St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom)

Our first and only mass in Austria was held in St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom)  in the Stephansplatz of Vienna. With its multi-colored tile roof, it is most important religious building in Vienna and one of the city’s most recognizable symbols. St. Stephen’s Cathedral has also borne witness to many important events in Habsburg and Austrian history.

The author at St. Stephen’s Cathedral

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this cathedral:

• It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna (Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP)
• The cathedral, dedicated to St. Stephen (also the patron of the bishop’s cathedral in Passau), is oriented toward the sunrise on his feast day of December 26, as the position stood in the year that construction began.
• It is affectionately referred to, by the city’s inhabitants, as “Steffl” (a diminutive form of “Stephen”)
• The main entrance to the church is named the Giant’s Door (or Riesentor), referring to the thighbone of a mastodon that hung over it for decades after being unearthed in 1443 while digging the foundations for the north tower.
• 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 could not hear the bells.
• At 20,130 kgs. (44,380 lb), its St. Mary Bell is the largest in Austria and the second largest swinging bell in Europe after the 23,500 kgs. (51,800 lb) Peter in Cologne Cathedral).
• Stephen’s Cathedral is featured in media including films, video games, and television shows including The Third Man and Burnout 3.
• The cathedral is also depicted on the Austrian 10 cent euro coins.
• The South Tower is considered the most beautiful German Gothic tower in Europe thanks to features such as the statues below the richly ornamented canopies on the second floor.
• In 1741, the funeral of the Italian composer, Antonio Vivaldi occurred in this cathedral.
• On the packaging of the Manner-Schnitten wafer treat, the Archdiocese of Vienna allowed the Manner company to use the Cathedral as its logo in return for funding the wages of one stonemason doing repair work on the Cathedral.
• This was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s parish church when he lived at the “Figaro House” and he was married here, two of his children were baptized here, and his funeral was held in the Chapel of the Cross. Shortly before his death, he was appointed an adjunct music director here. A memorial tablet gives a detailed account of his relationship with the cathedral.
• In 2008,Sarah Brightman performed a concert promoting her latest album, Symphony, which was recorded for a TV broadcast and a further DVD release in late September.
• Since 2008, the two sabers of theBalint Balassi Memorial Sword Award, founded by Pal Molnar, have been blessed during a Balassi Mass held a few days before the award ceremony. On January 25, 2013, in the presence of some 300 Hungarians, Bishop Laszlo Kiss-Rigo blessed the two swords during a Mass celebrated in the cathedral.
• Over the centuries, soot and other forms of air pollution accumulating on the church have given it a black color, but recent restoration projects have again returned some portions of the building to its original white.
• Its roof is so steep that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and is seldom covered by snow.

Bas relief

Built of limestone, the current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147.  It is 107 m. (351 ft.) long, 40 m. (130 ft.) wide and 136 m. (446 ft.) tall at the massive south tower, its highest point and a dominant feature of the Vienna skyline.

Bas relief

The soaring South Tower, built from 1368 to 1433, served as the main observation and command post for the defense of the walled city during the Siege of Vienna in 1529 and again during the Battle of Vienna in 1683.  Until 1955, it contained an apartment for the watchmen who, manned the tower at night and rang the bells if a fire was spotted in the city.  It’s a tough climb up the 343 steps to the Watch Room which has a spectacular view over the city. At the tip stands the double-eagle imperial emblem with the Habsburg-Lorraine coat of arms on its chest, surmounted by a double-armed apostolic cross (which refers to Apostolic Majesty, the imperial style of kings of Hungary). A peal of 11 electrically operated bells, cast in 1960, hangs in the south tower.

The South Tower

The North Tower, standing at 68 m. (223 ft.) tall (roughly half the height of the south tower), was originally intended to mirror the south tower but, considering the era of Gothic cathedrals was nearing its end, its design proved too ambitious and its construction was halted in 1511. However, in 1578, its tower-stump was augmented with a Renaissance cap (nicknamed the “water tower top” by the Viennese).

