Drunk Augustin and the plague pit

Have you visited Augustin in the plague pit in Vienna?

While strolling through Vienna’s first district you shouldn’t miss out on visiting the Griechenbeisl, a restaurant that can be found in the Griechengasse 9. There you can see Augustin in the plague pit, right at the entrance to the restaurant.

A name you will stumble upon in many Viennese sagas is the “lovely Augustin”. Augustin was bagpipe player and improviser from the 17th century. He is mostly famous due to falling into a plague pit while being drunk. Luckily he survived his night in the pit without any problems. Upon waking up, he found himself in the pit. He played his bagpipe and was eventually rescued. In the following morning he wandered through the streets again, singing his songs.

Every child in Vienna knows the song “Oh du lieber Augustin” (oh lovely Augustin), a song that found its way to Vienna around the year 1800. Nowadays, this tune is quite famous. There’s a great chance that you too have heard it already, perhaps in your primary school.

The Griechenbeisl has a long tradition of more than 500 years and even Augustin has performed his songs there. Take a picture of Augustin in the pit, if you step into the restaurant, you can find a replica of it.

For more information about their opening hours visit they website here.