St. Stephen’s Cathedral

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the symbol of Vienna and also the very center of the city. At 136 meters in height, it is the tallest church in Austria.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the heart of the inner city is 107 meters long. The tallest of its four towers is the south tower at 136 meters. The tower room, from which there is a gigantic view across Vienna, is reached via 343 steps. A total of 13 bells hang here. However, the best known of them, the Pummerin, hangs in the 68 meter-tall north tower. It is the second-biggest free-swinging chimed church bell in Europe. On the roof of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, colorful roof tiles were laid to create the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna. St. Stephen’s Cathedral also attained a particular reputation due to Vienna’s most famous sweet treat: It soars above the brand logo on the pink-red packaging of the Manner Schnitten slices.

In addition to valuable altars and side chapels, the impressive cathedral treasure can also be seen, including relics decorated with gold and precious stones, monstrances, liturgical texts and books as well as vestments. Numerous important people were also given their final resting place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral: Emperor Friedrich III. was buried in an impressive marble sarcophagus. The tomb’s cover slab alone weighs eight tonnes. Prince Eugene of Savoy has his final resting place in a private chapel. Buried in the catacombs of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is Duke Rudolph IV, "the founder", who laid the foundation stone for the Gothic reconstruction of the cathedral in 1359. It is also the burial site of many other Habsburgs and Viennese cardinals and archbishops.

https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/st-stephens-cathedral-359690

Photo: Afifa Afrin