Cathedral And Metropolitan Church Of Saint Stephen And All Saints, Vienna, Austria. (Part Three).

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.

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Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 4.0 International licence.

Author: C.Stadler/Bwag

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia, unless stated otherwise.

Duke Rudolf IV, the Founder, Albert II’s son, expanded the Choir again to increase the Religious clout of Vienna. On 7 April 1359, Rudolf IV laid the cornerstone for a Westward Gothic extension of the Albertine Choir in the vicinity of the present South Tower. 

This expansion would eventually encapsulate the entirety of the old Church and, in 1430, the edifice of the old Church was removed from within as work progressed on the new Cathedral. 

The South Tower was completed in 1433, and Vaulting of the Nave took place from 1446 to 1474. The Foundation for a North Tower was laid in 1450, and construction began under Master Mason Lorenz Spenning, but its construction was abandoned when major work on the Cathedral ceased in 1511.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna.

Organ playing during Holy Mass.

May 2023.

Available on YouTube

HERE

In 1365, just six years after beginning the Gothic extension of the Albertine Choir, Rudolf IV disregarded Saint Stephen’s status as a mere Parish Church and presumptuously established a Chapter of Canons befitting a large Cathedral.

This move was only the first step in fulfilling Vienna’s long-held desire to obtain its own Diocese; in 1469, Emperor Frederick III prevailed upon Pope Paul II to grant Vienna its own Bishop, to be appointed by the Emperor. 

Despite long-standing resistance by the Bishops of Passau, who did not wish to lose control of the area, the Diocese of Vienna was Canonically established on 18 January 1469, with Saint Stephen’s Cathedral as its Mother Church. 

In 1722, during the Reign of Emperor Charles VI, Pope Innocent XIII elevated the See to an Archbishopric.[3]

During World War II, the Cathedral was saved from intentional destruction at the hands of retreating German forces when Wehrmacht Captain Gerhard Klinkicht disregarded orders from the City Commandant, “Sepp” Dietrich, to “fire a hundred shells and reduce it to rubble”.[4] 

English: Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria.

Deutsch: Stephansdom, Wien, Österreich.

Photo: 30 June 2007.

Source: Own work.

This File is licensed under the 

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Share Alike 2.5 Generic licence.

Author: Andrew Bossi

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PART FOUR FOLLOWS.