Stephansdom

Stephansdom - St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Gothic South Tower, 445 feet (136 m) was built between 1368 and 1433. Glazed-colored tiles cover the roof. The structure below the tower is the Lower Vestry. Historic Centre of Vienna UNESCO World Heritage site. "The Church of St. Stephen, or Cathedral, the most important edifice in Vienna, occupying the site of an earlier church consecrated in 1147, dates in its present form mainly from three different periods. The W. facade, with the Riesentor, built about 1230, belonged to the new edifice rendered necessary by the conflagration of 1193. After another fire in 1258 the transepts and a polygonal choir were added, while the nave and facade were heightened. The two towers of the last, called the Heidentürme (210 ft. high, still retain late Romanesque features. Albert II, in 1340 replaced the polygonal choir by a Gothic edifice, with nave and aisles; and under Rudolf IV. (1356-65) was begun the restoration of the nave (vaulted by Hans von Puchsbaum in 1446-54) and the construction of the two Gothic chapels beside the facade. The S. tower (448 ft. high), completed by Hans von Prachatitz, dates from 1359-1433; the unfinished N. tower (213 ft.), begun in 1450-1511, received its present Renaissance upper story from Hans Saphoy in 1579. The roof is covered with coloured tiles. Since 1852 the cathedral has been thoroughly restored by L. Ernst (d. 1862), Fr. Schmidt (d. 1891), and Hermann; the facade in 1901-2".--Baedeker 1909 P1260102p1