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Palais Equitable

Buildings and structures in Innere StadtCommercial buildings completed in 1891Historicist architecture in AustriaOffice buildings in Vienna
Palais equitable
Palais equitable

The Palais Equitable is a mansion in Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (now part of Stephansplatz) in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria, that was built in the 19th century for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and that incorporates the Stock im Eisen on one corner. The building is on the site of five small medieval buildings that were demolished between 1856 and 1886, partly in order to expand Kärntner Straße. It was designed by Andreas Streit and constructed between 1887 and 1891. It is one of the few palaces or mansions in Vienna never to have been an aristocratic residence. The Palais Equitable has a richly detailed façade featuring American eagles. The Stock im Eisen, enclosed in glass, is in a niche on the Kärntner Straße corner of the building, and bronze reliefs by Rudolf Weyr on the main doors depict its history. The remainder of the ornamentation is by Viktor Oskar Tilgner and Johann Schindler. The interior is also extremely sumptuous: marble from Hallein and granite from Saxony were used for the dramatic stairway and the vestibule, and the glass-covered interior courtyard is completely clad in tile and maiolica. (The stairway was apparently intended to be adaptable for access to a future subway.) A painting on the ceiling of the lobby and the stucco ornamentation on the second floor are by Julius Victor Berger. Wilhelm Beck & Söhne, providers of uniforms to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had its shop in the building, and the United States consulate was located there.The Palais Equitable was damaged in World War II but was restored in 1949. The entrance area was renovated by Rüdiger Lainer in 1997. Today the building houses offices of various companies and organizations including the Austrian division of Sal. Oppenheim, and a retail outlet for Augarten Porcelain.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Palais Equitable (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Palais Equitable
Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, Vienna Innere Stadt

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Latitude Longitude
N 48.208055555556 ° E 16.371666666667 °
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Stock-im-Eisen-Platz

Stock-im-Eisen-Platz
1010 Vienna, Innere Stadt
Austria
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Palais equitable
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Siege of Vienna (1529)
Siege of Vienna (1529)

The siege of Vienna, in 1529, was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire to capture the capital city of Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire. Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottomans, attacked the city with over 100,000 men, while the defenders, led by Niklas Graf Salm, numbered no more than 21,000. Nevertheless, Vienna was able to survive the siege, which ultimately lasted just over two weeks, from 27 September to 15 October, 1529. The siege came in the aftermath of the 1526 Battle of Mohács, which had resulted in the death of Louis II, King of Hungary, and the descent of the kingdom into civil war. Following Louis' death, rival factions within Hungary selected two successors: Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, supported by the House of Habsburg, and John Zápolya. Zápolya would eventually seek aid from, and become a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, after Ferdinand began to take control of western Hungary, including the city of Buda. The Ottoman attack on Vienna was part of the empire's intervention into the Hungarian conflict, and in the short term sought to secure Zápolya's position. Historians offer conflicting interpretations of the Ottoman's long-term goals, including the motivations behind the choice of Vienna as the campaign's immediate target. Some modern historians suggest that Suleiman's primary objective was to assert Ottoman control over all of Hungary, including the western part (known as Royal Hungary) that was then still under Habsburg control. Some scholars suggest Suleiman intended to use Hungary as a staging ground for further invasion of Europe.The failure of the siege of Vienna marked the beginning of 150 years of bitter military tension between the Habsburgs and Ottomans, punctuated by reciprocal attacks, and culminating in a second siege of Vienna in 1683.