Travel

Imposing, St. Stephen’s Cathedral is a Vienna business card

1079 visualizações0

Located in the most central point of the Austrian capital, the Stephansdom Cathedral (St. Stephen’s) is usually the starting point for visitors who want to explore Vienna.

The most important religious symbol of Vienna, it was built on the ruins of a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Stephen built in 1147, although the old temple only preserves the Gate of the Giants and the Towers of the Pagans.

One of the main features of the cathedral is its needle-shaped tower (Steffl), 137 meters high, built in the Gothic style. A winding spiral staircase allows access to its top, from where you have a privileged view of the city center. A separate detail is the door of the souvenir shop at the belvedere, whose dramatic noise is capable of chilling the soul of the most frightening.

From up there, you can have a panoramic view of the Tiled Roof, formed by more than 250 thousand tiles, which had to be restored after being seriously damaged during the Second World War.

On the right side of the cathedral there is an entrance called Porta dos Cantores, which could not be used by women.

Various architectural styles

Stephansdom’s interior features different architectural styles, from different eras; the central nave, the side chapels and the choir come from one of the reconstructions done in the Gothic style and some of the side buildings were rebuilt in the Baroque style.

The interior of the cathedral houses the remains of most of the members of the Habsburg family and was the site of the wedding and subsequent funeral of the composer Amadeus Mozart.

The vaults of Stephansdom hold innumerable works of art from different centuries. Some of the most interesting points of the cathedral are the following:

The Pummerin Bell – Hanging from the north tower, was merged with the cannons that Turkish troops left when they left the capital in 1683. During the great fire of 1945, the bell fell and was destroyed. The Viennese again fused the remains to create the current bell. It is located in the unfinished north tower, which is accessed by an elevator.

Pilgram’s pulpit –  Carved in a Gothic style, it draws attention to the details.

Catacombs –  Excavated in the 18th century, it holds the remains of more than 10,000 Viennese – an environment that is both imposing and dreadful.

Image of the crucified Christ – Located in the Tirna chapel, next to the tomb of Prince Eugenio de Saboya, the statue of Jesus carries with it the legend that his beard, of human hair, would continue to grow.

Cathedral Museum- Dom und Diözesanmuseum houses religious paintings from the 18th century, rustic sculptures from the 16th and 17th centuries and some medieval sculptures that represent the Virgin with the Child Jesus, although, without doubt, the most important part of the museum is the Treasury.