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The Stephansdom (Cathedral of Saint Stephen), in Vienna, Austria, is the seat of a Roman Catholic Archbishop, a beloved symbol of Vienna, and the site of many important events in Austria's national life.
History
The cathedral was first built as a parish church, in 1147, and rebuilt and enlarged over the centuries, with major new work concluding in 1511, although repair and restoration have continued from the beginning to the present day.
It was previously thought that the church had been built in an open field outside the city walls; but excavations for a long-awaited heating system during 2000 revealed graves that were carbon-dated to the fourth century, 8 feet (2.5 meters) below the surface. The 430 skeletons were then moved to the catacombs. Thousands of others must have been buried in the ancient cemetery of this neighbourhood, starting in Roman times; and this, instead of St. Ruprecht's Church, may be the oldest church site in Vienna.
The first recorded church here was founded in 1137, by Duke Leopold IV in a contract with Reginmar, Bishop of Passau. The church was dedicated to St. Stephen, the patron of the bishop's cathedral in Passau. The first church building was built in the Romanesque style and consecrated ten years later. The present west wall and Roman towers date from 1237. After a great fire in the city in 1258, a larger replacement structure, also Romanesque and reusing the Roman towers, was consecrated, on 23 April 1263, an anniversary highlighted each year by a rare ringing of the Pummerin bell for three minutes in the evening.
In 1304, Emperor Albert I ordered construction of a Gothic three-naved choir, further east of the church and wide enough to meet the tips of the old transepts. Work continued under his son Duke Albert II; this latest work was consecrated in 1340, on the 77th anniversary of the previous consecration. The motif of the north nave furnishings was St. Mary; the middle nave was for St. Stephen and All the Saints; and the Apostles were honoured in the south nave. This part of the present cathedral, east of the present transepts, is called the Albertine Choir.
In 1359, his son Duke Rudolf IV, who is called "the founder", laid, in the vicinity of the present south tower, the cornerstone for a Gothic extension of Albert's choir westward, to encapsulate the existing second church. That old church was then removed from inside the new one.
(A bunch of other stuff happened in between, which will be added here.)
The Stephansdom was saved from intentional destruction at the hands of retreating German forces during World War II, when Captain Gerhard Klinkicht disregarded orders from the city commandant, Sepp Dietrich, to "fire a hundred shells and leave it in just debris and ashes". During allied air-raids Stephansdom get several direct hits by bombs, which damaged its roof and towers. One of the fires set by plunderers when Russian troops entered the city was carried by the wind to the cathedral, severely damaging it on 12 April 1945. Fortunately, protective brick shells had been built around the pulpit, Frederick III's tomb, and other treasures, so that damage to the most valuable artworks was minimized. Unfortunately, the beautifully carved choir stalls from 1487 were burned. Rebuilding began immediately, with a limited reopening on 12 December 1948 and a full reopening on 23 April 1952.
Exterior
The Romanesque and gothic cathedral is 107 meters (351 feet) long and 34 meters (111.5 feet) wide. The soot accumulated over centuries has been removed in recent years, changing its colour from black to white.
Towers
The massive south tower (at location ST on the Plan below) is the dominant feature of the Vienna skyline at 136 meters (445 feet) and is affectionately called Steffl (a German diminutive form of Stephan) by the Viennese. It served as the main observation and command post for the defence of the walled city during the Siege of Vienna in 1523 and again during the second siege in 1683. It is as much the most recognized symbol of Vienna as the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. Its construction took 65 years to complete, from 1368 to 1433, and it contains an apartment for the watchmen who, for centuries (ending in 1955), manned the tower during the night to ring its bells if they spotted a fire. The tip of the tower has the double eagle imperial emblem with the Habsburg-Lorraine coat of arms on its chest, surmounted by the double-armed apostolic cross symbolic of the emperors' style Apostolic Majesty as kings of Hungary.The north tower (at location NT), planned as a twin to the south tower, has not been completed and is only half as tall, at 68 meters (223 feet). It was given a temporary cap that the Viennese call the "water tower top" when its construction paused in 1511. Construction has not yet resumed.
