A day in Vienna
Vienna was the centre of the Habsburg Empire for nearly half a millennium, and it’s a huge place – though the medieval centre is fairly compact. But with a little planning, and staying clear of the museums and art galleries, it’s possible to experience all the flavours of Vienna in a single day.
Start off with St Stephen’s cathedral, with its splendid towers and roof of coloured tiles. Rebuilt by Duke Rudolf IV of Habsburg from the 1350s onwards, it still contains remnants of its Romanesque past, particularly on the western façade. Inside, make the acquaintance of Anton Pilgram, master mason and creator of the fine pulpit (dated 1515); he appears under the pulpit, looking out of a little window. If you have time, it’s worth taking a guided tour for the closer approach it allows to some of the church’s other treasures.
Go round the church to the left for a view of St John Capistran’s pulpit, where he preached crusade against the Turks who were pushing into Hungary in the 1450s. The Gothic pulpit is original, but the dramatic baroque statues above were added later, showing the saint treading on the body of a Turk. You’ll see little Turks everywhere in old Vienna if you keep an eye open - on doorknockers, street signs, and as architectural decoration.
Head down Graben (‘ditch’) to Stock-im-Eisen square. The Stock-im-Eisen, a dead tree trunk into which hundreds of nails have been hammered, is now enclosed in glass, rather tarnishing its mythical nature. Further on, the Pestsäule (plague column) commemorates Vienna’s delivery from plague in 1679. It’s a fine, dramatic baroque work – an introduction to the baroque glories you’ll see later in the day.
If you don't spend too much time window shopping on Graben (shops include the legendary Meinl delicatessen and Schwaebische Jungfrau linen store) you’ll soon get to St Michael’s, opposite the Hofburg. Here you can see three periods of Vienna all crammed into a single space. St Michael’s church retains some of its early medieval architecture, though it’s been ‘baroquised’ later; Mozart’s Requiem was performed for the first time here. Opposite, the Hofburg is Imperial Vienna at its grandest, by renowned architect Fischer von Erlach. And facing it, the Vienna of Mahler, Freud, Richard Strauss and Klimt, embodied in the Looshaus, a severe rectinlinear work of Secessionist architecture. It enraged Emperor Franz Josef, a traditionalist – he told his coach drivers to avoid the Michaelerplatz entrance and drive the long way round to avoid seeing it.
Now go on back to the end of Graben and St Peter’s, and you’re immersed in the baroque. Baroque Vienna was dominated by two architects, Hildebrandt and Fischer von Erlach – this church is by Hildebrandt. The façade, making the most of its narrow site with convex and concave curves, is masterly. Inside, the church is oval, with fine baroque furnishings and a dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr – hugely dramatic.
A trek along Bognergasse brings you to Freyung, a square of aristocratic palaces with the neoclassical Schottenkirche on one side. The Palais Daum-Kinsky, byHildebrandt has a fine baroque staircase with little cupids lazing on the banisters; it’s now an auction house. Come back past Am Hof (usually full of fire engines), then left from the square up Faerbergasse to Wipplingerstrasse and the Bohemian Chancellery, another baroque work, this time by Fischer von Erlach.
At this point, if you’re going to make the tour in a single day, you need to head back to the cathedral and take a metro from Stephansplatz to Karlsplatz. Here, the end of our tour will find us in a fine baroque church.
But first, look at the fine Secession building – almost like a mini ziggurat with its inwards leaning walls, but crowned by a fantastic art nouveau dome of open metalwork. As you make your way towards the Karlskirche, you’ll also see two art nouveau pavilions – the original metro station buildings by Otto Wagner; one’s now a museum, the other a cafe.
But it’s the Karlskirche you’re here to see – a magnificently wayward church whose façade combines reminiscences of Trajan’s column, the Lateran, and St Peter’s Rome. It’s very much an assertion of Vienna as the ‘new Rome’, centre of a new empire. Fischer von Erlach created a real masterpiece here, complemented by Rottmayr’s marvellous ceiling frescoes. The church is under restoration, but you can take a lift up the scaffolding to inspect the paintings from close to. (The scaffolding sways alarmingly, and it’s a long way down – but you’re perfectly safe.)
Don't miss the Henry Moore sculpture in the plaza outside, a still controversial addition to the ensemble.
You’ve now had a great day in Vienna. What to do for the evening? There are two choices. One, if you like tucked-away medieval streets, is to head for Fleischmarkt (meat-market) and the Griechenbeisl. This tavern dates back to the fifteenth century – the name commemorates the Greek merchants and traders who made this area their home in Vienna. Draught Pilsner Urquell will wash down the sturdy Austrian cuisine. If you’re early, you may be lucky enough to find the atmospheric Greek orthodox church next door open.
If you’re in the mood for a more extrovert evening, though, head across the Danube to the Prater funfair and the famous giant ferris wheel. Entrance to the funfair is free – each ride charges its own admission.
Finally, look over the Austrian border into another country – the Republic of Kugelmugel, a ball-shaped house built by artist (and Kugelmugel President) Edwin Lipburger. Unfortunately, the border’s closed; you won't get past the barbed wire fence. But you can visit the website: http://www.republik-kugelmugel.com/!
Andrea Kirkby - Andrea Kirkby is a freelance journalist and photographer working in the fields of travel, technology and investment. Her credits in the ...
