Giant Churches

Stephansdom

Stephansdom was built in 1147. It was built towards the east lining the altar windows so the sun perfectly comes through the nave on St. Stephen's day of 1147. If you look closely, the altar takes a slight left and doesn't line up with the aisle, so that on the epiphany, 8 days later, the sun would shine perfectly through the altar windows. In the Catholic faith the numbers 3 and 4 hold significance, for example, the trinity the three nails on the cross, and the four evangelists. For this reason the Church was built with these sacred numbers in mind. For example the Cathedral is 999 units long and 333 units wide.

It was here that Mozart both worked as the Vice Chapel master and where he got married.

This is the tomb of my boy Frederick III who died in 1888. He had gout that spread throughout his leg, as they all did. He ended up having to have his leg amputated. The surgery went great and he was going to survive, but to help throughout the recovery process they fed him copious amounts of melon. This Habsburg Emperor's official cause of death is "diarrhea from eating too much melon".

This tomb is made entirely out of red marble from Salzburg. It is so large that twelve new bridges had to be built throughout the empire to transport it to Vienna. Since Frederick died so suddenly of his melon diarrhea it also meant that the tomb was not ready until twenty years after his death. But do not worry, today both he and his amputated leg are now lying safely in the tomb.

Klosterneuberg

The original Klosterneuberg monastery and church was built in 1114 by St. Leopold, who was Leopold III of Babenberg. When Leopold was getting married on a hill nearby his wife's veil flew off in the wind. This is a sign of terrible luck for the marriage so Leopold went searching for the veil, he found it wrapped around a tree on the very spot where the chapel stands today. This Church signifies the very foundation of the monarchy, the foundations of the autonomous state of Austria. For this reason, the Habsburgs ensured to attend mass there at least twice a year until 1918. You can see the special Habsburg box in the lower right picture from which the royal family could attend mass above the common people. I really like the box. I want a special fancy box. The box was constructed during the 'baroqueification' of the chapel in 1723, which is the ornate gold style that we see today.

The lower left-hand picture is a complete stained class window from the twelfth century, one of the oldest remaining sets. You can tell its age because when light shines through, only white light comes through the glass, today historians and scientists do not understand how they made this happen.

The Verdun altar was created in 1181 and remains one of the most precious works of art from the Middle Ages. We were so lucky to be on a tour with Father Ambrose because he was able to disarm the alarm and allow us to go up and get a close look! The box at the top holds the bones of the founder, St. Leopold.

Charles VI, Emporer in 1711 decided that he would enhance Klosterneuberg to a new glory, paying tribute to the Habsburg's Babenberg foundations. He wanted this to be his permanent residence and demanded new apartments fit for a King be built. The picture on the left is in the room where one would await an audience with the Emporer, and the picture on the right is a group picture in the apartments with the squad and Professor Stuart. Charles VI only spent one night here before his death. Following this one night he demanded that the apartments be demolished and rebuilt as they were not grand enough. We can only still see them today because the Austrians dragged their feet and didn't do anything about it before he died two years later. Charles VI successor Maria Theresa didn't want to live there and ordered them to stop construction.

During WWII the monastery was seized by the Nazis and later occupied by the Russians. It is from this period that some pieces have mysteriously gone missing and remain so today.

The Church is built so that beneath, around, and above it you are guided through the stations of the cross. You walk through this stone passageway, diving into coves with figures telling a story, and eventually walk 100 steps up to the top of the Church. This image represents the 20th station, Jesus rising from the dead on the third day. As this is the most important of the stations, it should be at the very top of the church, however, to make it more accessible to the elderly it is on the ground floor. Below are some pictures of a couple of the stations as well as Hadyn's tomb.

Bergkirche

Bergkirche Eisenstadt is also known as the Hadyn Church, after Joseph Hadyn 1732-1809. Hadyn worked as a composer in the nearby palace for the majority of his life, and the church now houses the coffin of the composer.

The initial stone was laid in 1715, however it was not completed until around 1795. It was a pilgrimage church where hundreds of thousands of Catholics would come every year to experience the twenty stations of the cross. In the typical Catholic stations of the cross there are 14 stations, but they decided to make this one special and more extensive, so it is extended to 20 stations. During this time a lot of the lower, peasant class were illiterate so it was therefore impossible to go to a place and read about it. Bergkirche made it so that the average peasant could be taken through the experience of Jesus' journey to the cross through figures and images.

Page updated

Report abuse