The Rathausmann

A knight with size 63 feet

On the central tower of Vienna City Hall stands one of the most famous figures in the city, Vienna’s Rathausmann.

When the new city hall is being erected by architect Friedrich von Schmidt from 1873 on, Emperor Franz Joseph orders that the building should not be taller than the nearby Votive Church. The highest tower on the Votive Church measures 99 m. So Schmidt makes the central tower of the city hall 98 m.

And circumvents the imperial decree by mounting the figure of a knight on the top: the Rathausmann. It is modelled on a suit of armour belonging to Emperor Maximilian I from 1480.

When the central tower of Vienna City Hall is renovated in 1985, the Rathausmann is taken down and restored. The opportunity is taken to produce a smaller version for Rathausplatz.

To prevent the 3.4 m tall Rathausmann, who weighs nearly 2 tons, from toppling down in stormy weather, the knight is equipped with a special reinforcement system, an 8 m long iron pole running from the figure’s supporting frame through the spire into the tower. At the end of the pole there is an iron ball weighing 800 kg, which acts as a counterweight to the Rathausmann and stops him from falling off.