Stephensdom Vienna | Georgia Rambler

Skip to content

# Category Archives: Stephensdom Vienna

Klosterneuburg Abbey, KunstHistoriches Museum, Stephensdom Vienna, Vienna ( Wien)

# Touring Vienna from the River Princess

August 13, 2020 1954 1 Comment

Our first full day of the cruise offered several options for seeing some of the most interesting parts of Vienna; walking tours, bus tours and a combination bus-walking tour. The Rambler chose the gentle walker version of “Morning with the Masters,” an exclusive tour of the Vienna Art History Museum; exclusive because we arrived early in the morning before it was open to the public. There were at least 3 other options of tour, for the more active passengers. The senior Rambler opted to exercise yet another option, staying on board the Princess. LOL

In the afternoon, Uniworld provided a shuttle into the city. Since we had already seen quite a bit of Vienna on the Big Red Bus, the Rambler didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. The shuttle stop was at Schwedenplatz, which is on the other side of the Danube ,but more importantly a stop on the Vienna Metro/subway.

Schwendenplatz at night. Lots of things to do in the area.

That evening there was an opportunity to attend a concert of Mozart and Strauss music held exclusively for River Princess guests at the Klosterneuburg Abbey. The Rambler had attended two of these concerts on past cruises which were excellent, at two different Vienna concert halls. However, as this was a Masterpiece Collection event, it cost 79 Euros PP and would be held at the abbey instead of one of the many concert halls in Vienna. After checking with Heidicha, our cruise manager, I found that there were stairs with no railings in the historic monastery and decided to pass on it. This was a mistake. Everyone who went said it was wonderful, and even Jen and her 84 year old mother who was wheelchair bound were accommodated.

Klosterneuburg seen from above. The buildings form a huge square with the church at the front.

To repent for my omission, I have included some information on this amazing place that I wish I had seen. It was founded by St. Leopold in the 12th century and is one of the oldest and wealthiest abbeys in Austria. Although not in Vienna, it is in a close and wealthy suburb, north of Vienna, along the Danube. We would pass Klosterneuburg when we sailed the next night but we must have sailed past during the Captain’s welcome and port talk.

A relic of St. Leopold (part of his skull ) , id displayed at the Abbey. (t is an unusual reliquary to be sure. it looks like Leopold is wearing a very fancy skullcap!

It is a huge place that has been added to over the centuries but its final form took shape in the 18th century. There are many things to see and even a wine tasting of the Abbey’s wine is possible.

Needless to say there was plenty of space for a concert of Mozart and Strauss on the grounds. At night the Abbey is illuminated, which was another treat for the the River Princess cruisers when they left the the Abbey. If you have a chance to visit Klosterneuberg for a concert, take advantage of it.

One of the most beautiful altarpieces created by Nicholas of Verdun in the 12th century. It can be found in the side chapel, and is similar to the shrine of the Three Kings in the Cologne cathedral, also by Nicholas of Verdun.

Although the Abbey looks majestic today, it suffered much after Hitler’s forces took over Austria in the Anschluss (1938). The Augustinians were persecuted by Hitler, and most were forced to leave Klosterneuburg. Many were drafted into the army, others were killed in the resistance while ministering to Austrian Catholics. Even after the Russians drove out the Nazi’s, some Augustinians were killed by Russian troops when they tried to prevent the rape of Austrian women by the soldiers. Nevertheless, the Abbey has made a comeback since that awful period and is still under the leadership of an Augustinian Provost.

The Abbey church at night seems to have a timeless and mysterious aura.

Now back to the places the Rambler did visit that day. Our bus left the quay at 8:30 AM, as we would visit the Kunst Historiches Museum (Vienna Art Museum) before it opened to the public. We arrived at the Museum square just in time for the daily lawn watering; sprinklers everywhere. No wonder the surrounding lawns are so green.

Water, water everywhere. We had to step lively in order to miss getting wet.

The palatial museum opened in 1891, at the same time as the Museum of Natural History across the Maria Theresa Platz. Both were sponsored by Franz Joseph. While the Natural History Museum is devoted to the natural sciences, the Art Museum was built initially to house the art collection of the Hapsburg’s, which was extensive to say the least. However, the museum building itself is a work of art. Marble and gilding are everywhere and it is certainly worthy of the collection it houses.

The second floor of the museum, with stairs leading upward and the imposing dome at the top. The cafe looked like a great place to absorb the ambiance of the museum.

As for the collection itself, as you might expect, it is strong in works from the 500 years the Hapsburg ruled a substantial part of Europe.

The foundations of the collection were laid then and its main focus is still in the 17th century: 16th-century Venetian painting (Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto), 17th-century Flemish painting (Peter Paul Rubens, Sir Anthony Van Dyck), Early Netherlands painting (Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden) and German Renaissance painting (Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach).

