This is the Pestsäule, the Plague Pillar. It was built by Emperor Leopold in 1693 to commemorate the end of the pestilence – or what he and his contemporaries believed and hoped was the end of the horrific disease that ravaged Europe in repeated waves across the centuries, in some places killing as much as half the population. The “blobs” are strongly reminiscent of the characteristic boils associated with this illness, although some interpretations describe them as clouds. [Read More]