The interior of Stephansdom is often crowded, but it never fails to stir the emotions. At its brightest moments, when the sun streams in through the large windows, you can fully appreciate the slender Gothic structure, built according to the "hall" model favored in Austria and southern Germany: the pillars supporting the ribbed roof divide the space into three naves at the same height, and the absence of side chapels enhances the sense of breadth of the interior, which is more than ninety meters long. No less enchanting, however, is a visit to the cathedral towards evening, with the pillars lost in the half-light and the glow of the candles in front of the votive images.
One of the hallmark features of the cathedral are the numerous Baroque altars, not only along the side walls but also leaning against the pillars. Gentle Madonnas with Child and realistic Crucifixes are still objects of intense devotion today. Very popular is the 17th-century Madonna of Tears at the first altar on the right.
Now press pause and press play again when you reach the third pillar on the left.
You’ll find the cathedral's most important work of art here, an early 16th-century marble pulpit. One of the finest masterpieces of European Gothic art, it features busts of the four evangelists in the balustrade panels, while realistic figures of small reptiles climb along the handrail. Peeping out from a small window below the staircase is the Bohemian sculptor of the work, Anton Pilgram.
A self-portrait of the artist can be seen a few steps further on, at the base of the organ support leaning against the left wall. If you are wondering about his presence here, it is in keeping with a tradition from the Middle Ages whereby some architects would have themselves depicted inside the churches they designed, in order to leave their mark.
In the rear section of the cathedral, badly hit by bombing, take a look at the 15th-century winged altar in the left apse and, on the opposite side, the tomb of Emperor Frederick III, begun in 1467 by the skilled late Gothic sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert.
An interesting fact: The bodies of the Habsburgs are kept in the Crypt of the Capuchins or Imperial Crypt, located a few hundred meters away. Their internal organs, however, are located here in the Cathedral, inside the Ducal Crypt, with the exception of the hearts, which are kept in the Augustinian Church.
Language: English