The ornately patterned and richly colored roof

The glory of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is its 111 m. (364 ft.) long, ornately patterned and richly colored roof which is covered by 230,000 glazed tiles. On the south side of the building, above the choir, the tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty. On the north side are depicted the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and of the Republic of Austria.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral has 23 bells in total. Some are replacements for other ancient bells lost in the 1945 fire. 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. The 1945 fire destroyed the bells that hung in the south Roman Tower. Four bells 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. They include:

• Mary – 20,130 kgs. (44,380 lbs.). Usually called Pummerin (“Boomer”), it hangs in the North Tower and was originally cast in 1711 from cannons captured from the Muslim invaders.  In 1951, it was recast (partly from its original metal) after crashing onto the floor when its wooden cradle burned during the 1945 fire. The new bell has a diameter of 3.14 m. (10.3 ft.) 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. A fast lift takes visitors to a viewing platform.
• Stephen – 5,700 kgs. (12,600 lbs.)
• Leopold – 2,300 kgs. (5,100 lbs.)
• Christopher – 1,350 kgs. (2,980 lbs.)
• Leonhard – 950 kgs. (2,090 lbs.)
• Josef – 700 kgs. (1,500 lbs.)
• Peter Canisius – 400 kgs. (880 lbs.)
• Pius X – 280 kgs.
• All Saints – 200 kgs. (440 lbs.)
• Clement Maria Hofbauer – 120 kgs. (260 lbs.)
• Speisglocke (“dinner bell”) – North Tower, 240 kgs. (530 lbs.), cast in 1746, no longer in use
• Zügenglocke (“processions bell”) – North Tower, 65 kgs. (143 lbs.), cast in 1830, no longer in use.
• Kleine Glocke (“small bell”) – North Tower, 62 kgs. (137 lbs.), cast around 1280, no longer in use
• Michael – 60 kgs. (130 lbs.)
• Tarsicius – 35 kgs. (77 lbs.)
• Primglocke– South Tower, recast in 1772, marks the passing of the hours
• Uhrschälle– South Tower, cast in 1449, marks the passing of the hours
• Feuerin (“fire alarm”) – North Roman Tower, cast in 1859, now used as a call to evening prayers
• Kantnerin – North Roman Tower, used to call the cantors (musicians) to Mass
• Feringerin – North Roman Tower, used for High Mass on Sundays
• Bieringerin (“beer ringer”) – North Roman Tower, for last call at taverns
• Poor Souls – North Roman Tower, the funeral bell
• Churpötsch – North Roman Tower, donated by the local curia in honor of the Maria Pötsch icon in the cathedral

The Late Romanesque Giant’s Door is notable for its uncommonly rich ornamentation of dragons, birds, lions, monks, and demons. The tympanum above the door depicts Christ Pantocrator, flanked by two winged angels, while on the left and right are the two approximately 65 m. (213 ft.) tall Heathen Towers or Heidentürme (the German word Heiden means “heathens” or “pagans”).  The name is derived from the fact that they were constructed from the rubble of old structures built by the Romans during their occupation of the area. Square at the base and octagonal above the roofline, the Heidentürme originally housed bells.  Those in the South Tower were lost during World War II, but the North Tower remains an operational bell tower. The Giant’s Door, together with the Heathen Towers, are the oldest parts of the church.

The Bishop’s Gate, originally reserved for female visitors, boasts fine figurative sculptures from 1370, along with a number of coats-of-arms, while the Singer Gate,  the entry for male visitors, is notable for its figures of the Apostles and the legend of St. Paul dating from 1378.

