The grandiose St. Stephen's Church, a Catholic cathedral filled with wonderful relics and real works of art, has become the national symbol of Austria and the decoration of the city of Vienna. Below it are the no less famous catacombs, where the remains of all the Austrian emperors lie, starting with the prince who built this magnificent temple, Rudolf VI, then seventy-two Habsburgs, Eugene of Savoy and many abbots of the cathedral. From any of the two towers, a magnificent view of the ancient and most beautiful city opens up.
Vienna Symbol
The construction of the cathedral was begun in the twelfth century, and today it is the most significant Gothic building in Austria with a total height of 107 meters and with towers raised by another 30. Visitors often climb the bell tower, having overcome three hundred and fifty steps. It's worth it: the view from the bell ringer's room is simply magnificent. Yes, and those 23 different bellssizes, which are one of the main attractions of the church of St. Stephen, the cathedral is decorated exclusively: the Pummerin alone is considered the largest bell in Western Europe. From above, the roof is clearly visible, where a double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of Austria are laid out with bright tiles.
Inside the temple, the design changed often, so for so many centuries, architecture has acquired signs of almost all trends and trends, up to baroque. Each guest of the city considers it not only his duty, but also the first duty to visit this pearl of architecture. And one day for inspection is clearly not enough. Because the church of St. Stephen is a huge cathedral and literally contains one or another attraction on every square meter of its area.
Relics
The treasures of the cathedral are more than impressive: a huge number of valuable altars, side chapels, relics adorned with jewels and gold: arks, books, liturgical texts, vestments. The sarcophagi are also impressive. The lid of the gravestone of Frederick III weighs, for example, eight tons. Prince Eugene rested in a separate chapel, decorated extremely whimsically. Considering that the first burials appeared here at the beginning of the twelfth century, one can trace the formation of the traditions of both architecture and interior design by the nature of the burials.
Currently, St. Stephen's Church is a cathedral, where the Viennese archbishop sits. The church was originally built in the center of the city in 1147, by the fifteenth century it acquired today's borders, and its modern appearance only insixteenth century. The oldest buildings are in the Romanesque style, this can be seen on the wall of the cathedral, where the portal and two towers are, which were later rebuilt in the Gothic style after a fire in 1258.
Architecture
In 1340, Albert's choir in three naves (named after the two kings Albert - the First and Second) was attached to the Romanesque church from the east, they have survived to this day in their original form. The north nave was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the one in the middle - to St. Stephen and all the other saints, and the south nave is dedicated to the twelve apostles. In 1359, Rudolph IV laid a new temple - Gothic, in its place now - the highest southern tower, the foundation of which is surprisingly strong, although very small - only one and a half meters. When climbing the south tower, you can see the oldest statue of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, which once served as a facade decoration. From here, from this bench, which is located next to the statue of St. Stephen, Count Starhemberg observed the Turks during the siege.
The north tower was built over a hundred years, only in 1578 it was equipped with a beautiful renaissance dome. To the indigenous crowns, it still seems more like a water tower, although it is called Orlina, and the portal leading from it to the Women's Nave bears the same name. After St. Stephen's Cathedral became a cathedral, the sculptor Rollinger made carved choirs with a unique pattern, and in 1513 an organ was installed there. All the interiors of those times were made, of course, in the Baroque style. In 1647reconstruction began: a unique altar made by Jacob and Pokka appeared, in 1700 - two side altars, which were not inferior in beauty to the main one, two icons of the Virgin Mary were painted, which immediately became famous. The status of the temple was raised to the archbishop's 40 years after the victory over the Turks - in 1722.
War
During the bombing, St. Stephen's Cathedral was not damaged, and the offensive operation of the Soviet troops did not harm it either. However, the commandant of Vienna, General Sepp Dietrich, ordered the Nazi artillery to demolish the entire city center. Fortunately, this order was not carried out. But misfortune came from where they did not expect: local residents - marauders plundered all nearby shops and set them on fire, and the fire spread to the temple complex.
The consequences were terrible: the roof collapsed in many places, a huge bell fell into the North Tower and broke, many interiors of St. Stephen's in Vienna, even Rollinger's choirs, were almost completely destroyed. Pulpits have been preserved and - thanks to brick sarcophagi - the most valuable relics.
