Which exchange suffered the first major crash of the 1873 Panic?

The Vienna Stock Exchange suffered the first major crash of the 1873 Panic.

On 9 May 1873, a wave of selling in Vienna became known as the Gründerkrach, or founders’ crash. It followed years of speculative expansion after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise and the rapid growth of railway and property companies. Many enterprises had been promoted with unrealistic expectations and easy credit.

The Vienna collapse spread financial fear through Central Europe. Banks and companies failed, and the shock helped end the period of rapid investment sometimes called the Gründerzeit. The crisis then crossed the Atlantic, contributing to the failure of Jay Cooke and Company in the United States in September 1873.

The Panic of 1873 is associated with the beginning of the Long Depression, although historians debate its causes, timing and severity across countries. It was not simply one continuous worldwide market fall; banking failures, deflation and industrial contraction unfolded differently in each economy.