The Stephansplatz is a square at the geographical centre of Vienna , Austria. It is named after its most prominent building, the Stephansdom , Vienna's cathedral and one of the tallest churches in the world . Before the 20th century, a row of houses separated Stephansplatz from Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, but since their destruction, the name Stephansplatz started to be used for the wider area covering both. To the west and south, respectively, run the exclusive shopping streets Graben (literally "ditch") and Kärntner Straße ("Kärnten" is the German for Carinthia ). Opposite the Stephansdom is the Haas-Haus , a piece of striking modern architecture by Hans Hollein . Although public opinion was originally skeptical about the combination of the mediaeval cathedral and the glass and steel building, it is now considered an example of how old and new architecture can mix harmoniously .
21-513: The Stock-im-Eisen ("staff in iron") is located at the corner of Kärntner Straße and Graben in a niche on the corner of the Palais Equitable . It is a section of tree trunk into which hundreds of nails have been hammered since the Middle Ages, and which is ringed by an iron band closed by a large padlock . The earliest written mention of it dates to 1533 and it is the subject of legends about
42-517: A capella subterranea in the Magdalenenkapelle (the outline of which is shown on the pavement of the Stephansplatz). It is possible that it was originally intended as a chapel for burials, but at least by the 14th century had become a crypt for a mercantile family. The site was the scene of the assassination of Viktor Kedrin in the hugely popular BBC Show Killing Eve , he is murdered outside
63-577: A retail center, featuring the Rothberger department store and Anton Kranner's commercial building. 48°12′30.30″N 16°22′20.90″E / 48.2084167°N 16.3724722°E / 48.2084167; 16.3724722 Palais Equitable The Palais Equitable is an office building in Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (now part of Stephansplatz ) in the Innere Stadt of Vienna , Austria , that
84-480: 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
105-790: A standstill. In 1945, the bank started up business again under the name of Pferdmenges & Co., and, in 1947, the name was changed back to Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie. , with the Oppenheims once again becoming shareholders. The bank, amongst others, helped finance the Auto Union , which later became Audi AG . In 1968, the bank absorbed the Heinrich Kirchholtes & Co. Bank in Frankfurt am Main . Later expansions took place through subsidiary companies in Zürich , München , Paris , and London . In
126-535: A sushi restaurant by the assassin Villanelle slicing his femoral artery. At the end of the 19th century, the entire square and its immediate surroundings underwent a redesign with increased building density. (Demolition of the area around the neighboring Brandstätte, moving back the building line at Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, removal of the Schmidlinsches Haus, etc.). In this context, Stephansplatz also briefly became
147-731: The A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bank Association and the Herstatt Bank , founded the Colonia-Insurance Company . After the death of Therese Oppenheim in 1842, the company continued under the leadership of her two remaining sons. In 1853, the bank founded the Darmstädter Bank and, in 1870, was involved in the mortgage bank Eurohypo AG . While Salomon, Therese, Simon and Abraham Oppenheim were believers of Judaism , Albert Oppenheim, one of Salomon's sons, converted to Catholicism in 1858, and in 1859, Eduard Oppenheim, Simon's eldest son,
168-607: The 1820s, Oppenheim financed the navy of the Rhineland and later helped in the growth of the beginnings of the railway system, along with the industrialisation of the Rhineland and the Ruhr . In 1836, a subsidiary company was founded in Amsterdam that survived until 1856. 1837 saw, for the first-time, the financing of many evolving, large-scale corporations. In 1838, the bank, together with
189-562: The Devil. The U-Bahn station at Stephansplatz is one of the busiest in the city, and is the only junction between the U1 and U3 underground lines. It is also the nearest U-Bahn station to many of the tourist attractions in the city centre . In 1973, during excavation works for the U-Bahn station, a mediaeval chapel was discovered 12 metres under current ground level . It was built around 1250 as
210-558: The bank absorbed the Jewish Bank of A. Levy . In 1938, the bank signed their name to the newspaper campaign of the Nazi Party as Robert Pferdmenges & Co. . The first private German horse stud farm, Schlenderhan , which was founded by Eduard von Oppenheim in 1869, was transferred to the SS in 1942. After the imprisonment of Waldemar and Friedrich Carl von Oppenheim in 1944, the bank came to
231-404: The bank effectively ended. Alfred had partnered it with real estate developer Josef Esch [ de ] , who subsequently played a major and sometimes controversial role in the bank's business activities. In 2007, the bank headquarters moved to Luxembourg . On 4 July 2008, a subsidiary, Oppenheim Investment Managers Limited, was sold to Merrion Capital Group Limited. In December 2010,
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#1733084644182252-694: 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 . 48°12′29″N 16°22′18″E / 48.20806°N 16.37167°E / 48.20806; 16.37167 Sal. Oppenheim Sal. Oppenheim
273-571: The course of German reunification , the bank gained the position of advisor to the State on matters of privatisation. In 1989, the bank's interests in the Colonia-Insurance Company were bought out and the bank's status there became that of limited partnership on share matters. In 2004, the bank bought out the BHF Bank from the Dutch ING Group . With the transfer of BHF, Sal. Oppenheim has risen to
294-420: The direction of the bank along with their two sons, Simon and Abraham. Through the marriage in 1834 of Abraham Oppenheim to Charlotte Beyfus [ de ] , daughter of Siegmund Leopold Beyfus [ de ] (1786–1845) and Babette Rothschild (1784–1869), the family became closely related to the prominent Rothschild banking family in matters both personal and business-related. Beginning in
315-503: 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
336-473: The largest privately owned German bank (with M. M. Warburg & Co. out of Hamburg being the second) and to being the largest European family-owned bank. At the end of 2003, the bank employed 1,500 people in twenty locations, had nearly US$ 127 billion in asset management and profits totaling €61 million a year. With the death of Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim in 2005, the Oppenheim family's participation in
357-510: Was a German private bank founded in 1789 and headquartered in Cologne , Germany. It provided asset management solutions for wealthy individual clients and institutional investors. In 2009, the bank became a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank . In 2017, Deutsche Bank decided to discontinue the Sal. Oppenheim brand and to fully integrate their business, which was officially completed on 30 June 2018. The bank
378-405: Was baptised Protestant . In 1868, Abraham Oppenheim was raised to the rank of a Prussian Freiherr and belonged to the inner-circle of King Wilhelm I . After the death of Abraham and Simon in 1880, their sons, Albert and Eduard, assumed leadership of the bank. In 1904, the form of the company changed from that of a general partnership to one of a limited partnership that, from then on,
399-405: Was built in the 19th century for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and that incorporates a 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. The Palais Equitable has
420-515: Was founded in 1789 in the city of Bonn by seventeen-year-old Salomon Oppenheim Jr. as a commissions and exchange house. Oppenheim dealt in commodities , the exchanging of foreign currencies , extending credit, and commercial credit. In 1798, the business moved to Cologne , then the most important banking location in Germany, settling in a palatial building on Grosse Budengasse 8. In 1828, Salomon Oppenheim Jr. died, and his wife Therese took over
441-444: Was led by Alfred von Oppenheim and his cousin, Emil. In 1912, with the appointment of Ferdinand Rinkel, the bank was led for the first time by someone outside the family. In 1921, he was replaced by Otto Kaufmann. From 1914 on, the bank was involved with nine war loans to Germany to help finance the first World War . In 1936, the bank "voluntarily" Aryanised with the addition of Robert Pferdmenges as partner. Likewise, in 1936,
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