World most artistic, musical and livable city - Historic Centre of Vienna 1033; Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation 01558
What and Why
Vienna (German: Wien) is simply an unbelievably touristy city that brims with art, culture and heritage in every step of the way. Clearly there is no one in this world who does not know about its legacy as the city of music where it bred musical giants including Wolfgang Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler to name just a few that I know of. Naturally as the national capital, it is artistic, cultural, economic and political centre of Austria but possibly central Europe.
The city is also traces its route back to its Roman times and hence settlements and constructions had transformed it into a mediaeval and Baroque city. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque palaces and gardens.
Vienna is also well known for its high quality of life and one of the world's most prosperous cities. It is always ranked top or second in various livelihood surveys. The quality of life here, relaxed yet elegant, presents to any passer-by an unsurpassable experience.
Toponymy
The English name Vienna comes from its French name Vienne. There are a number of theories regarding its toponymy, and the most accepted version claims that the name comes from vedunia, meaning 'forest stream', which subsequently produced the Old High German uuenia / wenia. This subsequently arrives at the New High German wien.
See
Again the fact that this is Part I of the blog shows how much there is to offer in the city. It would be totally impossible to include everything there about Vienna, as this will result in plagiarising an entire guidebook. I would only list down those which I have visited and those with more stories to tell.
Saint Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom)
The jewel of the crown the city and literally the soul of Vienna, Saint Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is actually an interesting mixture of continuous construction and architectural evolution. While it has been standing here since the mid-12th century CE, what one can see from the outside are extensive reconstructions and refurbishment that took place during the 13th to 15th century CE. Hence the cathedral shows all of Baroque, Gothic and Romanesque architecture in various places.
As in other Catholic churches around Austria and Germany, they are restored and maintained under the Bauhütten guild, as blogged in Bamberg.
The 137-m spire (known as Steffl locally as the diminutive form for Stephan) is the famous landmark of Vienna and can be viewed almost everywhere. One can take a lift to climb up the northern tower (which is shorter) to view from the top.
To climb up the southern tower, it is a very steep 400-step climb.
A panoramic view from the top
One exceptional feature of the roof is the unusual colour and motif of the church. The colour and pattern of the roof tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle representative of the Habsburg dynasty. By the way the roof is so steep that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and is seldom covered by snow.
The lofty vaulted interior of the cathedral contains a large number of artworks from all eras. One of the interesting piece depicts Jesus (Hebrew: ישוע, Yeshua) afflicting mockers with toothache. The centrepiece altar shows the martyrdom of Saint Stephen (Greek: Στέφανος, Stéphanos).
The bell that hangs in the north tower is known as the boomer (Pummerin) and reflects Vienna's various war histories. The bell itself was casted from melted cannon tubes abandonned during the Ottoman invasions.
Saint Peter's Church (Peterskirche)
A church that stood here since the 12th century CE, this Saint Peter's Church (Peterskirche) is modelled after the famed Saint Peter's Basilica (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri) of the Vatican (Latin: Vaticana) after its reconstruction in the early 18th century CE. The interior of the church is extremely lavish, much more so than Saint Stephen's Cathedral.
Freyung
We now start walking from North to South along the walking path.
Freyung has its origin from the old German word 'frey' meaning 'free'. The nearby Scottish Monastery (Schottenkloster) had the privilege of freedom from ducal authority, as well as the right to grant protection to fugitives. This square is one of the most elegant part of the city with many mediaeval buildings, including the Freyung Passage which is now a luxurious shopping mall. By the way Sigmund Freud Museum, commemorating Sigmund Freud and the development of psychoanalysis is in the area.
Votive Church (Votivkirche)
The Votive Church (Votivkirche) is a neo-Gothic-styled church located on a site where the attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph (Franz Josef, né Franz von Habsburg-Lorraine) by a deranged tailor's apprentice took place in 1853 CE, the Emperor's brother Archduke Maximilian I (Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano de Habsburgo-Lorena) inaugurated a campaign to create a church to thank God for saving the Emperor's life. The church was constructed with an intention to be a votive offering for the rescue of Franz Joseph and 'a monument of patriotism and of devotion of the people to the Imperial House'.
Mozart Apartment (Mozartwohnung)
The Mozart Apartment (Mozartwohnung) is a very basic musuem about the music great. Not very impressive though, but probably the sacred landmark for classical music freaks.
High Market (Hoher Markt)
High Market (Hoher Markt) was the former fishmarket and bazaar in the mediaeval ages. Now another shopping area (but not the most luxurious). One important sight of the street is the Anchor Clock (Ankeruhr). People gather at 12 noon to watch the big excitement when all twelve Ankeruhr figures go through a complete rotation.
Franciscan Church (Franziskanerkirche)
One of the later addition of churches in Vienna, the Franciscan Church (Franziskanerkirche) facade is Renaissance in style, while its interior is lavishly Baroque.
Kohlmarkt
The main shopping pedestrianised throughfare in Vienna, this is where all the big brands are located. One of the most famous buildings, now a main shopping mall is the Haas Haus. The building is considered controversial owing to its contrast with the adjacent Saint Stephen's Cathedral.
