Autor: Michael Würzelberger

The red marble tomb of Emperor Frederick III in the apostle nave of the Cathedral Church of St. Stephen from 1517 is one of the greatest works of late Gothic sculpture. The top plate, weighing 8 tons and created by the Dutch sculptor Niclas Gerhaert van Leyden, shows the figure of the reclining Frederick; the sides and the surrounding balustrade of the sarcophagus are adorned with coats of arms, statues of princes and apostles, and reliefs of endowments of the first Habsburg to be crowned emperor.

That it is indeed a sarcophagus was clearly proven in an investigation presented in 2019. The ruler, known for his motto A.E.I.O.U., died in 1493 at the biblical age of almost 78 for those times and was reburied after completion.

The extensive figurine program of the sculpture, which can be visited during guided tours, shows among other things grimaces, mythical creatures, animals and skulls, which probably also symbolize the sinfulness in life. Monks and priests pray for his salvation, on the east side in the direction of view is emblazoned with an image of the Risen Christ.

The central marshalling yard Vienna-Kledering in the 10th district, at the back of the Vienna Central Cemetery, was gradually put into operation in 1983 after a 5-year construction period and is the largest transfer station in Austria with its entry group consisting of 15 tracks and 48 tracks for lining up the freight cars.

Freight trains with up to 6,100 wagons are disassembled daily on the 120km-long track network via an unwinding mountain, reassembled and forwarded to their destinations via 10 tracks of the outbound group. After approaching, the wagons are uncoupled and then roll into the directional group as if by magic and only delayed by braking elements integrated in the tracks.

A power converter is also located on the site, which provides around 1/7 of the traction power required throughout Austria.

On Wiedner Gürtel in the 4th district, an art project by Erste Bank is on display. Opposite the Erste Campus, which opened in 2015, the bank invited artists to design the row of houses there near the Belvedere under the motto „The Canaletto View“.

In the end, the „Project 2 for Erste Campus“ by Vienna-based Swiss artist Marcus Geiger prevailed to design the facades in the pastel colors of euro banknotes. The transfer of the colors to architecture is reminiscent of the design of the banknotes themselves, which in turn contain symbolic images of archetypal buildings.

The artist, born in 1957 and a graduate of the Akademie für bildende Künste in the master class stage design, is known for projects in the (semi-)public space, which have already been seen in various exhibitions in Vienna, Zurich, Munich and Ljubljana.

Tip: On 19.02. the World Day of Guides takes place again, where I will also make a tour around the main station from about 12:00h – registration www.guides-in-vienna.at/welttag/fuehrungen/

The garden palace Rasumofsky in the 3rd district of 1806 commemorates Prince Andrei Kirillowitsch Rasumowski, who played an important diplomatic role as Russian envoy at the Viennese court and is considered the most important classicist palace in Vienna. Just as the reorganization of Europe was being negotiated in the course of the Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815, part of the building burned down along with valuable art treasures, and was rebuilt in a simplified form.

About 20 years later, after the death of the art collector, patron of the arts (including Beethoven) and diplomat, the estate was taken over by Prince Alois II Lichtenstein. Then state-owned from 1873, it was used, among other things, as the site of the Federal Geologische Bundesanstalt, later parts of the property were partitioned off and built up, and in the early 2000s it was sold into private ownership and renovated.

Court architect Louis Montoyer, who was also involved in the remodeling of the Albertina and in extensions to the Hofburg, built not only the mighty portico on the garden side with Ionic columns, but also a representative banqueting hall (which is not open to the public) and the formerly extensive farm buildings and stables. In the interwar period, this was also the residence of the important Austrian writer Robert Musil.

The central highlight in the Schottenstift Abbey Museum is the late Gothic Viennese Schotten Altar, which was created between 1469 and 1475 by the Master of the Schotten Altarpiece. As the artist or artists (presumably from Nuremberg) are unknown by name, this designation is chosen.

The open winged altar (=Sunday side), originally made for the choir of the church of St. Mary in Schotten, shows a Marian cycle in 13 scenes, 3 panels are no longer extant, 2 panels can be seen in the original in the Belvedere and are shown as a copy. The closed state (=working day side) shows a passion cycle.

Due to the quality of the execution, the wing paintings are among the most important medieval works of art in Vienna. Particularly noteworthy is the panel „Flucht nach Ägypten“ (Exodus to Egypt) with a faithful representation of Vienna in the 15th century, unusually even with a starry sky.

