Vienna’s stock exchange crash is commonly associated with the start of the Panic of 1873.
The Vienna Stock Exchange crash occurred on May 9, 1873, a date remembered in German as the Gründerkrach, or founders’ crash. It followed a speculative boom in property and company formation during Austria-Hungary’s economic expansion after the 1867 Compromise.
The panic spread internationally through financial connections and weakened confidence in banks and companies. In the United States, the collapse of the investment firm Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 helped trigger a major market panic and the temporary closure of the New York Stock Exchange.
The downturn became part of the Long Depression, a period of deflation and slow growth lasting through much of the late nineteenth century, though its exact dates and severity differed by country. It affected Europe and North America especially strongly.