Stephansplatz, Vienna

To the west and south, respectively, run the exclusive shopping streets Graben (literally "ditch") and Kärntner Straße ("Kärnten" is the German for Carinthia).

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 .

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.

(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 a retail center, featuring the Rothberger department store and Anton Kranner's commercial building.