On the left and on the right from the main entrance are the two Roman towers (at locations RT on the Plan below) which are about 65 meters (215 feet) tall. They are called "Roman" (heidnischen in old Viennese dialect) because they were built from rubble of structures built by the Romans during their occupation of the city site. Square at their bases, and octagonal when the rise above the roof, they housed bells, and although the south Roman tower lost its bells during World War II, the north one is still a working bell tower. Along with the Giant Door, they are the oldest parts of the church.
Roof
A glory of the Stephansdom is its ornately patterned, richly coloured roof, 110 meters (361 feet) long, and covered by 230,000 glazed tiles. Above the choir, on one side of the building the tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty, and on the other the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and of the Republic of Austria are depicted. In 1945, fire caused by World War II damage to nearby buildings leapt to the north tower of the Stephansdom and went on to destroy the roof. Replicating the original bracing for so large a roof (it rises 38 meters above the top of the walls) would have required an entire square kilometre of forest, so over 600 metric tons of steel bracing were used instead. The roof is so steep (an 80-degree pitch in some areas) that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and is never covered by snow.Bells
The cathedral has 23 bells.The largest is officially named for St. Mary, but usually called Pummerin ("Boomer") and hangs in the north tower. At 20,130 kilograms (44,380 pounds), it is the largest in Austria and the second largest swinging bell in Europe (after the 23,500-kilogram (51,800-pound) Peter in Cologne Cathedral). Originally cast in 1711 from cannons captured from the Muslim invaders, it was recast (partly from its original metal) in 1951 after crashing onto the floor when its wooden cradle burned during the 1945 fire. The new bell has a diameter of 3.14 metres (9.6 feet) and was a gift from the province of Upper Austria. It sounds on only a few special occasions each year, including the arrival of the new year. There are three other bells hanging in this tower, but they are older and no longer used.
A peal of eleven electrically operated bells, cast in 1960, hangs in the soaring south tower. Replacements for other ancient bells also lost in the 1945 fire, they are used during Masses at the cathedral: four are used for an ordinary Mass; the quantity increases to as many as ten for a major holiday Mass; and the eleventh and largest is added when the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna himself is present. From the largest to the smallest, they are named the St. Stephen (5,700 kg); St. Leopold (2,300 kg); St. Christopher (1,350 kg); St. Leonhard (950 kg); St. Josef (700 kg); St. Peter Canisius (400 kg); St. Pius X (280 kg); All Saints (200 kg); St. Clement Maria Hofbauer (120 kg); St. Michael (60 kg); and St. Tarsicius (35 kg). Also in this tallest tower are the Primglocke (recast in 1772) and the Uhrschälle (cast in 1449), which mark the passing of the hours.
The north Roman tower contains six bells, five of which were cast in 1772, that ring for evening prayers and toll for funerals. They are working bells of the cathedral and their names usually recall their original uses: Feuerin ("fire alarm" but now used as a call to evening prayers) cast in 1859; Kantnerin (calling the cantors (musicians) to Mass); Feringerin (used for High Mass on Sundays); Bieringerin ("beer ringer" for last call at taverns); Poor Souls (the funeral bell); and Churpötsch (donated by the local curia in honor of the Maria Pötsch icon in the cathedral).
The 1945 fire destroyed the bells that hung in the south Roman tower.
It is said that the composer Ludwig van Beethoven discovered the totality of his deafness when he saw birds flying out of the bell tower as a result of the bells' tolling but couldn't hear the bells.
Fixtures
Along the outside walls of the cathedral can be seen- the spot (near location SJC on the Plan below) where the body of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was blessed after his funeral inside.
- the outdoor pulpit (at location SJC) where St. John Capistrano preached a crusade in 1454 to hold back Muslim invasions of Christian Europe.