Plague Column (Pestsäule)
Similar to other Catholic cities, the Plague Column (Pestsäule) is the Marian column located erected after the Great Plague in the mid-17th century CE, and we have come to a few during this journey. The memorial is one of the most well-known and prominent sculptural pieces of art in the city. The column is known for its complex iconography, with the basic message of the plague and the Battle of Vienna (Schlacht am Kahlen Berge), both of them being punishments for sins.
Jewish Square (Judenplatz)
For some coincidental reasons, I have a certain attachment with Jewish history, especially the Holocaust and I have visited more than a few holocaust museums or sites in the world, including Auschwitz and Birkenau, to be blogged later. The Jewish Square (Judenplatz) and its Jewish Museum Vienna (Jüdisches Museum Wien) was the Jewish ghetto and the centre of Viennese Jewish community since the Middle Ages. In fact the museum will tell you that this site has been settled by Jews since the early 12th century CE.
In the middle of the square, the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial (Mahnmal für die 65.000 Ermordeten Österreichischen Juden und Jüdinnen der Shoah) stands conspicuously like a massive concrete box. The facade of the memorial resemble library walls of petrified books. However, the spines of the books on the walls are not legible; they all are turned inwards. The memorial can be understood as an appreciation of Judaism (Hebrew: יהודה, Yehudah) as a religion of the 'book'; however it also speaks of loss of culture due to the genocide.
Vienna State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper)
Vienna State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) is another crown jewel, and there are genuinely many in Vienna. Built in the mid-19th century CE in neo-renaissance style, it is the office of the world renowned Vienna Philharmonic (Wiener Philharmoniker) and home of the Vienna State Ballet (Wiener Staatsballett), both considered the finest in the world.
Charles's Square (Karlsplatz) and Saint Charles Church (Karlskirche)
Saint Charles Church (Karlskirche), is a Baroque church widely considered one of the most outstanding churches in Vienna. It was built during the 18th century CE by Emperor Charles VI (Karl VI, né Karl von Habsburg) for dedication to Saint Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo), the patron saint of the plague. The church is exceptional in a gigantic Roman dome and a standout Greek portico. There are two prominent Arabic-looking minarets, which are decorated with spiralling scenes of Borromeo's life.
Music Society (Musikverein)
The Music Society (Musikverein) is the real home of the Vienna Philharmonic where we enjoyed a great night of music. This is the where the famous New Year's Concert (Neujahrskonzert) is performed.
Belvedere
A 20-min walk from the Opera House will take you the the Belvedere, the summer residence of Prince Eugene Francis (Eugen Franz, né Eugen von Savoyen-Carignan) whom we have already encountered in Budapest. The Belvedere was built during a heydays of the Habsburg dynasty.
Buy and Do
Music concert (Musik Konzert)
One cannot claim to have been to Vienna without at least pretending to attend to a concert, opera or something cultural. One can buy a ticket to listen to the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein, which we naturally did. No question about the quality of the music, but we were seated, believe it or not, ON STAGE with the orchestra! I suggest to buy your tickets early. Whatever it is, an unmissable experience, both the music and on-stage.
Eat and Drink
Sausage (Wurst)
In any other parts of the world, one would try to make any claims of ownership regarding its food, whether true or not. There are plenty of international disputes about the ownership of bak kut teh (Chinese: 肉骨茶) between Malaysia and Singapore, meat balls between Sweden and Turkey, kimchi (Korean: 김치) between South Korea and China to name just a few. Even friends like Australia and New Zealand fight amongst themselves about the ownership of Pavlova. Many of these disputes have escalated to international diplomatic level...
It is thus bizarre for me to find out that both German and Austrian refuse to claim the sausage as theirs! The long parboiled sausage made of pork and beef in a sheep-intestinal casing intestine, is known as Frankfurter Würstel in Austria, while it is referred to Wiener in Germany! I really cannot comprehend what games they are playing with each other!
By the way in America, this is famously known as a hot dog, because of the accusation that the processed meat is dog meat! This may be partially justified in terms of the historic consumption of dog meat in both America and Germany.
Stay
We stayed in the La Prima Fashion Vienna, which is a very comfy boutique hotel in the city centre with very good transportation access.
Getting There and Around
Vienna is well connected with metro and all the landmarks in this map are easily walkable. I do recommend spending at least two or three days on this map alone.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Vienna developed from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
The workshop organization, or Bauhüttenwesen, appeared in the Middle Ages on the construction sites of European cathedrals. Now, as then, these workshops are home to various trades working in close collaboration. The term Bauhüttenwesen in German refers both to the organization of a workshop network dealing with the construction or restoration of a building and to the workshop itself, as a place of work. Since the end of the Middle Ages, these workshops have formed a supra-regional network extending beyond national borders. The workshops safeguard the traditional customs and rituals of their professions, as well as a wealth of knowledge transmitted across the generations, both orally and in writing. Faced with the progressive shortage of technical skills and in an age of increasing mechanization and cost optimization, the workshops created or re-established in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have become institutions that preserve, transmit and develop traditional techniques and know-how. Their commitment to safeguarding and promoting living heritage, through targeted awareness raising, information and communication measures and close cooperation with shareholders in the field of politics, the church, monument conservation, business and research, can be considered as an example to be adapted and implemented in other contexts worldwide. Through their organization and training system for on-site practice, the workshops could be considered as a model for all types of buildings that need to be built and maintained.
References
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