Which Austrian exchange crash began the Panic of 1873?

The Vienna Stock Exchange crash began the Panic of 1873.

On 9 May 1873, panic selling struck Vienna’s stock exchange, which had been fueled by rapid credit expansion and speculation during an economic boom. The collapse damaged confidence in banks and companies and became known in Austria as the Gründerkrach, or founders’ crash. It followed a period of aggressive investment in railways, construction, and new enterprises.

Financial stress spread beyond Austria. The crisis affected Germany and other parts of Europe, and later reached the United States, where the failure of the banking firm Jay Cooke & Company helped trigger the Panic of 1873 in September. The downturn contributed to a prolonged period of weak growth and falling prices often called the Long Depression.

The Vienna event is distinct from the later American panic, even though historians use “Panic of 1873” for the broader international crisis. It is also separate from the 1873 New York exchange suspension and from the Wall Street crashes of the twentieth century.