Here’s the historical timeline of the cathedral:

• Following the Treaty of Mautern, it was founded in 1137
• In 1147, the partially constructed Romanesque church was solemnly dedicated to Saint Stephen in the presence of Conrad III of Germany, Bishop Otto of Freising, and other German nobles who were about to embark on the Second Crusade.
• In 1160, the first structure was completed
• From 1230 to 1245, the initial Romanesque structure was extended westward. The present-day west wall and Romanesque towers date from this period.
• In 1258, a great fire destroyed much of the original building.
• On April 23, 1263, a larger replacement structure, also Romanesque in style and reusing the two towers, was constructed over the ruins of the old church and consecrated. Each year, the anniversary of this second consecration is commemorated by a rare ringing of the Pummerin bell for three minutes in the evening.
• In 1304,a Gothic three-nave choir east of the church, wide enough to meet the tips of the old transepts, ordered to be constructed by King Albert I.
• In 1340, the 77th anniversary of the previous consecration, the Albertine choir, whose construction was continued by Duke Albert II, was consecrated.
• On April 7, 1359, Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365), Albert II’s son, laid the cornerstone for a westward Gothic extension of the Albertine choir in the vicinity of the present south tower. This expansion would eventually encapsulate the entirety of the old church.
• In 1365, just six years after beginning the Gothic extension of the Albertine choir, Rudolf IV disregarded St. Stephen’s status as a mere parish church and presumptuously established a chapter of canons befitting a large cathedral. This move was only the first step in fulfilling Vienna’s long-held desire to obtain its own diocese.
• In 1430, as work progressed on the new cathedral, the edifice of the old church was removed from within.
• In 1433, the south tower was completed
• From 1446 to 1474, the vaulting of the nave took place.
• In 1450, the foundation for a north tower was laid and construction began under master Lorenz Spenning
• In 1511, its construction was abandoned when major work on the cathedral ceased.
• In 1469,Emperor Frederick III prevailed upon Pope Paul II to grant Vienna its own bishop, to be appointed by the emperor.
• On January 18, 1469, despite long-standing resistance by the Bishops of Passau (who did not wish to lose control of the area), the Diocese of Vienna was canonically established with St. Stephen’s Cathedral as its mother church.
• In 1722, during the reign of Karl VI, Pope Innocent XIII elevated the see to an archbishopric.
• During World War II, the cathedral was saved from intentional destruction, at the hands of retreating German forces, when Capt. Gerhard Klinkicht disregarded orders from the city commandant, Josef Dietrich
• On April 12, 1945, as Soviet Army troops entered the city, the wooden framework of the roof cathedral’s roof was severely damaged by fires lit by civilian looters in nearby shops and carried by the winds, causing it to collapse. Fortunately, protective brick shells built around the pulpit, Frederick III’s tomb, and other treasures, minimized damage to the most valuable artworks. However, the Rollinger choir stalls, carved in 1487, could not be saved. Replicating the original wooden bracing for so large a roof (it rises 38 m. above the floor) would have been cost prohibitive, so over 600 metric tons of steel bracing were used instead.
• On December 12, 1948, after rebuilding, the cathedral was partially reopened.
• On April 23, 1950, the cathedral was fully reopened.
• In 1960, Michael Kauffmann finished a large electric organ with 125 voices and 4 manuals, financed with public donations.
• In 1991, the Austrian firm of Rieger rebuilt the mechanical choir organ with 56 voices and 4 manuals.
• As of December 2008, the majority of the restoration on the south tower has been finished, and most scaffolding removed.
• On March 29, 2014, a 37-year-oldGhanaian asylum seeker vandalized the interior of the cathedral by pushing the statue of  Jude Thaddeus from its marble base.

The three-aisled interior

The spacious three-aisled interior is divided by clustered pillars on which are life-size statues, including one of St. Christopher dating from 1470. The middle nave is largely dedicated to St. Stephen and All Saints while the north and south nave are dedicated to St. Mary and the Apostles respectively.  To the left of the main entrance, embedded in the cathedral wall, is the official Viennese ell length, standards for verifying the measure of different types of cloth sold. At the southwest corner are various memorials from the time the area outside the cathedral was a cemetery and a recently restored 15th-century sundial, on a flying buttress. There’s also a figure of Christ affectionately known to the Viennese as “Christ with a toothache” (from the agonized expression of his face).

