Am Hof is a historically significant place located in Vienna's Inner City. Many structures with interesting histories are located on its grounds.
For example, house No. 10, whose facade is decorated with sculptures by Silvio Mattielli, used to house the city's Civil Arsenal. The arsenal itself, in turn, was built on the site of a Jewish slaughterhouse. Today, the central headquarters of the city's fire services is located here.
Alongside food supplies, gunpowder was also once stored in the Civil Arsenal. During one of the wars in which Austria participated, it caught fire and, as you can imagine, the building underwent extensive reconstruction.
Soon after the end of the Turkish siege, trophies taken from the enemy were placed in the Civil Arsenal. Among the most curious exhibits in the hall of military glory is the skull of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa, taken in 1688 in Belgrade.
