Page 62 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

60  VIENNA AREA B Y AREA

1 Peterskirche One of the original Baroque
structures is the Bartolotti
Petersplatz 6. Map 2 B4. Tel 53 36
443. % Stephansplatz. @ 1A, 2A, Palace, at the corner of
3A. Open 7am–8pm Mon–Fri, Dorotheergasse. Further
9am–9pm Sat, Sun. 8 along Dorotheergasse, at
No. 11, is the Jewish Museum
St Peter’s church, one of (Jüdisches Museum Wien),
Vienna’s oldest, was, according which moved to the former
to legend, founded in 792 by Eskeles Palace from the old
Charlemagne, as commemo- synagogue. The oldest
rated in a marble relief on the Jewish museum in the
church’s façade, The Placing of world, founded in 1895, the
the Cross by Charlemagne, by structure preserves remnants
Rudolf Weyr (1906). of a medieval synagogue.
The site was occupied by a Otto Wagner, an
Romanesque basilica in the outstanding architect of
Early Middle Ages. The present the Viennese Secession,
Baroque church was built in had his studio at Graben
the 18th century to designs The Baroque plague column on Graben No. 10; in the 1980s, the
by Gabriele Montani. It received house belonged to
its final form from Johann Lukas in Vienna, full to bursting with the eccentric Austrian artist
von Hildebrandt, who also lively restaurants and cafés. There Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
gave the church its magnificent are two identical fountains in
green patina-covered dome, the square, St Joseph Fountain
which towers over the whole on the northwestern side and 3 Stephansdom
district. The frescoes inside the St Leopold Fountain on the See pp62–3.
dome, depicting the Assumption southeastern side.
of the Virgin Mary, were created In the centre of the square
by Johann Michael Rottmayr. stands the Baroque Pestsäule 4 Dom- und
The Chapel of St Michael, the (Plague Column), also known Diözesanmuseum
first on the right, holds a glass as the Dreifaltigkeitssäule
coffin containing the relics of (Trinity Column), which the Stephansplatz 6. Map 2 C4.
St Benedict. Emperor Leopold I had erected Tel 51 552-35 60. % Stephansplatz.
after the end of the 1679 @ 1A, 2A, 3A. Open 10am–6pm
Tue–Sat. & ∑ dommuseum.at
plague that decima ted the
town. It depicts the Holy Trinity,
with a statue of the praying Reopened in 2017 after three
emperor at the top. A carved years of extensive renovations,
group, entitled Faith Conquers with a new design by architect
the Plague, adorns the southern Boris Podrecca, this museum
side of the column. A short features striking juxtapositions
distance from here, towards of medieval and avant-garde
Stephansplatz, stands a modest art. Many pieces were donated
statue of St John to the cathedral by Duke
of Nepomuk, which Rudolf IV. Highlights include
is a favourite spot a famous portrait of the
with buskers. duke (c.1360), and the
The modern Haas- Erlacher Madonna, a life-
Haus on Graben, at size statue of the
Stephansplatz, was Madonna and Child, a
The striking patina-covered copper built in 1985–90 on Gothic masterpiece
dome of Peterskirche the site of older (c.1330) from Lower
build ings destroyed Austria. The cathedral
during a bombing raid. museum also holds
2 Graben Made from glass and sacral vessels and
aluminium, it is the reliquaries from
Map 2 B4, C4. % Stephansplatz.
@ 1A, 2A, 3A. Jewish Museum: most controversial St Stephen’s Cathedral,
Tel 53 50 431. Open 10am–6pm building in the heart valuable master pieces
Sun– Fri. & 8 ∑ jmw.at of the city. Its win dows of the Gothic, Baroque
beautifully reflect the and Romantic eras,
This fully pedestrianized street, cathedral towers. The and the Otto Mauer
running through a bustling part top floor houses a collec tion of
of the city centre, is one of the café-restaurant, Gothic Madonna and Child, 20th-century
most fashionable shopping areas offering great views. Cathedral Museum Austrian art.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp292–3 and pp310–12

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