The High Altar

The main part of the church contains 18 altars, with more in the various chapels. The distant High Altar, the first focal point of any visitor, is the most famous. Built in the Baroque style from 1641 to 1647 by Tobias Pock at the direction of Vienna’s Bishop Philipp Friedrich Graf Breuner with black marble from Poland, Styria and Tyrol, it represents the stoning of the church’s patron St. Stephen. The altar is framed by figures of Saints Leopold, Florian, Sebastian and Rochus, all patron saints from the surrounding areas, and surmounted with a statue 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.

The Wiener Neustädter Altar

The Wiener Neustädter Altar (German: Wiener Neustädter Altar), at the head of the north nave, was ordered in 1447 by Emperor Frederick III (his tomb is located in the opposite direction). On the predella is his famous A.E.I.O.U. device first ordered by Frederick 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 of Clairvaux (founded by Emperor Frederick III) in the city of Wiener Neustadt and, when the Wiener Neustadt monastery was closed after merging with Heiligenkreuz Abbey, finally sold to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in 1885.

The altar is composed of two triptychs, the upper being four times taller than the lower one. The Gothic grate of the former reliquary depot, above the altar, is revealed when the lower panels are opened. A drab painted scene, involving 72 saints, is displayed when the four panels are closed on weekdays while gilded wooden figures, depicting events in the life of the Virgin Mary, are shown when the panels are opened on Sundays. In 1985, on its 100th anniversary, restoration began. Primarily because its large surface area of 100 sq. m. (1,100 sq. ft.), it took 20 years, 10 art restorers, 40,000 man-hours, and €1.3 million to complete.

The stone pulpit

The 16^th century stone pulpit, the most important work of art in the nave and a masterwork of late Gothic sculpture, stands against a pillar out in the nave, instead of in the chancel at the front of the church so that the local language sermon could be better heard by the worshipers in the days before microphones and loud speakers.  Long attributed to Anton Pilgram, today, Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden is thought more likely to be the carver.

The sides of the pulpit, erupting like stylized petals from the stem supporting it, has a stairway handrail ((has fantastic decorations of toads and lizards biting each other, symbolizing the fight of good against evil) that curves its way around the pillar from ground level to the pulpit. A stone puppy, at the top of the stairs, protects the preacher from intruders. The  Gothic petals has 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.

A stone self-portrait of the unknown sculptor gawking (German: gucken) out of a window (German: fenster), famously known as the Fenstergucker, is located beneath the stairs.  One of the most beloved symbols of the cathedral, the chisel in the subject’s hand, and the stonemason‘s signature mark on the shield above the window led to the speculation that it could be a self-portrait of the sculptor.

The Maria Pötsch Icon, a 50 x 70 cm. Byzantine style icon, takes its name from the Hungarian Byzantine Catholic shrine of Máriapócs (pronounced Poach), from where it was transferred to Vienna. The picture shows the Virgin Mary  pointing to the child Jesus (signifying “He is the way”) and the child holding a three-stemmed rose (symbolizing the Holy Trinity) and wearing a prescient cross from his neck. The icon was commissioned from painter István Papp by László Csigri in 1676 upon his release as a prisoner of war from the Turks who were invading Hungary at the time. As Csigri was unable to pay the 6-forint fee, the icon was bought by Lőrinc Hurta who, in turn, donated it to the church of Pócs.

In 1696, after two miraculous incidents with the Virgin Mary in the picture shedding real tears, Emperor Leopold I ordered it brought to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where it would be safe from the Muslim armies that still controlled much of Hungary. In 1697, after a triumphal five-month journey, the icon arrived in the cathedral and Empress Eleonora Magdalena commissioned the splendid Rosa Mystica oklad and framework (now one of several) for it.  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, the icon has been in a different framework, above an altar, under a Medieval stone baldachin near the southwest corner of the nave.  Many burning candles here indicate the extent of its veneration, especially by Hungarians.

Since its arrival, the icon has not been seen weeping again 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 Stephansdom.

