Page 62 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - 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. Next to
9am–9pm Sat, Sun. it is a popular Trzesniewski
Sandwich Buffet. Further
St Peter’s church, one of along Dorotheergasse, at
Vienna’s oldest, was, according No.11, is the Jewish Museum
to legend, founded in 792 by (Jüdisches Museum Wien),
Charlemagne, as commemo- which moved into the
rated in a marble relief on the former Eskeles Palace from
church’s façade, The Placing of the old synagogue. The
the Cross by Charlemagne, by museum chronicles the
Rudolf Weyr (1906). history of Jews in Vienna.
The site was occupied by a Otto Wagner, an
Roman basilica as early as the outstanding architect of
12th century. The present the Viennese Secession,
Baroque church was built in had his studio at Graben
the 18th century to designs The Baroque plague column in 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 The cathedral museum contains
emperor at the top. A carved a large collection of sacral paint-
group, entitled Faith Conquers ings and sculptures, as well as
the Plague, adorns the southern fascinating examples of folk art.
side of the column. A short Many pieces were donated to
distance from here, towards the cathedral by Duke Rudolf IV.
Stephansplatz, stands a modest Star exhibits include the famous
statue of St John portrait of the duke (c.1360),
of Nepomuk, which and the Erlacher Madonna,
is a favourite spot a life-size statue of the
with buskers. Madonna and Child, a
The modern Haas Gothic masterpiece
Haus on Graben, at (c.1330) from Lower
Stephansplatz, was Austria. The Cathedral
The striking patina-covered copper built in 1985–90 on Museum also holds sacral
dome of Peterskirche the site of older vessels and reliquaries
build ings destroyed from St Stephen’s Cathedral,
during a bombing raid. valuable masterpieces of
2 Graben Made from glass and the Gothic, Baroque and
aluminium, it is the Romantic eras, and
Map 2 B4, C4. % Stephansplatz.
@ 1A, 2A, 3A. Jewish Museum: most controversial the Otto Mauer collec-
Tel 53 50 431. Open 10am–6pm building at the heart tion of 20th-century
Sun– Fri. & 8 ∑ jmw.at of the city. Its win dows Austrian art.
beautifully reflect the The museum
This fully pedestrianized street, cathedral towers. The has been undergoing
running through a bustling part top floor houses a renovations. It is
of the city centre, is one of the café-restaurant, Gothic Madonna and Child, expected to reopen
most fashionable shopping areas offering great views. Cathedral Museum in 2016.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp292–3 and pp310–12

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