Vienna saw a major stock exchange crash on May 9, 1873.
The event, known as the Vienna Stock Exchange crash or Gründerkrach, began when speculative share prices collapsed in Austria-Hungary. The boom had been encouraged by rapid railway construction, easy credit, and the founding of many new companies. On May 9, panic selling overwhelmed the Vienna exchange.
The shock spread internationally and helped mark the beginning of the Long Depression, a period of economic weakness that affected Europe and the United States. Banks and companies failed, investment slowed, and confidence deteriorated. In the United States, the later failure of Jay Cooke & Company contributed to the Panic of 1873.
The crash is sometimes described simply as the Panic of 1873, but that label covers a broader international crisis rather than one trading session alone. The Vienna collapse was the earliest major rupture in the episode. It also showed how railways, banks, and stock exchanges had become connected across national borders.