St. Stephan's Cathedral, Vienna

front facade of St. Stephan
lovingly known as Stephansdom in German by the locals
yup, Austrians speak German "ja" = yes

the most important building and cathedral in Austria
it is also the most iconic building of Austria
just as important as Eiffel Tower to Paris

consecrated in 1147, it was built over 2 ruined churches
this we know coz under this huge area, is the Vienna Metro
and as they were digging to build the Metro they found another church underneath
today u can still see the remains of this church when u use the Metro

The Tourist
this was my 1st time in Vienna and 2nd for JS
but I had to be the GPS and bring him around based on my weeks of research and notes
and maps memorized earlier implanted into my brain

JS: "so Tour Guide where are we goin today?"
"Stephansdom"
JS: "Hendrickson?"
"STEPHANSDOM"
JS: "Hendrick-son?"
-_-" STEP-HANS-DOM
JS: "Ok we are goin to Hendrickson"

this went on for days and weeks
Stephansplatz the place where all these are located are pretty central
if we wanna reload our orange card, it's Stephansplatz
if we wanna get groceries, it's Stephansplatz
wanna get a bite and sausage, it's Stephansplatz
so basically u can calculate how many times Mr. JS said HENDRICK-SON
it doesn't mean anything nor relate to anything
sigh......T.T

 a hanging Jesus Christ

really simple ceiling
this cathedral was made from limestone
so after hundred of years of pollution, most of its exterior turned into black
hence continuous restoration works need to be executed to save its facade

it's really high
so I was wondering how do they clean it?
plus all eletrical wiring has to be hidden among the pillars and statues
hmmmm ain't easy to implement modern gadgets into old structures huh?

even higher windows
prollie they'll just use robotic arms to clean the windows too
:P

the famous choir stall at its original condition
I dunno if we were allowed to walk up and sit
anyhow I've already did :P

the famous Pulpit carved from marbles
pulpit were used back in those days for sermons
coz remember there weren't microphones or loudspeakers back then???

Mary and Child
this was also the very same church that Mozart got married
since I was 9 *and a Mozart fanatic*, I told myself I wanna be here someday
well after so many years.....finally :))))))))))))

then it's time to go up to the North Tower
there's 2 towers on this church but they were not symmetry
one is half the height of the taller one and looked unfinished over the base of the intended tower

Look at the Green Dome....that's the shorter North Tower
and we are goin there now~~~~~

so eppy coz there's a lift to get up there
it's a really old very Nazi looking circular lift that opens in every direction

fences to protect tourists from falling down

GAH!!!!!!!

down there u can see horses and their carriages were lining up waiting for customers
it's a novelty to ride on these carriages in Vienna
the whiff and smell of horsie's poo-poo were so unbearable we couldn't do it
it made me puke!!!

beautiful glazed tiles on its roof
all 230,000 pieces of it
:))))))))

the roof is pretty steep so Snow will never collect and weigh down this cathedral during harsh winter
we got a lovely view of almost the whole of Vienna :))))))))))))))

then we went out to access the other higher tower
JS: "eh tourist guide...where are u taking me now?"
"up to Hendrick-son's other tower"

the other tower is more gothic looking
standing high at 445 feet
lil did we know....there's no more lift this time
we had to climb
~.~

Fat ppl need not think about it
I'm serious!!!!
total of 345 steps

there's no pit-stop
it's narrow, steep and at the back there's a huge bunch of tourists like us are climbing and trailing behind
and please....no FARTING!!!!!!

and finally.....after 10 mins...
I was crying :P
coz we were already at the top
bee-boo-bee-boo
I need an oxygen tank up here!!!!

when we looked back at the 1st tower we were....it's so tiny and low
From the South tower, u can see the entire of Vienna

 

OK I certified meself....that I've proudly climbed up Steffi!!!!
the highest point of Vienna :)))))))))

Berr was here too!!!!!
:)))))))))))))

Sakai taking pic with flowers
:P

I guess it's like a ritual that we must conquer and climb every towers to every cathedral that we visit
despite suffering from fear of heights, stubborn me still had to do it
however for the 1st time, there was one church that deter me fr climbing
will blog about it next time

St. Stephen's Cathedral
Stephansplatz,
1010 Vienna,
Austria.