Built by one of the great masters of Vienna Historicism, Heinrich von Ferstel, in 1860, the palace bears his name to this day. The distinguished building housed the National Bank and the Stock Exchange, and was recently rescued from ruin thanks to restoration works. Inside the palace is the Freyung Passage, which is lined with elegant shops and gives on to one of the entrances to the Café Central, renowned in former times for its artist and intellectual patrons.