Letters from Vienna #210
A virtual guided tour of Vienna, Part 21, Naglergasse
Letter to Baron Bethell #30
Dear James,
The chapels I mentioned in my previous letter (Johanneskapelle and Pankrazkapelle) have an interesting history. The Carmelites turned the former into a Gothic church in 1386 before the Jesuits got hold of it in 1554 and transformed it into what it is today (Kirche am Hof, Schulhof 1). After the Jesuits were banished in 1773 it became a garrison church until they regained control of it again in 1814.
The history of the Jesuits is long, complicated and remains somewhat mysterious and for this reason I’d like to deal with it at a later stage. Suffice it to say: they played a decisive role in the history of both Vienna and Austria.
The Pankrazkapelle was also in the hands of the Jesuits before it was torn down and replaced by a house in 1600 (Am Hof 4).
Connecting Am Hof and Graben is the charming lane: Naglergasse.
“The medieval castle wall (corresponding to the Roman camp wall) ran along the row of houses that is numbered today…”
“The original name “Hinter St. Pankraz” is documented in 1310 or 1326 and referred to the Pankraz chapel. From 1432, the term “Unter den Nadlern” was used for the section between Kohlmarkt and Haarhof because, according to the guild regulations of 1378, the needlemen (smiths who produced different types of needles) practiced their trade here. In 1547/1548 the term Naglergasse (a corruption of the original name) was used for the first time while the remaining part was still called Hinter St. Pankraz. It was not until 1642 that the name Naglergasse was applied to the entire street (around 1600 the Pankraz chapel was profaned).”
“The bend in the Naglergasse at the junction with Heidenschuss still marks the rounded corner of the Roman camp wall or medieval castle wall. South of the Naglergasse was the Stadtgraben (in the extension of today’s ditch), which can still be seen in the gradient to the Haarhof (ditch bottom) (Retzengraben). The lane has, especially on its southern side, a number of notable old houses, the core of which dates back to the 15th/16th centuries.”[1]