St. Stephen's Cathedral
Once in the center of the historic Vienna on Stefanplatz, it is impossible not to pay attention to the unusually beautiful building with high towers, very similar to the castle of the giant from a medieval fairy tale. In fact, it is the Cathedral of St. Stephen, the national symbol of Austria and its capital Vienna. The spire of the cathedral, 136 meters high, is visible from any part of the city, and its extraordinary features have been formed for many centuries.
History of the Cathedral of St. Stephen
Scientists claim that people have been living here for 4 thousand years. But the name of the place of Vienna is first mentioned at the end of the 9th century as a place of battle with the Magyars. And in the XII century, Vienna is considered to be such a large shopping center and a full-fledged city that in 1155 the Duke Henry Yazomirgott of the Babenberg dynasty declares Vienna its capital. And in every self-respecting capital there should be many temples. The church was founded in 1137, consecration occurred in 1147. But according to the testimonies of contemporaries, the cathedral was not completely completed by that time, it was still tuned and rebuilt for a long time. Interestingly, the first building was made in a Romanesque style, formed under the strong influence of Byzantium. Subsequent builders brought Gothic, rushing up, features into the appearance of the cathedral. As a result of which two architectural styles are combined at once, which makes it the brightest monument of medieval architecture.
St. Stephen's Cathedral was rebuilt and decorated not only at the request of the original believers. It happened that the temple was destroyed as a result of fires or wars. So already in 1258 the first church burned down. On April 23, 1263, a new one was consecrated in its place, this day is still celebrated.
In 1359, Rudolf IV of Habsburg laid a new, Gothic church on the site of the old. It is interesting that the walls of the new cathedral were erected around the existing church, and only then the ancient walls were dismantled. Rudolf IV did not have to see the final result. St. Stephen's Cathedral was completed until 1579, when work was completed on a unique roof of 250 thousand glazed tiles. Surviving in the turbulent Middle Ages and at the beginning of New Time, the cathedral was catastrophically damaged by a fire at the end of World War II. As a result, the roof collapsed, a bell that fell on the North Tower destroyed the internal interiors, and an old organ burned down. Recovery was carried out by volunteers. By the end of 1948, the main roof was restored. By the memorial date, on April 23, 1952, services resumed. The process ended only by 1960.
Since the 1980s, a full-scale restoration has been ongoing, which has not ended to this day.
The cathedral was named after St. Stephen, who adopted N.E. martyrdom for spreading the teachings of Christ. His righteous life and sincere faith aroused the indignation of opponents of Christianity. Accused of Jerusalem's Sanhedrin in heresy and blasphemy, Archdeacon Stefan instead of excuses said that he saw Christ in Heaven at his right hand from God. For these words, Stefan was stoned, as a result of which he accepted death.
