Heiligenkreuzerhof

The Heiligenkreuzerhof features a facade decorated with a large, ornate statue of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, holding a model of the church he founded. This complex served as the Viennese city residence for the Cistercian monks of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, allowing them a base for trade and administration while visiting the capital. When the Ottoman Turks besieged Vienna in sixteen eighty-three, the monks huddled inside these thick stone walls, successfully shielding their treasures and themselves until the danger finally passed.