Stiftskirche and other Vienna, Austria Off The Beaten Path Tips

Stiftskirche

by globetrott , 3 more photos

Stiftskirche is quite a small church in Mariahilferstrasse and it was built by an unknown architect in 1739 . From outside the church does not look very special, But when you take a look inside, you will be surprised, because it has some interesting Rokkoko-works of art and decorations. Opposite of Stiftskirche, in Mariahilferstrasse 45, Ferdinand Raimund - one of Austria's most famous playwriters - was born in 1790 .
Stiftskirche is open daily
between 07.30a.m. and 06.00p.m.
saturday untill 11.00p.m. and sunday untill 09.30p.m.

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1.Bezirk / 1st district: Providentia-Brunnen /Donnerbrunnen am Neuen Markt

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

Providentia-Brunnen /Donnerbrunnen

Providentia-Brunnen / Donnerbrunnen am Neuen Markt (40 meters to Kaerntnerstrasse) is one of the most beautiful fountains of Vienna. The fountain dates back to the year 1739 and was made by Georg Raphael Donner : In the centre you may see goddess Providentia (providence) and around her 4 sculptures - each of them symbolizing one of the 4 most important rivers flowing into the Danube: the young man is the river TRAUN, the old may the river ENNS, the ladies are the rivers MARCH and YBBS. The fountain was payed by the population of Vienna and does not show a single engraving or decoration of the royal family - this might have been one of the reasons, why the fountain was taken away by order of Kaiserin Maria Theresia in 1770, who said it has too many naked people... It should have been destroyed, BUT somebody saved it and it was reconstructed again in 1801. The fountain on Neuer Markt is made of rather cheap copper - in the marble-hall of Unteres Belvedere you may see the original of that fountain made of cast-iron.

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1.Bezirk / 1st district: Stephansdom - Wiener Neustaedter Altar

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

by globetrott , 3 more photos

Wiener Neustaedter Altar dates back to the year 1447 and it was donated by Friedrich III. You may see this great gothic altar at the end of the left nave of Stephansdom, but you may get close to it ONLY during the guided tour through the cathedral. Such a guided tour is 4 Euros and you have to gather inside the church at a place next to the iron-fence in the back of the cathedral. This tour is also your only chance to get closer to the tomb of Kaiser Friedrich III (at the end of the right nave) and to the main altar with the paintings by Tobias Pock and sculptures by Johann Jakob Pock dating back to 1647.

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churches: The tomb of Friedrich III

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

the tomb of Friedrich III

by globetrott , 2 more photos

The tomb of Friedrich III is another highlight inside of Stephansdom - you may see it at the very end of the right nave of the cathedral, and you may get rather close to it ONLY, when you attend the guided tour ! The tomb dates back to the 15th century and was made of red marble : a large ornate sarcophage with a fence around of it. Take a closer look at this fence, and you will see various animal-sculptures crawling around the sarcophage. Emperor Friedrich III donated the Wiener Neustaedter Altar and so he was also buried inside the cathedral.
A picture of that tomb looks best , when you DON'T flash !!
see my lousy 3rd picture !

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churches: Tirna-Kapelle - the tomb of Prinz Eugen

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

Tirna-Kapelle - the tomb of Prinz

Eugen

by globetrott , 3 more photos

Tirna-Kapelle (sometimes also called Kreuzkapelle) is in the back of Stephansdom, close to the Dom-Shop. It is just a small chapel with a beautiful altar and the most beautiful iron-fence in front of it. That fence is normally locked all day, but it is well worth to have a look through that fence in order to see the marblestone covering the tomb of Prinz Eugen. Prinz Eugen was the most powerful and successful general of his time, in summer he lived in Schloss Belvedere and in winter he had a Palais in Himmelpfortgasse (close to Kärntnerstrasse)

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churches: Various other sights inside of Stephansdom

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

Zahnweh-Herrgott

"Zahnweh-Herrgott" is a very popular sculpture, next to the entrance to the Krypta of Stephansdom. It gives you the feeling, that Jesus has aching teeth. my 2nd pic shows the entrance-gate to the vestry - at the right nave of the church - has a beautiful door-knocker and lovely decorations.
My 3rd picture shows Master Pilgram - the architect of the Stephansdom - under the organ-seat at the left nave of the church.
The 4th picture is Katharinenkapelle with a beautiful altar and a baptismal font with ornate gothic woodcarvings.
My 5h picture : the main nave of Stephansdom with the famous gothic pulpit on the left and various small baroque side-altars next to the gothic columns.

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churches: Cani domini - the dominicans

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Written by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

nasty creatures & a dog on the left

Take a closer look at the gothic hand-rail leading up to the famous pulpit of Stephansdom : You will see that hundreds of small animals - frogs, amphibians, snakes and other nasty creatures are crawling up that handrail, BUT at the top-end there is a dog, yelling at them and pushing them back down again... This dog is the symbol for Dominican monks preaching the words of god against the evil, and canis in latin is the dog, so the expression Dominicaner / dominicans means "cani domini" the "dogs of god"
It is a pity, that it is really hard to get a perfect picture of that handrail and the dog on top of it. Even with flash it did not work out well !! ;-((

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Jugendstil / Art Nouveau: Schmetterlingshaus in Palmengarten

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Updated by globetrott

on Oct 28, 2005

Schmetterlingshaus in Palmengarten

Schmetterlingshaus is a must - especially for children & people, young at heart. This great tropical garden is inside the right wing of Palmenhaus/Orangerie of the Hofburg and it is open all of the year ! It is not made like a zoo, where you watch butterflies humming around behind a fine fence, BUT you actually walk inside the palmhouse with great tropical plants and may watch the butterflies from a short distance. Many of them decide to sit at your hand or shoulder and sometimes they wait patiently, untill you have made your photo...
Palmenhaus is open April-October : Monday-Friday :10.00a.m.-04.45p.m.
saturday, sunday & holidays it closes at 06.15p.m.
November - March: daily 10.00a.m. - 03.45p.m.
entrance-fee is 5 Euros / with Wien-card 4 Euros

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Phone: +43 (0)533 85 70
Website: www.schmetterlinghaus.at

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churches: Stephansdom - the pulpit by Master Pilgram

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Updated by globetrott

on Oct 22, 2005

the pulpit of Stephansdom

The pulpit in Stephansdom is a gothic masterpiece by master Pilgram - and when you get close to the pulpit, you may see Master Pilgram looking out of a window at the foot of the pulpit - this sculpture is called "Der Fenstergucker"(see my picture). The 4 large sculptures around the pulpit show the "4 tempers", the 4 fathers of the church. Normally a pulpit is built in the forward-part of the church,next to the main altar, But this one is built the back of the cathedral. Take a closer look at the hand-rail of the gothic steps : several rats seem to crawl up there. It is a pity, my pics about it are not good enough to be shown here, because the use of flashlight is forbidden in the church of course !

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architecture: Palais Ferstl & Cafe Central

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Updated by globetrott

on Oct 22, 2005

Palais Ferstl - the shopping-arcade