Pinzgauer Stier

Pinzgauer bull at the former slaughterhouse in St. Marx, Vienna. The main gate to the slaughterhouse grounds is flanked by two monumental bull figures. On the left side there is a Hungarian Grey, on the right side a Pinzgauer breed in slaughter situation. The stone bulls were created by sculptor Anton Schmidgruber and date from 1883. In 2014 the 7 1/2 metre high monuments made of Hungarian sandstone were restored. The slaughterhouse Sankt Marx was the largest slaughterhouse in Vienna and therefore important for the meat supply of the city. At first, slaughtering in Vienna took place mainly on bridges over the Danube Canal. There, blood and slaughterhouse waste could be easily disposed of. The slaughterhouse was built between 1846 and 1848, but was not put into operation until 1851 after the revolution in the Austrian Empire. The Pinzgauer breed is considered endangered, and the population decreases about 10% per year. Worldwide there were around 1.3 million.