One of the creepiest but oddly fascinating paintings of the four seasons by Giuseppe Arcinboldo, titled Summer…

The museum also houses the largest collection in the world, of pictures by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, my favorite, as well as masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Raphael, Caravaggio, Velazquez and the Italian Baroque painters.

Velasquez famous painting of the Spanish Infanta, Margarita Theresa in a blue dress.

But it also includes objects from the Hapsburg Kunstkammer(treasury) opened in 2013, which includes the famous gold salt cellar created by Benvenute Cellini and other valuable objects, a coin collection and even some modern artworks. Obviously there was much to see and the gentle walkers only had an hour before the museum opened to the public at 10 AM.

Our guide did a good job, taking us through the museum in a timely manner yet providing excellent commentary

We had an excellent guide who managed to lead us through the most famous galleries and we even got to the Kunstkammer gallery to view Cellini’s salt cellar which was stolen in 2003, and recovered in 2006. It had been buried in a box in the Austrian woods.

The famous salt cellar,. You can see why someone might think it would be easy to steal. The problem is what do you do with it after you have it. The answer, not much. It would be really criminal to melt it down for the gold, just as it would be hard to sell.

The museum was a place where the Rambler could have stayed for hours, but soon our time was up and we headed to our bus. Unfortunately neither the cafe, a perfect place to have a coffee, nor the gift shop, with many enticing objects on view was open yet. FYI for those forced to be armchair travelers in 2020, you can order from the Kunsthistoriches Museum shop online. Recently, the Rambler ordered two COVID masks from the gift shop. The shipping didn’t seem too outrageous altho they haven’t arrived yet…and your purchase supports this wonderful museum.

One of the narrow streets leading to the Stephansdom. As you can see, we had to dodge construction barriers on our way.

Our next stop was as close as our bus could get to the historic center of Vienna surrounding St. Stephens cathedral. There was much construction going on and we were lucky to have a guide who knew her way around the historic district. As we approached the amazing cathedral, we noticed a very unpleasant urine odor. Our guide explained that the fiaker(horse drawn carriage) drivers congregate around St. Stephens because it is a tourist magnet and unfortunately they have not found a way to stop the horses from urinating while the fiaker drivers wait for customers. It was quite nasty, made worse by the summer heat, but luckily, the cathedral is relatively air tight and the smell did not follow us inside.

This picture checks two boxes;; the crow of fiakers surrounding the church at the bottom, and the famous tiled roof complete with imperial eagles.

St. Stephens is an ancient church, founded in 1137 AD, and added onto through the centuries. If you are looking for stark simplicity, you will not find it here. But somehow, the interior blends into a glorious whole. Although Catholicism has fewer believers in Vienna these days, the Rambler saw many people kneeing in prayer, including a young monk. These ancient churches have the most uncomfortable kneelers, but they were built for the ages. Just don’t let one fall, it makes quite a noise.

A young monk praying at a side altar with light streaming in the stained glass window at the top.

There are two things the gentle walkers didn’t visit at St. Stephens. The first was the crypt under the building which houses the bones of long dead Viennese. It has several rooms; the first houses the tombs of religious, the second, intestines of the Hapsburg family in separate urns, and the innermost, heaps of skeletons and bones which have been there for centuries. However, there are no more burials in the crypt since Emperor Joseph outlawed all burials in the city in 1783. The Rambler would have found the crypt interesting in a creepy way, but I suspect most of our group would not have enjoyed it.

Piles of medieval bones in the last room of the crypt under the Stephansdom, many victims of the first super-Pandemic, the Black Plague.. Not a place to visit on All Hallow’s Eve.

The gentle walkers were also happy to skip climbing up the South Tower of the cathedral – only 343 narrow steps – and over 240 feet up, to the watchman’s room. The Rambler heard that it provides one of the best views in the city, but this is something she would never have enjoyed, even on her best day, because of her fear of heights.

A shot of the stone spiral staircase that is the only way up the South Tower. Keep in mind that people are gong up and down this narrow passage at the same time. It is not for the faint of heart.

On our way back to the bus which would take us back to the ship, we passed another macabre place where the Rambler would have stopped if she hadn’t needed to keep up with her group., This was the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) in the Capuchin Church, just around the corner from the Stephansdom.

The Capuchin church is a plain Jane compared to the Stephansdom, but there is a lot going on underneath its floor…

The 17th century church has a simple exterior but the large crypt underneath holds the remains of a dozen Hapsburg emperors and even more empresses and queens plus children and family members; 146 in all.

Skulls feature prominently in many of the tomb displays; Sic transit Gloria mundi!

The last Hapsburg burial was in 2011, Here you will find the tomb of Franz Josef and Empress Sisi (Elizabeth of Bavaria) and their ill-fated son, Prince Rudolph. It is a fascinatingly macabre place, and the tombs themselves are masterpieces of sculpture. Even more strange, the hearts of some, but not all, are held in small urns in a special heart crypt, (Herzgruft) along with the large mausoleums and tombs.

The tomb of Maria Theresa, perhaps the most successful female European ruler. She reigned during the Golden Age of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is certainly not as gruesome as some.

Back in the sunshine after our virtual stay in the Kaisergruft, we headed back to the River Princess for the daily port talk and a special early dinner buffet. Unusual, since the evening meal is a sit down dinner, the buffet was scheduled so that the large group going to the Abbey that evening, would not go off hungry. It was a nice touch. The rest of us, enjoyed a relaxing evening on board after a busy day in Vienna.

bus tours on river cruises, Prince Eugene of Savoy, Steiff bears, Stephensdom Vienna, Winter Palace

# A wonderful day in the warm and welcoming city of Vienna

May 18, 2016 1954 Leave a comment

Needless to say, we didn’t jump out of the comfortable beds in our room at the Ritz at 6 AM. Our scheduled tour of the city and the Winter Palace wouldn’t leave the hotel until 10:15, so there was no need to rush. Breakfast was included in our stay so we headed to the Melounge, the first floor dining area, around 8:30. On our way, we took some time to admire the comfortable but elegant design of the Ritz.

The Ritz, entrance is under the flags,

The hotel, like many other buildings in Vienna in the area, had been put together from four 19th century palais many years ago.Elements of 19th century decor had been incorporated into the modern building very successfully.

We noticed a number of our fellow passengers were already in the dining area intermingled with the other guests when we arrived. The Ritz is a large hotel, with more than two hundred rooms so it was able to accommodate the 100 plus passengers of the Maria Theresa fairly easily, especially since most were couples who would stay in the same room. We enjoyed an excellent breakfast in the Melounge which offered a variety of choices, however by this time, we were eating less and less for breakfast and lunch. Our bodies were telling us it was time to return to the simple breakfasts and lunches we ate at home.

Uniworld offered a lecture on European Art and Architecture before the city tour, but I find that I really don’t have much enthusiasm for lectures at this stage of my life. Too many years spent giving rather than listening to lectures, I guess, especially on history and art. I did make an exception and went to the program on the construction of the locks on the Rhine Main canal, and it did not disappoint. The senior Rambler was only too happy to skip this lecture as he is not a lecture fan. He had found his friend from New Zealand, a fellow smoker at the Ritz. They again got together in one of the smoking-allowed spots and enjoyed both cigarettes and conversation instead.

One good thing about the upcoming Vienna City Tour was that we wouldn’t spend much time on the bus. The Ritz was centrally located along the Ringstrasse, so on the first part of the tour,

Just one of many impressive buildings that lined our route, complete with gilding. Not bad, considering it was taken f rom a bus win dow.

we enjoyed a driving tour of central Vienna and its major landmarks. After an hour or so, we disembarked near the Stephensdom to meet our guides for the tour of the Winter Palace.

The Ramblers haven’t minded the time we spent on busses on our cruise excursions. The bus time usually wasn’t very long and it did give us a chance to see some of the non-touristy towns and the often beautiful countryside. It was pleasant to be driven around the Ringstrasse on a sunny day and we enjoyed the scenery, Vienna has lots greenery mixed in with beautiful buildings, many attractive landscapes, and even a large woodland. In an odd way it reminded me of Atlanta, and is very unlike my birthplace Chicago. In Chicago, once you leave Lake Michigan’s shores, the landscapes become mostly brick and mortar. An infestation of Dutch Elm disease which killed the columnar elm trees that shaded Chicago streets and boulevards didn’t help.

Since the Danube is a fair distance from the Ringstrasse and the historic center of Vienna, we were now much closer to the sights, shops and cafes at the Ritz then we would have been if we were still on the MT.

Many people were walking or riding along the streets not like last December.

The last time we visited Vienna, on the Uniworld Christmas Markets tour described in some of my earlier posts, we were bussed into the City Center and toured the wonderful National Library. After the tour was over, we had free time to visit the Christmas Market at the City Hall. Because the weather was cold and rainy that day, we didn’t stay long . For those who wanted to spend time in Vienna and browse the Christmas Markets, Uniworld ran shuttle busses every hour at an agreed upon stop. We and some of our friends waited anxiously for the first shuttle back to the boat, while others didn’t return until much later. Those who missed the last shuttle took taxis or public transportation back to the Beatrice.

This time, we would have a different kind of tour. We now had two cruise directors on board( figuratively speaking) to sort out the logistics of our new destinations. Today, Jan, from the Netherlands, who had just joined us, would ride on our bus. He was a very interesting guy who had a more European point of view than Chad ( who was Canadian). The Uniworld tour directors had to not only make new arrangements for the last 3 days of our tour but do the same for the next group of river cruisers who would be arriving in Budapest on September X. The Maria Theresa was still trapped in Regensburg as the Danube was still too low.

Our starting point for the city tour was the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Then we would tour the surrounding area, taking a look into the Spanish Riding School which was not in session, and eventually wind our way back to the bus

Better look at a fiaker, these folks seem to be waving at us.

I don’t have much of a sense of direction and had only spent a little time in Vienna, so I was glad we would have a guided tour and then would get a ride back to the Ritz. The streets were filled with both locals and tour groups enjoying the pleasant day. We saw several fiakers (carriages) filled with happy tourists carefully winding their way through the crowded streets.

We were with the Gentle Walkers again, our old friends from the MT. Our guide was a Viennese lady who was very proud of her city. Touring the the inside of the Stephensdom, the magnificent cathedral which dominates the skyline of Vienna, was not on our schedule. although the cathedral was visible from our bus stop.

However our guide felt we should get a closer view of the church as it was such an important part of Vienna’s history… even tho it was’t part of the tour.

The cathedral is surrounded by buildings and it is difficult to get a clear shot. It really isn’t leaning.

While the other groups moved off, we learned about the cathedral’s history. Archaeologists have found that a church has stood on this spot since the 4th or 5th century, The building we saw before us was constructed between 1300 and 1450, enlarging on an existing structure. The massive 450 ft. south tower was added at this time and the smaller north tower, 233 ft. was supposed to match it. However its construction was abandoned around 1500 as the money was need to repel the Turks, It is possible to climb to the top of both towers, but only the north tower has an elevator.

There aren’t any tall buildings in this part of Vienna and the Stephensdom’s tile roof and two towers dominate the skyline. The cathedral was heavily damaged during WWII but it wasn’t until last-ditch fighting between the Nazi’s and the Soviet’s in 1945, resulted in setting the original Gothic wooden roof ablaze. The great bell Pummern, made from melted Turkish cannons, plummeted to the ground.

As you can see in the background the roof of the Stephensdom is gone except for a few ribs and the street is lined in rubble.

There was much internal damage as the fire burned for two days. However, the civic pride of the Viennese had in their cathedral resulted in an outpouring of funds making it possible to completely restore the building by 1952. This at a time when much of the city was in ruins and money was scarce. The multi-colored tiles that now make up its roof were financed by the citizens of Vienna. Alte Steffi , as the Viennese call the cathedral, unlike most churches of its importance, is surrounded by buildings which makes it difficult to photograph.

I think many of us would also have enjoyed seeing the equally impressive interior, but we had to stick to the schedule.

A close up of the roof tiles, the roof itself is very steep and snow slides off easily in the winter.

Even so, we had been left behind by the other groups. This meant the Gentle Walkers had to move more briskly through the rest of the tour than they would have chosen. We didn’t mind the extra information, you couldn’t help appreciating the enthusiasm of our guide.

Fortunately our destination, the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy was not far from the Stephensdom. Although born in France in 1663, Prince Eugene served the Habsburg emperors for 60 years. He was a very able commander who made possible the Habsburg dominance of Central Europe and the Netherlands. Prince Eugene was awarded many honors and grew wealthy because of his military prowess.

Prince Eugene directing his troops in battle, with spyglass in hand.

He spend much of his fortune building the Belvedere Palace complex ( which includes the Winter Palace) and collecting fine art. We got to tour the state apartments which were opened to the public for the first time in centuries in 2013. Throughout his life he was noted not just for his skill as a general but for his honesty, loyalty, bravery and sense of personal honor. Unfortunately he was not blessed with good looks or an impressive physique and he never married. After his death, at 72,

The Winter palace has the most elaborate gilded ceiling I have ever seen.

Maria Theresa bought his palace at auction for the use of the imperial court, and it housed many government departments until the empire was dissolved in 1918.

The beautiful white interior of the Winter Palace

The palace that we toured was renovated between 2007 and 2013, and is today a magnificent example of Baroque architecture, “one of the most magnificent in Vienna,” according to the experts.

After leaving the palace, we walked along Kärntner Strasse, a pedestrian boulevard that links the Stephensdom with the Vienna State Opera. Incidentally, the operas and the concerts are always the hottest tickets in Vienna, a city that loves opera, ballet and music of all kinds.

Mini-Steiff bears in the shop window

We walked along a street that was lined with a melange of historic buildings inviting shops and cafes, including the ubiquitous Starbucks. I had to go into Steiff Vienna. I have always loved their stuffed bears and have gotten several for our children over the years. As we were late, there was no time to shop but I did get my photo taken with the gigantic bear they have on display.

One of the biggest Steiff animals I have ever seen.

## Ramble the world with us