STEPHANSDOM, Exterior

St. Stephen's Cathedral, a characteristic example of Gothic art, was founded by the Emperor Rudolf IV, in the year 1359. A look at the exterior, however, reveals important traces of earlier buildings incorporated into the construction. One example are the two pointed Romanesque turrets that close the narrow facade, known as the "pagan towers".

The main entrance is the "Giant’s Door" in the center of the façade, decorated with 13th-century sculptures.

Before going inside, however, I suggest you walk right around the exterior.

The most distinctive element is the sloping roof, covered with some 250,000 colored enamel tiles that form vivid geometric ornamental patterns and coats of arms of the Habsburgs. The original roof was destroyed in the bombings, and the present one is the result of careful restoration work completed in 1957.

Turning clockwise, after the small Gothic portico reserved for the bishop's entrance, halfway down the left side is the mighty Eagle Tower. Construction of the tower began in 1450, and was stopped at a height of 68 meters, in contrast with the original plan.

Immediately after the tower, you’ll notice several sculptures as you walk around. The most striking is the elaborate 15th-century pulpit, located near the entrance to the Catacombs and topped by a grand Baroque sculpture, from which St. John of Capistrano held crowded open-air sermons.

As you move on, you’ll come to a niche containing an image of a sorrowful-looking Christ, popularly known as "Christ with a Toothache".

Now press pause, and press play again when you reach the side dominated by the  spire of the Steffl Tower.

The tower, erected over the course of about seventy years, starting in 1359, has a height of 137 meters. Inside this splendid Gothic construction, covered with pinnacles and decorations, is a very long spiral staircase, with no fewer than 343 steps, perfect for reaching one of the city's most scenic spots.

An interesting fact: Inside the Eagle Tower is the largest bell in the cathedral, and indeed one of the largest in Europe, weighing a massive twenty tons. Nicknamed "Pummerin", it was made in 1711 from the bronze of cannons abandoned by the Turks at the end of the siege of Vienna in 1683. It fell from the tower during World War II bombings, but was fixed and relocated in 1957: its new chime symbolically marked the end of the restoration work on the cathedral, and the "resurrection" of Vienna as a whole.