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Graben Vienna

Graben Street Vienna

Graben Street, Vienna’s Heart of Shopping.This street is the ultimate shopping experience, yet so much more

Welcome to Graben Street, an energetic shopping district right in the heart of Vienna, Austria. Graben Street was created in the 12th century, but has a history that stems back all the way to the Roman era.

This elegant and ornate street is the home to many popular stores, as well as a host of restaurants and cafes, both on the main street and the surrounding alleys. The impressive variety includes some of the most famous cafes in Vienna, such as Damel and Hawelka, a gourmet supermarket with a wide variety of Austrian and international products, and so much to gaze upon.

Graben Street

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Plague Column (Pestäule)

One of the most important and stimulating parts of Graben Street is the Pestäule (the Plague Column), located right in the center of the street. This fantastic monument was commissioned by Emperor Leopold I, commemorating the end of a terrible epidemic that ended hundreds of thousands of lives. The monument, created between 1682 and 1692 by one of Austria’s most renowned architects, brilliantly displays allegorical images of faith overcoming and ultimately defeating the plague.

Pestsaule Statue Vienna

Stock im Eisen (staff in iron)

Another site you won’t want to miss in the area is the Stock im Eisen (staff in iron - at the corner of Graben and Karntner Street). This enigmatic display features the mid-section of a tree trunk from the Middle Ages in which hundreds of nails have been pounded over the course of generations. Throughout the 18th century, traveling smiths and apprentices would hammer nails into the tree for good luck. The tree trunk is now prominently displayed behind a glass encasing.

Stock im Eisen (staff in iron) at the corner of Graben and Karntner Street