Located in the center of Maria-Theresien-Platz, the Maria Theresia Monument honors the only female ruler from the massive Habsburg Empire. Maria Theresa had it rough from the beginning when she had to fight for her rights, and then onto the throne from which she eventually ruled parts of Europe (Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, North Italy, some parts of Balkans).
She was a popular ruler who is honored in bronze, wielding a pragmatic scepter in her left hand as she greets her people with her right. The ruler floats above allegorical figures of the cardinal virtues of justice, mildness, strength, and wisdom. Below ride her advisors and generals, while sixteen reliefs grace the arches of the sub-structure. This work was created by sculptors Kaspar Zumbusch and Anton Břenek in 1888.