TREASURES OF ST STEPHENS CATHEDRAL - VIENNA
The Story of an Ambitious Habsburg Duke
St Stephens is a main cathedral of Vienna in the center of the pedestrian old town. It is the mother church of the Viennese Archdiocese, but this was not always the case The cathedral in German, Stephensdom, is noted as being founded by the Habsburg Duke Rudolf IV in 1359, due primarily to a major reconstruction ordered by the duke, encompassing older structures into a new grand form as a series of older churches stood on the spot, giving the building its combination of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The Cathedral from the exterior is most noted for its decorative tile roof and high gothic tower, but its earlier days can be seen in the twin towers which flank the entrance.
Recently opened at is the exhibit of the Treasures of St Stephens. After 60 years away, the ecclesiastical and historical artifacts of St Stephens Cathedral have returned for display in the galleries of cathedral. Just inside the “Giant’s Door”, the doors are tall but they are actually called that because of a mastodon bone which once hung over them, a tiny elevator rises to an upper floor of the west gallery where the icons, religious panels and golden treasures of the church can be viewed close up. The treasures exhibit spreads across the organ gallery down spiraling stairs and up again to the opposite side, offering a unique view of the high rising nave of the magnificent church.
The story of Vienna’s St Stephens is the story of the founding of the Habsburg dynasty of Austria The original foundations of the church from 1147 were dedicated to St Stephen under the eye of Conrad III at the time of the Second Crusade. The Romanesque period towers were added from 1230 to 1245, but a fire which roared through Vienna in 1258 destroyed much of the old church. A restoration was completed in 1263, but not sufficient to satisfy the new German King Albert I, who on 1304 ordered an expanded choir and nave now called the Albertine Choir, in Gothic style replacing the older rounded arches. Albert’s son expanded his father’s choir but it was the grandson, Duke Rudolf IV who undertook a major renovation to establish Vienna as religious center of the Austrian empire.
King Albert of Germany whose rule controlled Austria, Swabia in southern Germany, and much of what is now Switzerland, in a conflict over succession to the crown of Charlemagne (see Aachen Cathedral) with the French Burgundian King Phillip IV, made a deal that only the Pope could bestow the German Imperial Crown and as part of the deal he agreed that his sons could not be crowned German Kings except by the Pope. The deal worked out badly as King Albert was murdered by a nephew, John of Swabia, who felt cheated from an inheritance and the Austrian family lost its chance at the establishment of the Habsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors and as the title went to Henry VII of Luxemburg, despite the French King Phillip’s machinations to get it, while Albert’s sons were destined to remain dukes and not rise to a king’s crown (see Imperial Habsburgs Treasures).
Rudolf IV, young and ambitious chafed at the loss of family position. He married Catherine of Luxemburg, the daughter of the Emperor Charles IV whose capital was Prague. The ambitious Rudolf was determined to have Vienna compete in stature with his father-in-law. For a century, the Austrians had tried to convince the Roman Pope to make Vienna an Archdiocese. In a medieval version of “if you build it, he will come” Rudolf set out to create his own bishop’s cathedral and called its chapter at St Stephens an Archchancellory. His building plan was intended to rivel Prague’s St Vitus Cathedral (see Castle Cathedral Prague).
In another bit of sleight of hand, Rudolf forged a document, the Privilegium Maius, purporting to give his duchy the same stature equivalent of the Prince–Electors of the German Holy Roman Empire. Rudolf proclaimed himself an Archduke, a title he invented for the Habsburgs, the only family claiming the title. Rudolf’s maneuvering added both the houses of Luxemburg and the Tyrol to the Habsburg dynasty to build the foundation of a later Habsburg kingdom, eventually with Frederick III crowned as Emperor in 1452. For an ambitious man Rudolf was young. He died only at the age of 26 on a trip to Milan in 1365. He and his wife Catherine are buried in the ducal crypt of St Stephens and are depicted in a cenotaph at the entrance of the church.
Visiting St Stephens Cathedral Treasures
The cathedral open hours are Monday to Saturday 6am to 10pm, Sundays and Holidays 7am to 10pm. Guided Tours are offered in different themes from areas hours are 9am to 11:30am and 1pm to 4:30pm, Sundays and Holidays 1pm to 4:30pm. The St Stephens Cathedral Treasures Exhibit is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm. Sundays and public holiday hours are 1pm to 6pm. Admission to the St. Stephens Cathedral is free, but the tours and the Treasures Exhibit admissions are €5 for Adults and €2 for children including an audio guide. Guided tours of the Cathedral, the Catacombs and the Towers are separate. © Bargain
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St Stephens Cathedral
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SEE ALSO:
ST PETERS CHURCH HIDDEN BAROQUE GEM
THE
EMPEROR TOMB - KAISER CRYPT VIENNA
HABSBURG ARMS & ARMOR COLLECTION
DEMEL CAFE IMPERIAL CONFECTIONARY VIENNA
