Graben
The Graben—Viennese German [ˈɡraːbn̩]—is one of the city’s best-known street spaces, running from Stock-im-Eisen-Platz near the Palais Equitable to the junction of Kohlmarkt and Tuchlauben. Its name preserves a Roman function: the street traces the trench (Graben) that lay before the outer wall of Vindobona, the settlement that later became Vienna. That trench still stood in front of the medieval city walls, until the late 12th century, when the Babenberg dukes filled it in and leveled it as the city expanded. The work was funded by ransom money collected from Richard the Lionheart—a striking reminder that international conflict can reshape local geography. This planned medieval extension still shows up in the street grid: one narrow side-street opens northward via Jungferngässchen to the Peterskirche, while five more regular streets were laid out to the south in the 13th century. …
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