Orientation prior to House Numbers: House emblems and house signs

Until the introduction of “conscription numbers” in 1770, houses in Vienna had no numbers. Before this time, those who wanted to find a house had to know the name of the house along with the name of the street. In the ideal case, this name would be indicated by means of a house emblem or house sign mounted on the building. The house emblems handed over to the Wien Museum tell of a wealth of reference points for house names: the house owner’s occupation could provide the name, as could saints, animals, or mythical creatures.