A Night in Vienna

Back in Vienna to end the journey through the Baltic region, and an evening of walking and taking in the sights. Of course, Vienna is so much more prosperous and formal than Lviv, and a bit stuffy but was a good transition to ending this adventure. An evening walking tour gave us a sense of the grandeur as well as some of the less savory aspects of this historic city.

A statue of Karl Lueger was our first stop on the walking tour. This whole issue will sound unfortunately familiar to you, as it's preserving a historical legacy of the anti-semitic mayor of Vienna. Lueger was mayor during the time of Mahler, Klimt, and Freud. He condemned Jews as "God murderers" and was so inspirational to Hitler he got a mention in Mein Kampf. His name has been taken off of important streets and only the statue remains with a plaque acknowledging the controversy over keeping this reminder of the unsavory past.

We are always surprised to find evidence of the Roman Empire north of Italy but here is evidence right in the heart of Vienna, known in Roman times as Vindobona, a Roman military camp.

This model shows the Roman fortifications with the Stephansdom in the center for context. The cathedral was not built to its current size until the 14th century. Wars, political changes, and floods during the 3rd and 4th centuries led the population to move within the fortifications. The city grew from there.

The Stephansdom (St. Stephens Church) is the central Catholic church of Vienna. the current Romanesque and Gothic structure was started in mid 14th century, on the site of a smaller church that had been in this location since the 12th century. It has a unique multi-colored tiled roof and the tower can be seen from everywhere. It's location is definitely at the heart of the city. It is in the process of being cleaned of centuries of soot and pollution.

Wandering through the narrow streets you can observe delicately painted frescoes adorning some of the facades....

.....or ornately carved detailed facades.

This building was built during the industrialization of the 19th century before the stock market collapse of 1873. That time and this building are called Grunderzeit, a liberal period of cultural development, and the architecture can also be called Historicism in style. This particular building is on a small scale but built at the same time as the opera house, parliament, and town hall. In front of the building is a statue of Johannes Gutenberg, who introduced printing to Europe.

Other examples of the architecture, old and new in the central square of Vienna near the Stephansdom.

St. Peter's church in the distance, a Baroque style church built in 1733.

This column has a very complex iconography, and was built in 1694 at the height of the Baroque period. It is reminiscent of Bernini's style of sculptural monument. It dramatically depicts the Great Plague of 1679. It blames the Ottomans, the Jews, and sinful behavior for the plague that killed a large number of the population. The city was "saved" by the piety of Emperor Leopold so this also acts as a monument to him.