Freyung (Vienna)
Encyclopedia
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Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, located in the first district, or Innere Stadt
Innere Stadt
The Innere Stadt is the 1st municipal District of Vienna . The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna...
.
History
The square originally lay outside the RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
fortification walls of Vindabona. In the 12th century, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s arrived by invitation of Duke Henry II of Austria to build a monastery. The monastery is called Schottenkloster, meaning Scottish Monastery, as Ireland at that time was known as New Scotland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The square around Schottenkloster was known as "bei den Schotten" ("at the Scots"). The name Freyung has its origin from the old German word "frey", meaning "free". Since the monastery had the privilege of freedom from ducal authority, as well as the right to grant protection to fugitives, the square gained its name from its proximity to the Schottenkloster. The priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
was added to the monastery in 1773 and became popularly known as Schubladkastenhaus (Shoebox-house) because of its shape.
The Freyung became an important market square, where various street artist
Street artist
A street artist is someone who creates and/or sells their art or craft in public for the pleasure of passers-by.Some people use the term 'street artist' more broadly and also refer to people involved in busking, such as musicians who sing and/or play instruments, acrobats, jugglers, living statues,...
s and entertainers performed for their living. One of these performances was the Wiener Hanswurst (Viennese Fool) by Josef Stranitzky.
Since the Hofburg Imperial Palace
Hofburg Imperial Palace
Hofburg Palace is a palace located in Vienna, Austria, that has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria...
was not far, in the 17th and 18th centuries many aristocrats
Austrian nobility
Historically, the Austrian nobility was a privileged social class in Austria. The nobility was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Former noble families and their descendants are still a part of Austrian society today, but they no longer retain any specific...
established their city residences at the square, as well as the neighbouring Herrengasse
Herrengasse
The Herrengasse is a street in Vienna, located in the first district Innere Stadt.-History:...
.
In 1856, the houses between the Freyung and the adjacent square Am Hof were demolished to broaden the street between them. In the late 19th century bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s and other financial houses also moved into the area and established headquarters.
Furthermore, the Austria-Brunnen fountain, erected in 1844-1846 by Ludwig Schwanthaler in honour of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...
, sits in the middle of the square.
City palaces (known as Palais)
- Palais Hardegg (built in 1847, at Freyung 1)
- Palais HarrachPalais HarrachPalais Harrach is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Harrach family. It was extensively renovated and restored in the late 1990s and houses offices and shops today.-History:From 1600 to 1658, it was property of Freyung family...
(1690–1702, Freyung 3) - Palais KinskyPalais KinskyPalais Kinsky is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It was originally built for Count Wirich Philipp von Daun, the garrison commander whose son Leopold Josef Graf Daun became a Field Marshal of empress Maria Theresa...
(formerly Palais Daun, 1713–1716, Freyung 4) - Palais Lamberg (replaced at the turn of the 19th century with a neo-baroqueNeo-baroqueThe Baroque Revival or Neo-baroque was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture which displays important aspects of Baroque style, but is not of the Baroque period proper—i.e., the 17th and 18th centuries.Some examples of Neo-baroque architecture:*...
building, Freyung 5) - Palais Ferstel (formerly Österreichisch-ungarische Bank [Austro-Hungarian Bank], 1856–1860, at Freyung 2, with another entrance at Herrengasse 14. It was refurbished in the 1980s and now houses an exclusive shopping gallery and the famous Café CentralCafé CentralCafé Central is a coffeehouse in Vienna. It is located in the Innere Stadt district at Herrengasse 14 in the former Bank and Stockmarket Building , today called the Palais Ferstel after its architect Heinrich von Ferstel....
.) - Palais Schönborn-BatthyányPalais Schönborn-BatthyányFor the similarly named building in Prague, which is the home to the United States Embassy to the Czech Republic, see Schönborn Palace ....
(1692–1693, Renngasse 4) - Palais Windisch-Graetz (1703, Renngasse 12)
Close to
- Kunstforum (formerly Österreichische Creditanstalt für Handel und Gewerbe [Austrian Bank of Trade and Commerce], 1914, Freyung 8. It was refurbished in the 1980s and today houses the popular Kunstforum exhibition hall for modern and contemporary artContemporary artContemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
shows, sponsored by Bank AustriaBank AustriaUniCredit Bank Austria AG is a Central and Eastern European bank, 96.35% owned by UniCredit Group.BA-CA's history goes as far back as 1855, the year the Creditanstalt was founded. In 1991, Zentralsparkasse und Kommerzialbank and Oesterreichische Laenderbank merged to form Bank Austria. In 1997,...
.) - Schoellerbank (a private bank, Renngasse 3)
Trivia
- The Freyung has a Christmas marketChristmas MarketA Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...
(Christkindlmarkt) every winter season, a tradition still kept since 1772.
- Parts of an old 13th century medieval pavementPavement (architecture)A pavement in architecture is a stone or tile structure, the pavement, which can serve as a floor or an external feature. Pavements can be made of flagstones which are used for things like paving gardens, tiles also there were mosaics which were commonly used by the Romans.When along the side of...
, uncovered during renovation works in front of the Palais Ferstel, were integrated into the modern pavement in the 1990s.