- a figure (at location CT) affectionately known to the Viennese as "Christ with a toothache," from the agonized expression of his face.
- various other memorials, from the time the area outside the cathedral was a cemetery.
- a recently-restored 15th century sundial, on a flying buttress at the southwest corner (location S).
Interior
StephansdomAnnotated.png|right|thumb|300px|Plan of the cathedral, with features mentioned in this article marked with red letters. CT "Christ with a Toothache" sculpture; Fr3 Tomb of Emperor Frederick III; G Giant Door HA High Altar; MP Maria Pötsch icon; NT North Tower; P Pulpit; PES Prince Eugene of Savoy burial chapel; RT Roman Towers; S Sundial; SJC Saint John of Capistrano pulpit; ST South Tower; WNA Wiener Neustädter Altar;]]
Altars
There are 18 altars in the main part of the church, and more in the various chapels. The High Altar and the Wiener Neustädt Altar are the most famous.High Altar *
The first focal point of any visitor is the distant High Altar, built over seven years from 1641 to 1647 as part of the first refurbishment of the cathedral in the baroque style. The altar was built by the Tobias Pock at the direction of Vienna's Bishop Philipp Friedrich Graf Breuner with marble from Poland, Styria and Tyrol.
The altarpiece shows the stoning of St. Stephen, this church's patron. It is framed by figures of the patron saints of the surrounding areas — Saints Leopold, Florian, Sebastian and Rochus — and surmounted with a statute of St. Mary which draws the beholder's eye to a glimpse of heaven where Christ waits for Stephen (the first martyr) to ascend from below.
Wiener Neustädter Altar *
This altar at the head of the north nave was made in 1447 on the orders of Emperor Frederick III, whose tomb is opposite it, at the head of the south nave. On the predella is his famous A.E.I.O.U. device.
Frederick ordered it for the Cistercian Viktring Abbey (near Klagenfurt) where it remained until the abbey was closed in 1786 as part of Emperor Joseph II's anti-clerical reforms. It was then sent to the Cistercian monastery of St. Bernard (founded by Emperor Frederick III) in the city of Wiener Neustadt, and finally sold in 1885 to the Stephansdom when the Wiener Neustadt monastery was closed after merging with Heiligenkreuz Abbey.
A project to restore the altar was begun on the 100th anniversary, in 1985, and, primarily because of the large surface area (100 square meters) involved, took 20 years, 10 art restorers, 40,000 man-hours, and €1.3 million to complete.
The altarpiece is composed of two triptychs, the upper being four times taller than the lower one. When the lower panels are opened, the gothic grate of the former reliquary depot above the altar is revealed.
On weekdays, the four panels are closed and display a drab painted scene involving 72 saints. On Sundays, the panels are opened showing gilded wooden figures depicting events in the life of the Virgin Mary.
Maria Pócs (Maria Pötsch) Icon *
This Byzantine style icon of St. Mary with the child Jesus was originally in the Uniate church in the Hungarian town of Pócs (pronounced Poach), from which this Marian icon takes its name. After two miraculous incidents in 1696 of the mother in the picture shedding real tears, Emperor Leopold I, king of Hungary, ordered it brought to the Stephansdom, where it would safe from the French-supported Muslim armies that still controlled much of Hungary. Upon its arrival after a triumphal 5-month journey in 1697, Empress Eleonora Magdalena commissioned the splendid Rosa Mystica oklad and framework (now one of several) for it, and the Emperor personally ordered the icon placed near the High Altar in the front of the church, where it stood prominently from 1697 until 1945. Since then, it has been in a different framework, above an altar under a medieval stone baldachin near the southwest corner of the nave — where the many burning candles indicate the extent of its veneration, especially by Hungarians.
The 20 by 28-inch icon was commissioned in 1676 from painter Istvan Papp by Laszlo Csigri upon his release as a prisoner of war from the Turks who were invading Hungary at the time. Perhaps Csigri was unable to pay the 6-ducat fee, because the icon was bought by Laszlo Hurta who donated it to the church in Pócs.
