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English:
Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of
Saint Stephen and All Saints, Vienna, Austria.
Deutsch:
Dom-und-Metropolitankirche zu
Sankt Stephan und allen Heiligen,
Wien, Österreich.
Photo: 8 October 2017.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
Author: C.Stadler/Bwag
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia, unless stated otherwise.
At the top of the Tower stands the Double-Eagle Imperial emblem with the Habsburg-Lorraine Coat-of-Arms on its chest, surmounted by a Double-Armed Apostolic Cross, which refers to Apostolic Majesty, the Imperial Style of Kings of Hungary.
This emblem replaced the earlier Crescent and Six-Pointed Star emblem. The original emblem, as well as a couple of later ones, today can be seen at the Vienna City Museum.[5]
The North Tower was originally intended to mirror the South Tower, but the design proved too ambitious, considering the era of Gothic Cathedrals was nearing its end, and construction was halted in 1511.
In 1578, the Tower-Stump was augmented with a Renaissance cap, nicknamed the “Water Tower Top” by the Viennese. The Tower now stands at sixty-eight metres (223 ft) tall, roughly half the height of the South Tower.
The main entrance to the Church is named “The Giant’s Door”, or “Riesentor”, possibly referring to the thigh-bone of a Mammoth that hung over it for decades after being unearthed in 1443 while digging the Foundations for the North Tower, or else to the funnel shape of the door, from the Middle-High-German word “Risen”, meaning “Sink” or “Fall”.[6]
The Tympanum above the Giant’s Door depicts Christ Pantocrator flanked by two Winged-Angels, while on the Left and Right are the two Roman Towers, or “Heidentürme”, that each stand at approximately sixty-five metres (213 ft) tall.
The name for the Towers derives from the fact that they were constructed from the rubble of old structures built by the Romans (German “Heiden” meaning Heathens or Pagans) during their occupation of the area. Square at the base and Octagonal above the Roof-Line, the Heidentürme originally housed Bells; those in the South Tower were lost during World War II, but the North Tower remains an operational Bell Tower.
The Roman Towers, together with the Giant’s Door, are the oldest parts of the Church.
English:
The Nave, Vienna Cathedral.
Deutsch:
Innenansicht Richtung Empore des Stephansdoms
in der österreichischen Bundeshauptstadt Wien.
Photo: 26 February 2017.
Source: Own work.
Attribution:
© C.Stadler/Bwag; CC-BY-SA-4.0.
Author: C.Stadler/Bwag
(Wikimedia Commons)
The glory of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral is its ornately-patterned, richly-coloured roof, 111 metres (364 ft) long, and covered by 230,000 glazed Tiles.
Above the Choir on the South side of the building, the Tiles form a mosaic of the Double-Headed Eagle that is symbolic of the Empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty.
On the North side, the Coats-of-Arms of the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria are depicted. In 1945, fire, caused by World War II damage to nearby buildings, leapt to the North Tower of the Cathedral and destroyed the wooden framework of the roof.
Replicating the original bracing for so large a roof (it rises thirty-eight metres above the floor) would have been cost-prohibitive, so over 600 metric tons of Steel Bracing were used instead. The roof is so steep that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and is seldom covered by snow.
English:
The “New” Organ, Vienna Cathedral.
Deutsch:
Die „neue Domorgel“ bzw. „Rieger-Orgel“ im rechten Seitenschiff (Apostelschiff) des Stephansdoms in der österreichischen Bundeshauptstadt Wien.
Photo: 26 May 2018.
Source: Own work.
Attribution:
© C.Stadler/Bwag; CC-BY-SA-4.0
Author: C.Stadler/Bwag
(Wikimedia Commons)
PART SIX FOLLOWS.
Ah, delight for the organ enthusiast, re. the Rieger [main] pipe organ at S. Stephan’s Cathedral (“Stephansdom”) Vienna, thank you, Zephyrinus.
ReplyDeleteRieger is considered one of the largest and most technically excellent of world’s premiere organ builders, in operation since 1845 at Schwarzach, in Vorarlberg, Austria (this humble scribe understands they have a price tag to match).
This instrument is 134 stops on 5 manuals, with a separate division of massive reeds (“Trompeteria”), several enormous 32’ pedal stops (both principals and heavy reeds), and typical Austrian multiple high-pitched mixture stops (4 or 5 high-pitched pipes sounding on a single key, adding harmonic brilliance to the musical sonorities). (A familiar example to most people of those multiple pipe Austrian mixtures is the Salzburg Cathedral pipe organ sounding the introduction to the wedding march in “The Sound of Music” film of 1965.).
Thank you, Zephyrinus, a great cathedral has a great pipe organ, and “Stephansdom” meets the test. -Note by Dante P
Of course: the stop list:
ReplyDeletehttps://cms.rieger-orgelbau.com/media/pages/instrumente/verzeichnis/wienriesen-at-2020/762642c7d9-1721833213/rieger_stephansdom-riesenorgel.pdf
(FYI, the photo above is of the two-manual choral organ for vespers and the Office, in the front right [?] transept, which is but a small part of the main organ by Rieger, but can be played from the main console. But it is a glorious artwork in and of itself. —Note by Dante P)
ReplyDeleteAnother outstanding contribution from our Liturgical Choral, Organ, and Historical Correspondent, Dante P.
DeleteWe are indeed fortunate to have such in-depth, professional, and World-Class Articles, from Our Correspondent, on Church Organs in major Cathedrals and Basilicas throughout the World.
A rumour now circulating indicates that Zephyrinus's Blog is the “Go-To” Depository for information on the World's major Church Organs. So much so, that it is again rumoured that Oxford and Cambridge Examination Boards might be looking at our Liturgical Correspondent's Articles for possible inclusion in certain examinations.
Zephyrinus must emphasise that, currently, there is no proven veracity in the above rumours.
If it does prove a possibility, Zephyrinus is immediately aware that certain Staff Members (Perkins and Jeeves come to mind) might perceive it as a wonderful opportunity to become “purveyors of Inside Information on Liturgical Matters”.
Zephyrinus will be installing a larger, more magnificent, “Top Notch” Safe, in order to keep all Articles in a secure state.
Kind words, Zephyrinus; However, the Royal College of Music and its rival school, the London Royal Academy, seem to be doing a fine job of turning out technically excellent and historically well-versed organ performance artists. But of Jeeves and Perkins, it may well to monitor their on-line sales history of Zephyrinus blogspot articles. Many in the New Church may be astounded at the “hidden history” that Zephyrinus, like Br. Cadfael, unearths, and over eager to buy —and pay. Comment by Dante P
ReplyDeletePerkins and Jeeves up to nefarious pursuits !!! Surely not !!!
Delete