The very lively square, Am Hof, is the cradle of the city: it was here that the Romans built their camp. It was also here that Henry II Jasomirgott of the House of Babenberg, the first duke of Austria, settled when he undertook to make Vienna the capital in 1145. The bronze Column of the Virgin Mary (Mariensäule) stands in the centre of the square, with angels portrayed fighting scourges: War (a lion), the Plague (a basilisk), Famine (a dragon) and Heresy (a snake).