The picture shows the mother pointing to the child (signifying he is the way), and the child holds a three-stemmed rose (symbolizing the holy trinity) and wears a prescient cross from his neck.
Since its arrival the picture has not been seen to weep again (perhaps because it enjoys the Gemütlichkeit of Vienna) but other miracles and answered prayers have been attributed to it, including Prince Eugene of Savoy's victory over the Turks at Zenta a few weeks after the icon's installation in the Stephandom.
The residents of Pócs wanted their holy miracle-working painting returned, but the emperor sent them a copy instead. Since then, the copy has been reported to weep real tears and work miracles, so the village changed its name from merely Pócs to Máriapócs and has become an important pilgrimage site.
Pulpit *
A masterwork of late gothic sculpture is the stone pulpit. Long attributed to Anton Pilgram, today Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden is thought more likely to be the carver. So that the local language sermon could be better heard by the worshipers in the days before microphones and loud speakers, the pulpit stands against a pillar out in the nave, instead of in the chancel at the front of the church.
The sides of the pulpit erupt like stylized petals from the stem supporting it. On those gothic petals are relief portraits of the four original Doctors of the Church (St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great and St. Jerome), each of them in one of four different temperaments and in one of four different stages of life.
The handrail of the stairway curving its way around the pillar from ground level to the pulpit has decorations of toads and lizards biting each other, symbolizing the fight of good against evil. At the top of the stairs, a stone puppy protects the preacher from intruders.
Beneath the stairs is one of the most beloved symbols of the cathedral: a stone self-portrait of the unknown sculptor gawking (Ger. "gucken") out of a window (Ger. "fenster") and thus famously known as the Fenstergucker.
Chapels
There are several formal chapels in the Stephansdom:- St. Katherine's Chapel, in the base of the south tower, is the baptismal chapel. The 14-sided baptismal font was completed in 1481, and its cover was formerly the sound board above the famed pulpit in the main church.
- St. Barbara's Chapel, in the base of the north tower, is used for meditation and prayer.
- St. Eligius's Chapel, in the southeast corner, is open for prayer.
- St. Bartholomew's Chapel, above St. Eligius' Chapel, has recently been restored.
- The Chapel of the Cross, in the northeast corner, contains the burial place of Prince Eugene of Savoy. It is not open to the public.
- St. Valentine's Chapel, above the Chapel of the Cross, is the current depository of the hundreds of relics belonging to the Stephansdom, including a piece of the tablecloth from the Last Supper. A large chest holds the bones of St. Valentine. They were moved here about a century ago, from what is now the Chapter House to the south of the High Altar.
Tombs
It has always been an honour to be buried inside a church, thus close to the physical presence of the saints whose relics are preserved there. Those less honoured were buried near (but outside) the church. Since its earliest days, the Stephansdom has been surrounded by cemeteries dating back to Roman times, and has sheltered the bodies of notables and commoners.Ground Floor
In the cathedral may be seen the tombs of- Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, (21 September 1415 - 19 August 1493)
under whose reign Vienna obtained its own bishop. His motto "A.E.I.O.U." became synonymous with Austria. Constructed over a span of 45 years, starting 25 years before the emperor's death, this impressive sarcophagus is made of the unusually dense red marble found at the Adnet quarry. Carved by Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden, [http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc_e.pl?DEF=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc_e.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list_e.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=friedrichsgrab;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031e=;N_031e=3;R_031e=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;i038=;N_038=5;R_038=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0012961 the tomb lid shows Emperor Frederick in his coronation regalia surrounded by the coats of arms of all of his dominions. The body of the tomb has 240 statues and is a glory of medieval sculptural art. It is prominent in the southeast corner of the cathedral. - Prince Eugene of Savoy, (16 October 1663 – 24 April 1736)
commander of the Imperial forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, and others to repel Muslim invasions. [http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc_e.pl?DEF=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=d%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc_e.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list_e.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=eugen;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031e=;N_031e=3;R_031e=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;i038=;N_038=5;R_038=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0006752 His vault is in the large chapel named for him, in the northwest corner of the cathedral. That chapel has several other names, among them Chapel of The Cross and the beard on the crucified Christ above the altar is of real hair.
