When we arrived in Vienna at Schwedenplatz (2 Sept 2008), we didn’t have to walk far to get to the wonderful Stephansplatz with the magnificent Stephansdom or St. Stephen’s Cathedral as it’s called in English.
The cathedral stands on the ruins of two former churches and the current one in Gothic and Romanesque style was initiated by Rudolf IV, completed in the year of 1160.
It’s said to be one of the tallest churches in the world: 107 meters (350 ft) long, 40 meters (131 ft) wide, and 136 meters (445 ft) tall at the highest point.
It’s a giant building masterpiece and I for sure noticed that when trying to take a photo of it. Just look at that wonderful roof – and how small all the people is!
I felt like a small ant looking up at an elephant and no matter how far I walked away from it, I still had problems to get all of the cathedral within my photo.
It’s built of limestone and has over the centuries blackened from soot and air pollutions, but I’m glad that restoration projects have begin to get it back to its original white color. It would be such a shame to not show it off.
The Stephansdom has 23 bells and it was because of them the composer Ludwig van Beethoven discovered the totality of his deafness. He did see the birds flying out of the bell tower when the bells were ringing, but he didn’t hear the bells at all.
If you’re a fan of Sara Brightman, you might recognize it since she made a concert there in 2008 to promote her album Symphony with both a TV broadcast and a DVD release. (source: Wikipedia)
There are lots of interesting architecture in Vienna, so if you’re interested you’ll have a marvelous time for sure!
Around the Stephansplatz lays several big shopping streets with lots of cafes and restaurants making it to a very pleasant area to just hang around.
However, we were on our way with our weekend trolleys to our booked Hostel, so we took the subway from Stephensplatz to Westbahnhof.
We did get the Vienna Card (around 18 Euro) which gave us three days of unlimited travel on public transports (and discounted entrance to some Museums).
For us it did benefit us even more, because we were supposed to get a stamp on our tickets in the machines when entering, but we totally missed that part, so our tickets were good all the time we were there…
Lifecruiser ♥ Vienna
Never been to Vienna (Wien) but the city looks beautiful. I only been to Innsbruck in Austria. Looking forward for more photos
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Cathedral looks awesome. And its great that Vienna offers 3 day passes for visitors. Usually you get either a 1 day pass or a weekly or monthly one.
I love the cathedral! It’s so majestic! Vienna may seem small but it has so much to see and do.
eastcoastlifes last blog post..Secretly… training…. – WW
What a lovely guided tour through Vienna (both posts!). I’ve never been to this charming town, but reading through and watching the pics (great one of Mr. Lifecruiser on deck!), I so much want to take Diane there. Must be a perfect place for a second (or whatever…) honeymoon.
Wishing you both a great weekend and a nice first day of Advent tomorrow.
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You have a very special way of involve people into your journeys.
I adore it.- I’m travvelin with you and Mr Lifecruiser.
Allways
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Vienna was a favourite city of mine. I was blown away by the amazing cathedral even after having seen many across Europe, maybe it was the grand roof or the way it reached for the sky from the surrounding square.
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Thanks for writing about this great place in Vienna. If you come back it could be a good idea to take a coffee in one of the cafés in the Haas Haus (your 3rd pic is showing this house). From there you have an excellent view onto the special facades of the place.