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 St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

St. Stephen’s Outdoor Experience

Vienna is full of history! Discover it by walking through the small alleys around the Rotenturmstraße. Every corner and cobblestone will tell you about the genesis of the city. If you are tired, we recommend visiting one of the famous Viennese coffeehouses. 

Explore the Heart of Old Vienna

Vienna is new to you, and you are looking to get a nicely well-rounded overview of the old city center? This tour covers historical highlights, reveals fascinating stories, and takes you down a few cobblestone streets that most visitors never see.

Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Vienna

Discover plants from all around the globe: This audio tour of the Palm House Schönbrunn will enable you to discover more than 4,000 plants from every continent.Note: The Palm House Schönbrunn is not to be confused with the Café Palmenhaus. The café is located in the Burggarten.

The Emperor's Greenhouse: Palm House

Attention! This tour includes saucy details and is not appropriate for all under 18 years.From prostitutes, johns, and mistresses to animal skin condoms, syphilis, and wax noses, to Maria Theresia, Metternich, Napoleon, and many more: the dirty secrets and shady sides of Viennese erotic activities over the years come out of the shadows in this tour. This tour was created in cooperation with wienfuehrung.

Love for Sale in Old Vienna

Naschmarkt not only offers culinary highlights but also architectural ones: the Art Deco and Viennese Modern Age buildings by Otto Wagner. This tour starts at the subway station Kettenbrückengasse and passes through Naschmarkt to Karlsplatz where two pavillons by Otto Wagner can be visited. If there's enough time afterwards, you could take the U4 in either the direction of Heiligenstadt or Hütteldorf and get out at one of the beautiful old Stadtbahn (city railway) station buildings that are still in use today.

Otto Wagner and Naschmarkt

Rent a bike, Segway, or scooter and explore the best Vienna has to offer on wheels. With your wheels, you can cover a lot of ground, meaning you’ll finish this tour with a well-rounded overview of the makeup of this old dame of a city and the stories it has to tell. Attention: Leave your phone in your pocket while driving and don't forget to keep your distance. Stay safe!

Vienna On Wheels: From Schönbrunn Palace to Stubentor

Get yourself a ride and head out on this exciting tour on which you’ll catch many sides of Vienna that most visitors never see. You’ll get started at the magnificent Hundertwasserhaus and end it all in the wine hills with a glass of delicious wine or grape juice in hand and a spectacular view over Vienna. Attention: Leave your phone in your pocket while driving and don't forget to keep your distance. Stay safe!

Vienna On Wheels: From Hundertwasserhaus up to the Wine Hills

Waltz through the city and discover the places that inspired great musicians that have walked Vienna’s streets. Meet Beethoven, Mozart, and the Strausses and find out more about the role Vienna has played in the history of music.

A Music Lover’s Guide to Vienna

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  St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

St. Stephen’s Outdoor Experience  | Culture is now even more accessible

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This experience was brought to you by the Cultural Places team in collaboration with <a href="schreibwerkstatt.co.at" target="_blank">Schreibwerkstatt,</a> <a href="westlightart.com" target="_blank">WestLightArt,</a> <a href="wolf-frank.at" target="_blank">Wolf Frank,</a> and the <a href="stephanskirche.at" target="_blank">Stephansdom.</a> 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

Imprint

Sacher History – from 1832 to today

Welcome

From a Dream to the Dom

Let's Move On

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 Heidentürme, the Riesentor and Rudolf the Founder

Ciphers and Secret Code

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

The cemetery and the wrath of the dead

Let's move on

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

The tomb of the troubadour Neidhart Fuchs

The Singer Gate, or what became of Paul the Apostle

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

The Savior of the Stephansdom

The Oldest Sundial in Vienna

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 frescoes showing the Passion of Christ

Christ with toothache

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

Saint John of Capistrano's pulpit and Mozart's final resting place

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

The choir and the colored roof tiles

The gargoyles

The devastating fire in 1945

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 – small, but perfectly formed!

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 – the largest bell in Austria

The old winch

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

Works behind the scenes

The Bishop's Gate

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.

Yardsticks and a loaf of bread

The secret code of Rudolf the Founder and the mural drawing by Dürer

Thank you and goodbye

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.

What's included

Preview

1. Origins

2. Western Facade

3. The Former Cemetery

4. The Singer Gate

5. The South Tower

6. The Passion of Chris...

7. Saint John of Capist...

8. The Choir and Roof

9. North Tower

10. The Pummerin Bell

11. The Bishop's Gate

12. Yardsticks and More

1. Welcome