Lady’s Altar

There are several formal chapels in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. They include:

• Barbara’s Chapel, in the base of the north tower, is used for meditation and prayer.
• Katherine’s Chapel, the baptismal chapel in the base of the south tower, has a 14-sided baptismal font completed in 1481 whose cover was formerly the sound board above the famed pulpit in the main church. Its marble base (plinth) shows the Four Evangelists, while the niches of the basin feature reliefs of the Twelve Apostles, Christ and St. Stephan.
• Eligius’s Chapel (or Duke’s Chapel), in the southeast corner, with its important 14th-century statues, is open for prayer. The altar is dedicated to St. Valentine whose body (one of three, held by various churches) is in another chapel, upstairs.
• The recently restored Bartholomew’s Chapel is above St. Eligius’ Chapel.
• The Chapel of the Cross (or Tirna Chapel), in the northwest corner of the cathedral, is not open to the public. Built in1359, it holds the burial place of Prince Eugene of Savoy, commander of the Imperial forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, in a vault containing 3 coffins and a heart urn, under a massive stone slab with iron rings. The funeral of Mozart occurred here December 6, 1791. Above the altar is a 15th-century crucifix and the beard on the crucified Christ which is made of human hair and, according to legend, is still growing.
• 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 that were moved here about a century ago, from what is now the Chapter House to the south of the High Altar.

Since its earliest days, it has always been an honor to be buried inside the cathedral, close to the physical presence of the saints whose relics are preserved there, and it has sheltered the bodies of notables and commoners. Those less honored were buried near, but outside the church.

Peter and Paul Altar

Aside from the aforementioned Prince Eugene of Savoy  in the Chapel of The Cross, also inside the cathedral is the tomb of  Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, under whose reign the Diocese of Vienna was canonically erected on January 18, 1469, in the Apostles’ Choir (south choir, southeast corner of the cathedral).

The construction of Emperor Frederick’s tomb, spanning over 45 years, started 25 years before his death. The impressive raised sarcophagus, carved by Dutch artist  Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden, is made of the unusually dense red marble-like stone found at the Adnet quarry. 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, a glory of Medieval sculptural art, has 240 statues.

St. Januarius Altar

The basement of the cathedral also hosts the Bishop’s Crypt (completed in 1952) under the south choir, Provost’s Crypt and Ducal Crypt under the chancel. The most recent interment in the Bishop’s crypt was that of 98-year-old Cardinal Franz König in 2004. Provosts of the cathedral are buried in another chamber while other members of the cathedral chapter are now buried in a special section at the Zentralfriedhof.

The Ducal Crypt, ordered built by Duke Rudolf IV (for his remains in the new cathedral he commissioned) before his death in 1365, holds 78 bronze containers with the bodies, hearts, or viscera of 72 members of the Habsburg dynasty.

The small rectangular chamber, overcrowded with 12 sarcophagi and 39 urns by 1754, was expanded with an oval chamber added to the east end of the rectangular one and, in 1956, the two chambers were renovated and their contents 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.

In 1735, the charnel house and eight cemeteries abutting the cathedral’s side and back walls were closed due to an outbreak of bubonic plague  and the bones within them were moved to the catacombs below the church. In 1783, burials directly in the catacombs were discontinued when a new law forbade most burials within the city. Today, the catacombs, with remains of over 11,000 persons stacked up in tiers, may be toured.

Altar dedicated to St. Padre Pio

Adjacent to the catacomb entrance is the Capistran Chancel.  Its pulpit, now outdoors, was the original cathedral’s main pulpit inside until it was replaced by Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden’s pulpit in 1515.  Here, St. John Capistrano and Hungarian general John Hunyadi preached a crusade in 1456 to repel Muslim invasions of Christian Europe. The 18th century Baroque statue shows St. Francis under an extravagant sunburst, trampling on a beaten Turk.

The fascinating Cathedral Treasure, located in the West Gallery, houses many of the cathedral’s most important and valuable objects.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral : Stephansplatz 3, 1010 Wien, Austria. Tel: +43 1 515523054. Website: www.stephanskirche.at.

How to Get There: St. Stephen’s Cathedral is within walking distance of Vienna’s city center and its major tourist attractions. By bus, it is well served by Vienna’s bus service (Routes 1A, 2A, or 3A). The nearest U-Bahn subway station is Stephansplatz. No on-site public parking is available.