Pest in Vienna
The Great Plague of Vienna was a plague epidemic that probably killed around 12,000 people in Vienna in 1679 . Contemporary reports put the number of deaths between 70,000 and 120,000. Around 8,000 deaths can be proven in writing, but this can only be regarded as the lower limit.
history
The first cases of illness occurred in the spring of 1679 in Leopoldstadt and from there, as the warm season progressed, quickly spread across the entire settlement area of Vienna. While the hygiene measures suggested by Doctor Paul de Sorbait , who later became known as the plague doctor in Vienna, apparently went unnoticed, the plague was perceived rather as a divine visitation: the Catholic preacher Abraham a Sancta Clara called out in his pamphlet Merck's Wienn! That is: the complete description of the furious death (1680) incites people to repentance and prayer. Although after the expulsion of the Viennese Jews in 1670 there were no Jews in Vienna at that timethe author made witches and Jews responsible for the epidemic in this pamphlet .
The plague is triggered by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is mainly transmitted by fleas, which rodents, especially rats, enter human homes. The reasons for the outbreak were the dense settlement of the urban area, especially in the suburbs, and the poor hygiene. As a busy trading center, Vienna was visited by many travelers, which is likely to have brought the plague from abroad.
The street musician Augustin , with whom the song Oh you dear Augustin is associated, became famous with the plague .
After the plague subsided, the Viennese plague column was erected, which served as a model for numerous plague and trinity columns throughout the entire Habsburg monarchy .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Otto Horch, Horst Denkler: Conditio Judaica . Walter de Gruyter, 2012. p. 51 Partial online view
Web links
- The plague in Vienna in 1679
- Entry on plague in Vienna in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )