The Church as Diversity

The churches in Vienna are stunning - not only have the Viennese managed to build countless churches in the space of the inner city, about 3 square miles, but they have managed to include a diversity of both architecture and types of Catholicism along the way. Today we planned to spend our time investing in the religion of Vienna; we had yet to see Stephansdom, and we wanted to visit the minor churches as well.

Our first church was St. Stephen's church, named and built after the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, who was stoned to death under the authority of Paul (then known as Saul of Tarsus). The church is beautiful and imposing, filling every corner of its large square, although that could also be credited to the immense amount of tourists who flock to the church during the summer season. The outside is classical gothic, transformed by

Rudolph IV in 1359 from a more Romanesque style. The south tower is the tallest structure on this side of the Danube - nothing can be built higher than it - and original plans for the church show a matching tower on the opposite side. Unfortunately, depleted funds left this second tower on the shorter side. The roof I found to be oddly out of place with the overall mentality of the church - the church being a reflection of both the Roman renaissance and the medieval gothic, the roof fit neither category. We did not enter into the cathedral nor did we descend into the catacombs due to a class trip already scheduled for that purpose, but we did climb the 343 steps to the top of the south tower. I cannot imagine how a monk, with long robes and no electrical lighting could have ascended such a tower to reach the small rooms which branch off of the staircase every so often. Once at the top, the 'skyline' of Vienna came into view. It is quite refreshing to see such a modest skyline, one that respects the cultural identity of Vienna in not surpassing St. Stephen's south tower, in comparison to American "the bigger the better" skylines.

After visiting St. Stephen's we walked one block up to Peterskirche, St. Peter's church. This was by far the most impressive baroque church we saw today, its plain facade and smaller, round shape reminding me vaguely of the baptistry outside of the Duomo in Florence. This church sits upon the same site where Charlemagne once founded a church. During the 12th century, it became part of the Schottenstift. However, since 1970, this church has belonged to the Catholic branch Opus Dei. In 1661 the church burnt down, later being constructed mainly by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1733 in the baroque style. The gold interior and the intricate altar piece were stunning. The intricate style of the baroque is clearly celebrated within the domed church of St. Peter's; for what it may lack in initial size, it makes up for it in

grandeur.

St. Peter's also houses the relics of a saint - the first we've seen yet. This public showing of relics within the Catholic church came to illustrate a crucial difference between the Catholic and Protestant church. Where as the relationship between the living and the dead is fluid for the Catholic, for the Protestant the relationship between the living and the dead is rigid and stiff. The Catholics intercede for their dead and decorate the public relics as a show of good works; Protestants leave the dead to pay for their own sins, creating a schism between those alive living in grace and those dead facing judgement.

The road past St. Stephen's led us along the Graben (the 'ditch') and the Kohlmarkt - high end shopping, aka a tourist trap. However, in the midst of the Graben is a large statue with lots of gold - the Pestsale or "Trinity Column."

In 1679 the last of the black plague epidemics swept across Vienna, causing Leopold I to evacuate the city. Upon his reentry, this plaque was created to commemorate the deaths of the victims. Its builders, Burnacini and Fischer von Erlach used doctrinal motifs to to embody the trinity, but also used the three coats of arms as symbols of the Habsburg dynasty (Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia). According to Parsons, "Austria corresponds to the Father, Hungary to the Son, and Bohemia to the Holy Ghost" (Parsons, 159). This is a very clear example of the marriage so often found within the Habsburg dynasty between the imperial and the sacerdotium.

Just as the tradition of Catholicism is so vibrantly attested for here in Vienna, so it is logical, seeing as how Vienna sits geographically and culturally between the Protestant north and the Catholic south, that it would be considered a "glittering lode separating and joining two cultural monoliths" (Parsons, 137). With the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in 1517, the Habsburgs were adamant to curb its tide, thus prompting St Peter of Canisius, a Jesuit in Rome, to come teach theology at Vienna's university. Eventually, he was most successful in the Counter-Reformation, together with the invitation from Ferdinand II extending to all Jesuits to come to Vienna enacting a complete Jesuit monopoly of higher education in Austria, and coinciding with the influx of Jesuits situated around Am Hof (the sight of the first Babenburg palace). Thus, the large influence of Catholicism attests to the religion of the Habsburg family and is accurate in illustrating the strength with which the Protestant Reformation was fought.

The next church on our walk was the Schottenkirche, the Scottish church originally founded by Benedictine monks from Ireland (then Scotia Maior) in the 12th century. Today's facade dates from the 19th century. Unfortunately the church was closed, but we were able to glimpse inside.

St. Ruprecht's church was next, the oldest church in Vienna situated along the old boundaries of Vindobona. It is named after the patron saint of the salt trade in Salzburg. The exterior is equally modest to the inside, reflecting its ancient stature among the new buildings looming overhead.

From there we walked to the Greek Orthodox church, but it was closed, so

our next church became the Dominican Church, completed in 1634. In 1226, Leopold VI of Babenburg invited the Dominicans to Vienna, who built this incredible baroque church. However,

as with many of the churches we have seen, the facade was plain and almost of a Renaissance nature, while the inside dazzled with baroque splendor.

Our last church for the day was the Franciscan church, built in the 17th century with a stark contrast between the renaissance facade and baroque interior. We ended the day in Neue Markt, and with tea in the Karlsplatz.

Today was filled with everything baroque, a style utilized as a symbolic display insinuating both ideological and theological statements. There is no wonder why the Habsburgs were such fans of this style of architecture. Parsons expands upon this subject, stating that "the Baroque solved the problem of nationality even before it existed; it bestowed the unity of its mode of expression on a landscape that was geographically so very disparate, with its enormous variety of people" (Parsons 166). The culture of the Church and the culture of the dynasty both are both evident within the architecture, with the power of both communicated to the world. Yet again we see the indivisible relationship between church and dynasty, power and architecture, the churches a representation of the diversity of tools used to counter the Protestant Reformation.

Today's German Word:

Wahrscheinlich - 'probably'