The 1873 financial crisis that began in Vienna and spread across markets was the Panic of 1873.
A speculative boom in railways, property, and construction had expanded rapidly in Europe and North America. When the Vienna stock exchange crashed in May 1873, confidence weakened, and the failure of the investment firm Jay Cooke & Company in the United States intensified the crisis.
The panic contributed to a prolonged period of weak growth and falling prices often called the Long Depression. Historians debate its exact duration and severity, so the crisis and the broader depression are related but not identical terms.
The event also exposed the risks of railway speculation and fragile credit systems. Banking failures and falling investment affected Germany, Austria-Hungary, the United States, and other economies.