Stephansdom

Today we had class then found a cute deli for lunch (the first and only 'deli' I have seen in the city) and then met for a tour of the inside of Stephensdom; the church itself is notoriously hard to get in to. We also were able to visit the Kaisergruft, a relatively simple church which houses the bodies of the prestigious member of the Habsburg empire, thus eternally weaving together the Habsburg's imperial authority with the will of God, uniting the crown with the altar. The bodies are buried under the Kaisergruft, the hearts in the Augustinerkirche, and the entrails are buried in St. Stephen's church. Thus, the Habsburg mortuary rituals are based upon the union between church and state, uniting the Habsburg family with the work of God and furthering their justification as absolutist monarchs.

The church was built in the mid-12th century in the Romanesque style (heavy, dark) on the outskirts of Vienna's city walls in order to lure a bishop to the town and qualify the church as a cathedral. It is built in the shape of a Roman cross, with the smaller transept and the larger beam as the church's guiding blueprint. In the 14th century (1304) the church was rebuilt in the early gothic style, the builders renovating from east to west. Renovation in those times had the notion of erasing the old and instating the new, thus the gothic replaced the Romanesque; today's idea of renovation embodies conservation. The rebuilding began in the back south tower (east) and moved towards the front. However, by the time the front was reached, it was nearing 1500, the period when the high Renaissance was in full swing (Michaelangelo's David was being sculpted, and Da Vinci's Last Supper was already finished). Thus, there was little interest in completing the front facade in the gothic style. Also, as the century moved on, the gothic style became more ornate (late gothic) - the rear was less ornate and the front tended towards gaudiness. During these many renovations, however, the church was still able to hold services, with the old Roman section being used. Thus, when the building stopped, the facade became the oldest part of the church, and the rear the second oldest. Oddly enough, the patterned roof is not as old as the church itself. In 1945 at the war's end, a fire broke out, causing the old wooden roof to cave in. Luckily, the cluster piers (the inside pillars) and the ribbing on the ceiling were strong enough to hold the walls up, and the loss of the roof was more of a visual disaster than a structural one.

Inside, the church is amazing; the vertical cluster piers bring the eye up and the stained glass windows create shades of color. As a group, we were able to go within the gated central portion of the church, getting detailed views and information about the various parts of the church.

The most interesting piece of architecture within the church is the pulpit, situated farther back within the church rather than at the front. It was built in 1500, during the period of the latest gothic style (extremely ornate). The last gothic stone mason was its sculptor, Master Anton

Pilgrim. This late gothic piece is one of the last of its kind, as the high Renaissance was gaining momentum during this same period. The pulpit itself is made from three distinct pieces of sandstone, with the four fathers of the western church (St. Gregory the Great, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St Augustine) sculpted on the top portion; they also represent the four humors, the four ages of man, and the four western virtues (temperance, fortitude, prudence, justice). He also included himself below the pulpit peering from a window, reflecting the changing styles of gothic into Renaissance (Renaissance artists valued the human form, often times over God, thus including themselves in their artwork). The railing of the staircase leading up to the pulpit contains circles with distinct portions, alternating (3 portions - 4 portions - 3 portions), the three (trinity) representing the heavens rolling up and the four (earth's elements, directions, seasons) representing the earth rolling down. [There are also 343 steps leading to the top of the south tower which we climbed last week]. These alternating circles show the connection between heaven and earth, with the message from God coming down in the sermon to earth.

There are also sculpted toads climbing up the banister, and a dog (fidelity) at the top, representing good conquering evil. The pulpit was later criticized, leading Master Pilgrim to declare that if it fell, he would bear it on his shoulders for the rest of eternity. Oddly enough, he painted himself on the facing wall under the organ loft, "bearing" his second masterpiece.

Another piece of architectural interest is the baptismal in the small chapel of St. Catherine in the transept. It was carved from wood in 1390 in the late gothic style, and is famous for its baptism of the children of Mozart. Outside of the chapel is a statue of the "Serving Madonna," a curved gothic statue of the Madonna and Christ child. Legend has it that it was once owned by a rich woman, but donated it to the church after it revealed to the lady her long lost diamond bracelet.

The tomb in the back of the church of Frederick III is also of interest, since in 1446 Frederick was responsible for finally bringing a bishop to Vienna. The tomb was commissioned before Frederick's death, but both Frederick and its builder died before the tomb was finished. Thus, his body was temporarily buried elsewhere while the apprentice finished the tomb (it took a total of 40 years to build). The themes on top and surrounding it also reflect good conquering evil.

The alter is positioned in front of two stained glass windows, both dating from 1340, thus considered the latest within the church. They are the original pieces of stained glass, having avoided "renovation" (replacement) and the world wars. The window's panels show the story of the Bible (although now it is not complete with most of the panels having been removed). These panels served as a way for those illiterate and too poor to own a Bible (this was most of society then) to understand the Word of God and to learn of their faith.

A painting of the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr, is below, painted in the baroque style. Finally, the golden altar piece to the left of the main altar has engraved on it AEIOU (Austriae est imperare orbi universo - It is for Austria to rule the whole world), the slogan of Frederick III used to justify his divine right to rule, thus connecting the throne and the altar. It was conceived within a "dynasty with a [perceived] God-given mission to rule to Christian Empire" (Beller 83).

Outside of the church stands the Haas Haus, a postmodernist building designed by Hans Hollein in 1990. It caused quite a scandal when erected, facing Stephansdom in a posture of defiance, and at times drawing more of a crowd than the church itself. This juxtaposition of architectural styles begs the question, how is Vienna remembered? What is the memory? How is St. Stephens remembered and venerated? This trend of the old facing the new is also seen with the Louvre and its new glass triangle in front. This Hass Haus seems to be moving forward from the religious past associated with St. Stephen's

and with Vienna's whole history. Does this postmodern architecture aim at capturing a Viennese culture which has been so badly tarnished in the past? Does it aim at creating a new culture, frustrated with attempting at resurrecting a sense of identity from history? Or does it indeed represent a past culture, thus the significant opposition of architecture?

The Haas Haus is not ugly; in fact it is quite beautiful. However, its proximity to St. Stephen's undermines both its own beauty and the significance of St. Stephen's. I believe that it is both attempting to capture and draw out a fleeting sense of culture from the past with its striking difference in styles, but it is also attempting at creating a more firm reality of the modern Viennese psyche giving a sense of national and personal identity to Viennese citizens and allowing them a chance to move forward out of history.

Today's German Word:

Krieg - 'war'