Catacombs
When the charnel house and eight cemeteries against the Stephansdom's side and back walls were closed due to an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1735), the bones within them were moved to the catacombs below the church. Burials directly in the catacombs occurred until 1783, when a new law forbade most burials within the city. The remains of over 11,000 persons are in the catacombs (which may be toured).Bishops Crypt
The most recent interrment in this crypt (completed in 1952) under the south choir was that of Cardinal Franz König in 2004.Pastoral Crypt
Ducal Crypt
A crypt under the chancel holds 78 containers with the bodies, hearts, or viscera of 72 members of the Habsburg dynasty. Before his death in 1365, Duke Rudolf IV had ordered such a crypt to be built for his remains in the new cathedral he commissioned. By 1754 the small rectangular chamber was overcrowded with 12 sarcophagi and 39 urns, so the area was expanded with an oval chamber being added adjacent to the east end of the rectangular one. In 1956 the two chambers were renovated and their contents were rearranged. The sarcophagi of Duke Rudolf IV and his wife were placed upon a pedestal and the 62 urns containing organs were moved from the two rows of shelves around the new chamber to cabinets in the original one.
Conservation and restoration
Preservation and repair of the fabric of the medieval cathedral has been a continuous process at the Stephansdom since its original construction in 1147.
The porous limestone is subject to weathering, but coating it with a sealer like silicone would simply trap moisture inside the stone and cause it to crack faster when the water freezes. The permanent Dombauhütte (Construction Department) uses the latest scientific techniques (including laser cleaning of delicate features on stonework), and is investigating a process that would impregnate the cavities within the stone with something that would keep water from having a place to infiltrate.
The most visible current repair project is a multi-year renovation of the tall south tower, for which scaffolding has been installed. Fees from advertising on the netting around the scaffolding were defraying some of the costs of the work, but the concept of such advertising was controversial and has been discontinued.
Systematic cleaning of the interior is gradually proceeding around the walls, and an outdoor relief of Christ in Gethsemane is being restored.
Recently completed is a giant project for which visitors and worshipers in the Stephansdom had been waiting since 1147: better heating of the church during the winter. Previous systems, including fireplaces, just deposited soot and grease on the artwork, but the new system uses apparatus in many different locations so that there is little moving airflow to carry damaging particles. The church is now heated to around 10° C. (50° F.).
Some of the architectural drawings date from the middle ages and are on paper 15 feet long and too fragile to handle. Laser measurements of the ancient cathedral have now been made so that a digital 3-dimensional virtual model of the cathedral now exists in its computers, and detailed modern plans can be output at will. When weathered stonework needs to be repaired or replaced, the computerized system can create life-sized models to guide the nine full-time stonemasons on staff in the on-site workshops against the north wall of the cathedral.
Trivia
- The Stephansdom is depicted in a small oval on the packaging of the Manner-Schnitten wafer treat.
- The funeral of the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was held in the Stephansdom, though Mozart's grave still remains unknown.
References
- Official Website of the Stephansdom
- of the Museum
- of the Permanent Construction Office
- of the Archdiocese of Vienna
- About the Bells
- Digital European Cathedral Archives
- Stephansdom (Saint Stephen's Cathedral) facts and photography
See also
Churches in Vienna | Gothic architecture | Roman Catholic cathedrals in Europe
Dóm svatého Štěpána | Stephansdom (Wien) | Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Vienne | Stephansdom | Stephansdoum | Stephansdom | Stephansdom | Stefansdomen | 维也纳的斯蒂芬大教堂
"Stephansdom"