Graben (trench) - Vienna

The Graben, just off of Stephansplatz (with the cathedral) is a main street in Vienna... and was once a trench in front of the medieval city walls. The trench was filled in and leveled around the late 13th century (using money that was Richard the Lionheart's ransom!). Trench in German is Graben... and this name still stands today.

Today, the Graben is a main street in the center of the city... lined with fancy shopping stores, souvenir shops, and restaurants.

 St. Leopold Fountain / Lion Fountain

Baroque Plague Column - Pestsaule

Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church), just off the Graben:

Same church, different view:

New meets old at one end of the Graben, in the Stephansplatz square.

The curved glass building is called the Haas Haus and opened in 1990.