol for hope and faith. The Trinity Column of Vienna, which indicates the transition to the era of High Baroque, was imitated in many similar columns in other parts of the Habsburg Empire.
