Hoher Markt Square, Vienna

The Judenplatz (Jews' Square) was the center of Vienna's Jewish Quarter from 1294 to 1421.Here stood the rabbi's house, the hospital, school and synagogue, and here too Jewish traders, bankers and scholars went about their business until 1420 when the 800 inhabitants were driven away or murdered.One of the most remarkable houses in the square is Haus "Zum grossen Jordan" (No. 2; 15th C.) which serves as a reminder of the 210 Jews who were burnt to death on the Gänseheide in 1421. A descendant of the original owner Jörg Jordan sold the house to the Jesuits, but it has been in private ownership since 1684. The building material from the synagogue which was demolished in 1421 was used to build the Old University. Towards the end of the 16th C. a Jewish community re-established itself in Vienna and was moved to Leopoldstadt by Ferdinand II.Also of interest are the Lessing Memorial by Siegfried Charoux, which was reproduced by the artist in 1968 based on the melted-down original from 1935, the Tailors' Guild House (No. 8) and the Böhmische Kanzlei in Wipplinger Strasse whose rear facade bounds the Judenplatz on one side. From the west corner of the square Drahtgasse leads through to Am Hof.

St Ruprecht's (Rupert's) Church is the oldest church in Vienna. It stands high up on the eastern edge of the old Roman military settlement. It is said to have been built by Bishop Virgil of Salzburg on the site of the subterranean Oratory of Cunard and Gisalrich, two apostles of the faith. The church is first mentioned in documents in 1161. There is evidence that the nave and the lower floors of the tower were built in the 11th C. The tower was twice made higher, in the 12th and 13th C. A choir was added in the 13th C., as was a south side aisle in the 15th C. The church was thoroughly restored between 1934 and 1936 and between 1946 and 1948. Its treasures include the oldest stained glass in Vienna (13th C.) in the central window in the choir, and the Altar of Our Lady of Loretto, the so-called "Black Madonna", whose aid was invoked when there was danger from the Turks or the plague.

On the east side of the Hoher Markt square in Vienna it is impossible not to see the splendid clock of the Anker Insurance Company on the archway spanning Rotgasse. Every hour historical figures solemnly go past in order from 1 to 12: Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Charlemagne, Duke Leopold IV and Theodore of Byzantium, the poet Walter von der Vogelweide, King Rudolf I with his consort, Anna of Hohenburg, Master Hans Puchsbaum, Emperor Maximilian I, Mayor A. von Liebenberg, Count Rüdiger von Starhemberg, Prince Eugene, Empress Maria Theresa with Emperor Francis I and Joseph Haydn. At noon all the figures form up and process, accompanied by music. This remarkable clock was built by the painter Franz von Matsch at the beginning of the First World War. It is dedicated to the "people of Vienna".

The buildings of the former Bohemian Court Chancellery in Vienna now serve as the seat of the Constitutional and Administrative Court. The original dates from 1708 to 1714. J. B. Fisher von Erlach designed this Baroque palace, and Lorenzo Mattielli was responsible for the many sculptures. In 1752 Maria Theresa commissioned Matthias Gerl to enlarge the building. The building was badly damaged in the war, and large-scale reconstruction was necessary (1946-51). A pedestrian passage was added in 1948.

A stairway by house No. 3 in Vienna's Hoher Markt leads down to underground ruins dating from the Roman period. It is possible to see the footings of walls of houses for officers in the neighborhood of the barracks of Vindobona (second and third C.). There are also remains of a Germanic house (fourth C.), as well as casts of reliefs, stamped tiles, remnants of a palisade and, in showcases, various remains.