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1. A view of downtown Vienna with the main spire of St. Stephan's Cathedral in the middle. On the horizon, beyond the Danube River, is the Vienna Woods. |
2. Coming down Karstnerstrasse, the main promenade in downtown Vienna, one enters St. Stephen's Square and is confronted by the looming bulk of St. Stephen's Cathedral, with it distinctive chevron-patterned roof. The cornerstone for the current structure was laid in 1359 by Rudolf IV, but an older church had existed on the same site. The church has withstood sieges by the Turks (1529 and 1683), two attacks on Vienna by Napoleon (1805 and 1809), Allied bombing during World War II, and Soviet artillery at the end of the war. |
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3. St. Stephan's and its south steeple, known affectionately as "Steffl" (Little Stephen) to locals. It soars up 484 feet above the plaza. |
4. It is possible to take a very narrow, very steep, very tightly spiraling stone staircase up 220 feet into a viewing room just a little less than halfway up the South Steeple. This is the view from here. |
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5. View from the South Steeple |
6. View from the South Steeple |
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7. View from the South Steeple |
8. The North Steeple. There were plans to make it as high as the South Steeple, but these were halted by the Turkish Invasion of 1529. The Cathedral's great bell, known as the Pummerin (Boomer) is in this steeple. |
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9. Vienna is a city of churches. This baroque extravaganza is the Karlskirche, completed in 1739. Inside is a fresco an angel setting fire to Luther's Bible - the Reformation was not popular here. |
10. View of Upper Belvedere, one of the numerous digs of the Habsburg Prince Eugene of Savoy, who was instrumental in defeating the Turks. Completed in 1724, it was used for masked balls, receptions, and other merriment. The Treaty of 1955, which ended the Allied Occupation of Austria, was signed in the main room here. |
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