St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn,

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the symbol of Vienna. Construction commenced in the 12th century. Today, it is one of the most important Gothic structures in Austria.
St. Stephen's Cathedral is 107.2 meters long and 34.2 meters wide. It has four towers. The tallest of these is the south tower at 136.44 meters. The tower room, from which there is a gigantic view across Vienna, is reached via 343 steps. A total of 13 bells hang here. However, the best-known bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Pummerin, is located in the 68.3 meter-tall north tower. It is the second-biggest free-swinging chimed church bell in Europe. On the roof of St. Stephen's Cathedral, colorful roof tiles were laid to create the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna. The interior of St. Stephen's Cathedral was changed again and again over the centuries, right through to the Baroque period.

A visit to St. Stephen's Cathedral is a must for every visitor to Vienna.
In addition to valuable altars and side chapels, the impressive cathedral treasure can also be seen, including relics decorated with gold and precious stones, monstrances, liturgical texts and books as well as vestments. Numerous important people were also given their final resting place in St. Stephen's Cathedral: Emperor Friedrich III. was buried in an impressive marble sarcophagus. The tomb’s cover slab alone weighs eight tonnes. Prince Eugene of Savoy has his final resting place in a private chapel. And famous names buried in the catacombs of St. Stephen's Cathedral include the Habsburg duke Rudolph IV. “the founder", who laid the foundation stone for the Gothic reconstruction of the cathedral in 1359. In addition, the graves of Vienna’s cardinals and archbishops can be found in the catacombs.