St Stephens Cathedral, Vienna

History of St Stephen’s Cathedral

By the starting of the 12th century, Vienna had gone on to become one of the important centres of German civilization and the 4 current churches and that includes the Parish church, was no longer capable of meeting the religious needs of the company. The church was finally completed in 1160 AD after the construction work lasted for more than 2 decades.

Facts About St Stephen’s Cathedral

There are 23 bells in the building. The largest one is officially named for Saint Mary, but known as Pummerin (Boomer) and hangs in the North Tower. With 20,130 kilograms in weight, it is the largest church bell in Austria and the second largest swinging bell in Europe after the Cologne Cathedral. The decorated roof of the church is made of about 230,000 tiles.

Features of St Stephen’s Cathedral

In fact the church has been dedicated to St Stephen and it was oriented to the sunrise of his feast day on 26th December and this is when construction formally began in this venue. This cathedral has been built of limestone and is 351 feet long, 130 feet wide and 446 feet tall.

In due course of time the polluting materials have gone on to give a black color to the church but recent restoration works that has begun on the project have restored its original color. The main entrance of the church has been given the name of Giant’s Door, or Riesentor.

The main area of the church goes on to contain 18 altars, and that is in various chapels. The repair along with the preservation of the fabric of the cathedral has been a recurring process ever since the original construction.

Events of St Stephen’s Cathedral

The cathedral has been a popular venue for weddings and funerals of major Austrian kings, politicians, musicians, and more. Today, visitors can attend classical organ concerts at the Dome and Metropolitan Church. Tickets for St Stephen’s Cathedral events are available online.

St Stephen’s Cathedral Masses

Mass timings of St Stephens Cathedral from Monday to Friday are 8 am, 10 am, 12:30 pm, and 5:10 pm. On Saturdays, visitors can attend mass at 11:30 am. Sunday mass timings at St Stephen’s Cathedral are 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, and 7:30 pm.

A lot of masses do continue that it is a great feeling to be buried in such a church and this is close to the physical presence of the saints whose relics were being preserved there.