The cathedral was restored by volunteers, and this was done only in 1960. In December 1948, a roof appeared over the main nave, and in April 1952 it was already possible to resume services. The second phase of restoration began in 1980 and continues to this day. Limestone walls and statues are being restored, of which there are a lot, and time is merciless even to the hardest materials.
First Martyr
CathedralStephen's Cathedral exists not only in Vienna. This man, the first martyr, is honored in all Christian denominations. He came from the Jewish diaspora and lived in Jerusalem. For his sermon, read approximately in 33-36 years, that is, immediately after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he was brought to the Sanhedral court and stoned to death. In the book "Acts of the Holy Apostles" it is written in detail about his service to Christ and about the accepted martyrdom. The Orthodox honor his memory on January 9, and the Catholics on December 26.
It is not entirely clear whether Stefan died on death row or was simply lynched by the mob without waiting for the end of the trial. He said things that had not yet penetrated the consciousness of people, even those who were contemporaries of the Lord and, perhaps, those who listened to his parables and saw the miracles that he worked. Stefan talked about what he saw with his own eyes: the Father sitting at the right hand. It seemed like sacrilege. The very described scene of the murder does not look like lapidation (stone-making), it is rather the same crowd, on whose conscience the Cross of the Lord is. In addition, immediately after the trial, it was impossible to execute anyone - first, the Roman authorities had to give the go-ahead, and this took a lot of time. The executed Stefan prayed for his killers. As he was buried, a "great lament" was heard over him (Acts 8:2).
Hungary
The Basilica (Cathedral) of St. Stephen, Budapest honors as the most important temple in the country, calling the saint in Hungarian - Stephen. This is another saint, not the first martyr, but the king and creator of the country. That's why this oneof the largest churches in Europe, with a bell tower height of ninety-six meters. Built in the neoclassical style, which was very popular in the nineteenth century. This cathedral is a vivid example of strict and concise classics. The first architect - Hild - did not calculate everything correctly, and one day, many years after his death, the dome collapsed. His follower, Miklós Ybl, undertook to correct the mistakes. He managed to give the majestic appearance of the temple some lightness and airiness, since the bell tower and dome absorbed a bit of eclecticism.
I must say that Eiffel himself advised the construction, so the structures turned out to be reliable, nothing has collapsed since then. St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna can be proud of such a rich neighborhood. Inside the basilica is luxurious: gilding, carvings, magnificence of paintings, grace of statues and a huge majestic altar. The arch of the dome is decorated with a scene of the creation of the world. On one of the bell towers there is an observation deck for curious tourists who can climb a spiral staircase, and two elevators are equipped for the lazy ones. There is no such platform on the second bell tower - there is a nine-ton bell.
Czech Republic
But the Czech Cathedral of St. Stephen (Litomerice, in the Uste region) is dedicated to the first martyr. This capitular, cathedral and parish church was built in the Baroque architectural style. It stands high on the Dome Hill, which was called St. Stephen's Mountain. The Romanesque basilica appeared here in 1157, then in the sixteenth century it was reconstructed in the Gothic style.
In 1664 the temple was completely destroyed, andthen the Italian Domenico Orsi erected in four years one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Europe with a free-standing bell tower connected to the main building by an arched bridge. The organ in this cathedral consists of four thousand pipes, it is made in the Rococo style.
Germany
The Bavarian Cathedral of St. Stephen (Passau) is also very impressive: the temple is 102 meters long, 33 meters wide and 30 meters high. It was built in the late Gothic style with baroque elements. The Bavarians consider it one of the main attractions along with the famous castles. Gothic with a baroque soul, as art critics say, is also present in the interior decoration, it is no less majestic and pompous. The third largest organ in the world and the largest in Europe is also located here. He only has 5 manuals, 229 registers and almost 18 thousand pipes. Organ-worker, it sounds here daily.
