The official outdoor tour! Why not take a walk with us around the St. Stephen's Cathedral and discover the most important landmark and symbol of Vienna! This tour was created in cooperation with&nbsp; St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

St. Stephen’s Outdoor Experience  | Cultural Places

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The Stephansdom is the most famous landmark and symbol of Vienna and a European cultural monument. It was built between the 12th and 16th centuries, during the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Over a period of some 450 years, it was continuously redesigned, rebuilt and extended, until it finally came to look exactly as it does today. Listen to the legend of the founding of the Stephansdom and find out the real story!

Origins

The western facade comprises the so-called westwork with the Heidentürme (Roman Towers), from the 13th century, and both outer axes from the 14th century. At a lofty height, up in the corners, you'll see Rudolf the Founder and his wife Katharina. The center of the western facade is dominated by the Riesentor (Giant's Gate), which during the Middle Ages, would be colored and has elaborately designed pillars. To the right of the Giant's Gate, there are some strange numbers and an inscription in Cyrillic. We'll tell you what it all means! Note The original sculptures of Rudolf the Founder and his wife Katharina are kept at the Wien Museum group of museums, which are closed for modernization works until around 2023.

Western Facade

For quite some time, a graveyard surrounded the Stephansdom, together with several charnel houses. These were used to store bones. A spooky legend tells the chilling tale of the drunken verger as he crossed the graveyard one dark night.

The Former Cemetery

There are a number of memorials around the facades of the Stephansdom. One of the most unusual is the tomb of troubadour Neidhart Fuchs, as it has a baldachin! Right next to it you'll notice a portico, and hidden behind this structure is the Singer Gate. At one time, only men were allowed to access the cathedral through this gate. The side walls are decorated with sculptures of Rudolf the Founder and his wife Katharina. Immediately above the entrance, you'll see a relief of the Bible story of Saul, who converted to Christianity in such an amazing way, thus becoming Paul the Apostle. Note Unfortunately, there is no access to the cathedral via the Singer Gate.

The Singer Gate

The south tower is not only the highest tower on the Stephansdom, but is also one of the most monumental Gothic towers in Europe. It is 136.7 high. This masterpiece took around 75 years to erect and was a technical masterstroke! As soon as the south tower was finished, it had a number of jobs to do. It served as an observation tower until 1945 and was also home to the largest bell, the Pummerin.
That the Stephansdom was not razed to the ground during World War II is down to Gerhard Klinckicht, and you can see his commemorative plaque in the lower section of the south tower. Go a couple of steps further, and you'll see the oldest sundial in Vienna.

The South Tower

There are six frescoes on the exterior wall of the choir that show the Passion of Christ. These dates back to the 15th century, a period when very few murals were painted in Vienna. And a little further on you'll find Christ with Toothache, and we absolutely must regale you with the legend surrounding this statue.

The Passion of Christ and Christ with Toothache

You've probably already noticed: The facades of the Stephansdom contain one amazing work of art after another. There's even a stone pulpit. You'll remember Saint John of Capistrano's pulpit, depicted above, who called Vienna to rise up and crusade against the Turks in the 15th century. The Crucifix Chapel a few steps further ahead was Mozart's final resting place before he was buried.

Saint John of Capistrano's Pulpit and the Crucifix Chapel

When visiting the Stephansdom, it's always worth casting your glance to the heavens every now and then. Take a look at the choir with us now, at its mighty roof spanning both the middle aisle and the side aisles, its colorful roof tiles and fascinating gargoyles. In 1945, a fire decimated the roof but was quickly put out thanks to the help of Viennese citizens.

The Choir and Roof

The north tower is the little brother of the south tower. It's only half the height, as it was never finished. This is down to, or so legend has it at least, Hans Puchsbaum, his love for a young woman, and the Devil and his tricks.

North Tower

The Pummerin is the largest and heaviest bell in Austria and is rung on special days only. It was cast after World War II to replace the old Pummerin that hung in the south tower and was destroyed in the 1945 fire. Listen to the eventful history of the Pummerin and savor its amazing sound!

The Pummerin Bell

The Dombauhütte, the cathedral construction and maintenance team, whose workshops are concealed behind a wall of glass display cabinets, has been taking good care of the Stephansdom for centuries. Find out exactly what the Dombauhütte does and let us show you the Gothic portico of the Bishop's Gate. The Bishop's Gate itself can be accessed from inside the cathedral, but only when the gift shop is open, which is currently located in the portico.

 Note The Stephansdom gift shop is open daily from 9 am until 6 pm.

The Bishop's Gate

On the west facade, just next to the Giant's Gate, there are two metal rods and an etched groove in the wall, which resembles a loaf of bread. You'll find out what this is all about at the final stop of our tour. If the gift shop is open, which gives you access to the Giant's Gate, then you can check out the secret code of Rudolf the Founder with us and have a look at a very recently discovered mural drawing, which may well be the work of Albrecht Dürer.

Yardsticks and More

This experience was brought to you by the Cultural Places team in collaboration with Schreibwerkstatt (schreibwerkstatt.co.at), WestLightArt (westlightart.com), Wolf Frank (wolf-frank.at) and the Stephansdom (stephanskirche.at). We hope you enjoyed it! Copyrights Sound Effects Spot 3 Spooky Music: CC0
 Spot 3 Bell Ringing: © radio klassik Stephansdom Spot 8 Fire: (cc) Daniel Simion / CC BY 3.0 Spot 10 Pummerin Bell: (cc) Uoaei1 / CC BY-SA 4.0

St. Stephen’s Outdoor Experience

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