The plague first appeared on the European continent in 541 and returned in several waves until around the middle of the 8th century before it was forgotten. When it returned in the 14th century, it once again caused devastating population losses. It was now known as the “black death” due to the black bumps caused by the disease. In 1349, the plague reached Vienna and is thought to have killed around half of the city’s population in a short span of time. Measures against the plague were laid down in regulations established in 1541, but usually only laxly adhered to. They included the inspection of travellers, the closure of houses (quarantine) and the conversion of infirmaries into plague hospitals. Processions were banned, inns closed and markets searched for rotten fruit. The furniture of affected households was burnt. Above all, however, the Habsburg emperors called on their subjects to lead a virtuous life so as not to arouse God’s wrath. However, the defence against the epidemic generally failed mainly due to hygiene deficits, as the plague was mostly transmitted by rats and rat fleas, while human-to-human transmission was much rarer.