Österreich - Die ganze Geschichte S01E08 - Der Patient null

The plague of 1679 is considered one of the most severe disruptions Vienna ever endured. Brought into the city via ports and from the southeast, the epidemic claimed at least 12,000 lives—likely far more, according to unrecorded numbers. While the imperial court fled to Mariazell with a large entourage to pray—possibly bringing the disease with them—a single man remained in Vienna with full imperial authority to address the crisis: the plague doctor Paul de Sorbait. His actions were radical and draconian; he did not shy away from imposing the death penalty, even on physicians caught looting the bodies of plague victims. Yet his management succeeded in containing the spread of the disease using the means available at the time. It marked a rational approach to combating a plague, in stark contrast to the traditional reliance on bell tolls and religious processions. Hosted by Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler, directed by Maximilian Traxl and Philip Aleksiev.