Dreifaltigkeitssäule

Dreifaltigkeitssäule stands in the centre of Linz’s Hauptplatz, rising as a Baroque monument from white Untersberg marble. The column reaches about twenty metres and presents a striking landmark among the surrounding square.

Sebastian Stumpfegger built it between 1717 and 1723, following a design by Antonio Beduzzi. Linz commissioned the monument in gratitude for surviving plague, wars, and a devastating fire. Three saints stand around the triangular base: Saint Sebastian, Saint Charles Borromeo, and Saint Florian. Coats of arms for the emperor, Upper Austria, and Linz express the earthly Trinity. Above them, Mary Immaculate stands on a crescent moon beneath gilded figures of the Holy Trinity.

The monument was consecrated in 1728 after an investigation into its cost and a dispute involving Jesuits and city clergy. Floodwater reached the column during the great flood of 1872. During the Second World War, workers removed its decorative elements and protected the coats of arms in plaster. A granite base, iron chains, and a stone balustrade surround the shaft, while putti gather at the corners. At the summit, a dove representing the Holy Spirit hovers above the globe, beside God the Father and God the Son.