St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna

The founding of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna goes back to the year 1137. That year, the Margrave Leopold IV and the Bishop of Passau signed a transfer treaty. By exchanging goods, the bishop wished to finance the building of a church which was to be dedicated to St. Stephen. The construction of the first Romanesque church was completed in the year 1147. The late Romanesque west façade, which has been preserved to the present day, was built in the middle of the 13th century. The so-called Heathen Towers (“Heidentürme”) and the Giant’s Door (“Riesentor”) were built at the same time. The name of the door, which is still the main entrance to the cathedral, most probably comes from the Middle High German word “risen” (to sink, fall), and describes the funnel-like shape of the portal. At the beginning of the 14th century the building was extended by an enlarged choir in the Gothic style. Even nowadays it is still named “Albertine Choir” after its builders, Dukes Albrecht I and Albrecht II. From the middle of the 15th century the south tower and the Gothic nave were completed and the earlier Romanesque nave was demolished. In 1450 Friedrich III laid the foundation stone for the north tower, which, however, could not be finished. The completed St. Stephen’s has been a cathedral since the founding of a diocese in Vienna in 1469.

The south tower with its 136.40 meters is the highest tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In former Austria-Hungary no church was allowed to be higher than the south tower. Since the year 1534, the tallest building in Vienna also served as the fire watch. A warder had to look out for fires within the city and report them with a red flag by day and a red lantern by night. The job of the warder existed for 421 years. There are a total of 13 church bells in the south tower. The most famous bell, also called “Boomer” (“Pummerin”) hangs in the north tower. It was cast from cannon balls after the siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683. During a fire in April 1945 caused by pillagers, when valuable parts of the cathedral were destroyed, the “Boomer” crashed to the floor. When the reconstruction of the cathedral was completed in 1952, the recast “Boomer” was put back in the north tower.

In addition to the towers, the roof is one of the most conspicuous features of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It is covered by 230,000 roof tiles which are arranged in a zigzag pattern. Above the choir on one side of the roof an imperial double-headed eagle made of coloured tiles has existed since the 19th century. In 1950 the Viennese coat-of-arms and the Austrian federal eagle were depicted on the opposite side of the roof.

To the left of the main entrance there are two iron bars embedded in the wall. These are the so-called drapery ell and the linen ell. This was where the citizens could verify whether the cloth they had bought complied with local regulations to protect themselves from being cheated. In the Middle Ages tradesmen were threatened with severe punishments if they gave their wares false measures. An indentation near the cloth measures is said to have served as a measure for the size of a loaf of bread. However, in reality it is merely a sign of wear through the door mounting. The oldest sundial in Vienna can be seen on one of the flying buttresses in the choir. It originates from the year 1451.

On the west side of the cathedral the signs of the O5 Movement can be seen. They were a resistance movement against the Nazis during the Second World War. Originally the signs were painted on the wall with white paint. The paint was replaced by an engraving, which has meanwhile been declared a historic monument.