In 720, the Episcopal Church of St. Stephen was located here, built on the site of the early Christian church of St. Severin. Naturally, since then the cathedral has been rebuilt many times - wars, fires, even time itself is unlikely to be able to convey to us the originality of such an old building. In 1221, almost a century-long construction began on this site of the cathedral, and in 1407, almost two hundred years of rebuilding began in the late Gothic style. Thus, the entire eastern part of the temple was erected - the transept, the choirs, and the early Gothic nave was enlarged. Many architects worked on this work of art, and Hans Glapsberger completed the work at the beginning of the sixteenth century. This is how we see it nowBavarian St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Austria
Let's return to the largest and most famous temple of this name in order to bring some details for comparison. For example, the length of the roof of only the main nave here is 110 meters. Impressive, isn't it? The height to the roof ridge from the gutter is 38 meters (with the roof slope in some places to the horizontal up to 80 degrees), the supporting frame of the roof was wooden before the fire (2 thousand meters), now it is made of steel (about 600 tons). And the coating itself is 230 thousand multi-colored tiles, which are covered with shiny glaze. It was from them that the coat of arms of Austria and the coat of arms of Vienna were laid out.
The three naves of the basilica suggest that there should be three entrance portals, but they are not. There is only one entrance to the Cathedral of St. Stephen - this is the central portal, called the Giant, or otherwise the Gate of the Giants. A huge bone found during construction (it was decided that it was a dragon, mammoths were not known at that time) suggested such names. Three-tier pagan towers are located on the sides of these gates. Pagan, not because ecumenism was encountered here in the Middle Ages. Just marble and other stone borrowed from the destroyed Roman temples. A lancet window rises above the towers on the central facade, and the entire portal is decorated based on the Last Judgment. In the tympanum - Christ and angels, on the right and on the left - the apostles and evangelists Luke and Mark as witnesses of the Last Judgment. And below them, that is, above the capitals of the columns, which are on the left, are demons with axes andrope loops and chimeras. On the right are human vices. The columns themselves are twined with grapes - a symbol of communion.
Sculptures and altars
The sculptural portraits depict the Church Fathers: the young sanguine Saint Ambrose, the old choleric Saint Jerome, the mature phlegmatic Gregory the Great and the young melancholic Saint Augustine. All stair railings on the railings are in decorative ornament: wheels with three spokes as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, rolling up, and with four - descending, which symbolize everything earthly - seasons, temperaments, ages. The railings themselves are with fantastic ornaments: snakes devouring each other, toads, lizards. There is also a dog that does not let all this evil spirits into the pulpit where the priest preaches.
Probably there are few temples on earth where there are as many altars as there are St. Stephen's Cathedral (Vienna, Austria). There are eighteen of them, not counting those in the chapels. The most famous are the high (central) and Wiener Neustadt. The latter - a structure of the most amazing beauty - a Gothic altar with paintings and wood carvings - was created in 1447. Its name comes from the city in which it was created and where it was located for the first time. Wooden sculptures in gilding are dedicated to scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. The doors of the altar are open only on Sunday. On the outer side are the figures of 72 saints. The main altar was designed by Tobias Pok, and the baroque note appears in the architectural chord. The torments of St. Stephen are depicted on the wings. The first altar in Vienna is made of black marble. statues next tothe altar is Saints Florian and Leopold, the patrons of the city, and Saint Roch, the protector from the plague, about which St. Stephen's Cathedral can also tell a lot.
Catacombs
The first church of 1137 was located on the territory of an ancient cemetery where people were buried in ancient Roman times. The catacombs that remained under the temple continued to serve for burials, but mass burials began only in 1732, when, due to a plague epidemic, Charles VI forbade people to be buried in traditional city cemeteries. Until 1783, when the underground necropolis was closed by decree of Joseph II, eleven thousand people were buried in the catacombs. These corridors with crypts began to be called catacombs only under romanticism, in the nineteenth century. At the same time, tourists began to visit St. Stephen's Cathedral. A photo taken here as a souvenir will bring back unforgettable sensations for a lifetime.
In the catacombs - a lot of masterpieces, this is a favorite place of tourist pilgrimage. For example, the tomb of Frederick III, where 240 figures serve as decorations. On the pedestal - mythical monsters, skulls, animals. On the walls of the sarcophagus are depicted all his good deeds during his life. Above - monks, priests, bishops of all the monasteries that he founded, praying for the salvation of Frederick's soul. The red marble sarcophagus was designed and ordered by the owner thirty years before his death.
