Am Hof (“in the courtyard”) is one of Vienna’s most significant historical squares.
The square was already part of the Vindobona fortress during the Roman settlements. Between 1155 and 1280, the Babenberg court was located here, commissioned by Heinrich Jasomirgott himself as his residence: a complex of houses and an open space, a square. The square was enclosed, like a courtyard, the "Hof," on its northwest and southwest sides by the walls of the Romanesque castle. Inwardly, it was protected by gates guarding the Jewish settlements and the town that were developing nearby. The Am Hof square has witnessed numerous political, religious, and civic events.Here Heinrich Jasomirgott and his wife Theodora received Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was on his third crusade in 1165.In the time of Leopold V (1177-1194), son of Heinrich, the square was the site of brilliant jousts and other competitive contests in which famous minstrels such as Reinmar von Hagenau and Walther von der Vogelweide performed and directed the betting. Later, with the transfer of the duchy to the Hofburg Palace at the end of the 13th century, the square became a marketplace and, still later, a site for public executions.