Interested to have a closer look at the altar with the historical buildings? On request, I am happy to offer a guided tour of this unique museum of Vienna!

The Nestroyhof of 1898 in the 2nd district according to plans by Oskar Marmorek in the Art Nouveau style was built as a multifunctional building (highly modern in today’s sense) for stores, theaters, film screenings, offices and apartments for his father-in-law Julius Schwarz and served, also because of its location, as a meeting place for Jewish culture in Vienna.

As a companion of Theodor Herzl and an avowed Zionist, Marmorek became known as an exhibition architect and also designed the famous (and later destroyed) „Venice in Vienna“ entertainment district in the Prater. A few years later he also built his most famous building today, the Rüdigerhof on the Rechte Wienzeile. To this day, a number of apartment buildings, villas and also the high-beam fountain on Schwarzenbergplatz, which he redesigned and illuminated, are reminders of the architect.

Despite a not uncontroversial restitution in the 1950s and due to private and municipal initiatives, cultural institutions, especially the „Theater Nestroyhof Hamakom“, exist again today on the ground floor and remind of the Nestroy halls formerly located there with top-class cultural programs until the interwar period.

Near the baroque Hofmannsthal-Schlössl in Kaltenleutgebner Straße in the 23rd district, the glass mosaic „Gestalten aus den Werken Hugo von Hofmannsthals“ (Figures from the Works of Hugo von Hofmannsthal) by Hermine Aichenegg from 1956 shows the life dates and motifs of well-known works by the Austrian writer. His rewritings of Greek tragedies, stories and essays, as well as his comedy plays, are among the most valuable contributions to Austrian poetry.

The painter Hermine Aichenegg, who died in 2007, is considered an unjustly forgotten representative of Viennese modernism in the upheaval of post-war Vienna in the 1950s. In addition to numerous oil and paper works, her murals can be discovered in public spaces in Vienna, Eisenstadt and Perchtoldsdorf.

One of the most important baroque palaces in Vienna – the Palais Kinsky – built by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt for the Field Marshal Wirich Philipp von und zu Daun was completed in 1719. After various changes of ownership, it was taken over by Rosa Countess von Kinsky in 1790 and is now owned by the foundation left by Billa founder Karl Wlaschek and also houses the mausoleum built for him there.

Behind the stylishly decorated façade with a portal based on the Roman model is the remarkable staircase as an optical frame for the ceiling fresco, which shows the glorification of Count Daun. Among other things, Daun was involved in important battles in the Spanish. He later succeeded Prince Eugene and was the father of Leopold Daun, the commander under Maria Theresa in the Seven Years‘ War.

The Bohemian noble family Kinsky was until 1945/1948 an extensive property owner in today’s Czech Republic and produced a number of important men and women in military and political positions, especially the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1905 Bertha von Suttner.

Wünsche euch ein frohes neues Jahr und alles Gute für 2023!
Wish you a happy new year and all the best for 2023!
Le deseamos un feliz año nuevo y todo lo mejor para 2023!
Bonne année et meilleurs vœux pour 2023!
Vi auguriamo un felice anno nuovo e tutto il meglio per il 2023!
Желаю вам счастливого Нового года и всего наилучшего в 2023 году
Вітаємо Вас з Новим роком та бажаємо всього найкращого у 2023 році
新年のご挨拶と2023年のご活躍をお祈りいたします。
祝你新年快乐，2023年一切顺利
أتمنى لكم سنة جديدة سعيدة وكل التوفيق في عام 2023!
Życzę Wam szczęśliwego nowego roku i wszystkiego najlepszego na rok 2023!
Prajeme vám šťastný nový rok a všetko najlepšie v roku 2023!
Přeji vám šťastný nový rok a vše nejlepší do roku 2023!
Vă dorim un an nou fericit și toate cele bune pentru 2023!

St. Stephen’s Day on Dec. 26 is celebrated in memory of St. Stephen the deacon and arch-martyr, the namesake and patron saint of the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna, Austria’s national shrine. The approx. 1.5m high original statue of the north tower from 1480-1490 is considered one of the highlights of the Wien Museum. The holiday was probably founded in the 6th century under the Roman Emperor Justinian.

Stephen was one of the 7 deacons ordained by the apostles in Jerusalem, came into conflict according to legend and was stoned to death after his defense speech as the first martyr of Christianity. This also explains the (youthful) depiction as a deacon with a gospel book and (often three) stones.

(Wien Museum inv. no. 556, CC BY 4.0, photo: Enver Hirsch – edited)