Churches in Vienna

Vienna has such a large concentration of beautiful churches and synagogues in the city centre, ranging from small parishes to monumental cathedral, with architectures from Romanesque era, gothic, baroque, to neoclassical styles. We had no choice but to shortlist only 3 churches which we attracted us most.


St. Stephen's Cathedral, or Stephensdom in German is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen. This largely gothic cathedral was built and consecrated in the 12th century and has been extended several times over the course of history.

Mind you, the south tower is 136m tall at its highest point and is a dominant feature of Vienna skyline. That's equivalent to a 40 storeys highrise tower! One of the special features of this cathedral is its richly patterned and coloured roof tiles.


It's free to enter Stephensdom but tourists are only allowed to visit the narthex area and a side aisle. Nave, transepts, chancel, santuary, altar and apse areas are reserved for genuine catholic patrons and we could only view these area from afar. The vaulted nave ceiling is indeed impressive.


Candle lights. There were scores of catholics gathering around the racks to light a candle and offered their prayers. I was thinking to light a candle and pray for world peace too. :p


St. Charles's Church, or Karlskirche in German is one of the most impressive baroque church in the region built in 18th century. It's flanked by two tall columns of bas-reliefs and topped with a huge elliptical dome.




When we visited the church, there was a service going on; probably a Eucharist or Easter Vigil mass. We were 'refused entry' again :( Well, the best we could was to peep from the portico. On top of that, there were conservation and restoration works going on too and scaffolding were erected in the nave and at the west facade too.


This angel statue is located at the entrance of the church. I really like this picture. The clear blue sky formed a clean backdrop and made the beautifully crafted statue stands out.


St. Peter's Church, or Peterskirche in German is another baroque church built in the 18th century and is conveniently located off Graben in the city centre. The design was inspired by the St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican in Rome. The facade of the building might not seem that interesting but the interiors are quite impressive though.




The interiors are decorated with rich golden stucco and the frescoes at the oval dome are especially impressively. I couldn't really draw nor paint, and that's why I really respect the great painters of the past.


Looking at the great churches in every European cities, it's easy to visualise that religion played such an important role in people's life in the early ages.