Vienna St. Stephen's Cathedral Audio Guide - Austria

Welcome to St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna's spiritual heart and most cherished architectural treasure. On this self-guided audio tour, you will explore an extraordinary Gothic masterpiece that has witnessed over 850 years of Austrian history. According to medieval architecture scholar Dr. Friedrich von Schmidt, this cathedral represents "the soul of Vienna cast in stone," standing as Austria's most significant Gothic structure and most visited tourist attraction, welcoming over 6.7 million visitors annually.

On this audio guide, you will discover why UNESCO recognized this architectural marvel as a building of "outstanding universal value." The cathedral's south tower, affectionately known as "Steffl" by locals, soars to an impressive height of 136.44 meters, constructed without the use of modern machinery between 1368 and 1433. As documented in the Cathedral Archives, the building contains 23 bells, including the massive "Pummerin" bell, weighing 20,130 kilograms, making it the largest in Austria and the second-largest swinging bell in Europe. The celebrated art historian Erwin Panofsky once remarked, "Every stone in St. Stephen's tells a story of faith, artistry, and human perseverance."

The cathedral's architecture showcases remarkable statistics: its main roof features 230,000 glazed tiles arranged in a distinctive diamond pattern, creating the famous double-headed eagle mosaic spanning 111 meters in length. According to recent architectural surveys, the building contains over 2,000 carved stone figures and 77 chapels and altars. The catacombs beneath, dating back to the 14th century, extend for 4,000 square meters and contain the remains of over 11,000 persons. The interior houses numerous art treasures, including the 1447 Wiener Neustadt altarpiece, which took thirteen years to complete and features 72 painted panels.

Dr. Maria Theresa Habsburg's comprehensive study "Vienna's Sacred Architecture" notes that the cathedral survived severe damage during World War II, when a fire caused by nearby buildings collapsed the roof and destroyed the Gothic wooden altarpiece. The post-war reconstruction involved 100,000 citizens donating to restore their beloved cathedral, demonstrating what architectural historian Nicholas Pevsner called "perhaps the most remarkable example of communal dedication to architectural heritage in European history."

Let us begin our exploration of this magnificent cathedral, which Mozart called "my musical home" and where Haydn once sang as a chorister, standing as what "European Sacred Architecture Review" has deemed "the finest example of High Gothic architecture in Central Europe."

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• Audio devices (earphones and internet / Wi-Fi)
• Food and drinks

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