St. Stephen’s Cathedral

St. Stephen's Cathedral, also called the "Steffl" by Viennese locals, is the emblem of Vienna and Austria's most important Gothic structure.

The site where St. Stephen's stands today was actually a cemetery during the Middle Ages. The beginning of the cathedral goes back to the year 1137. Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria and since 1139 Duke of Bavaria, and the Bishop of Passau traded their estates in order to build a church outside the city at the time, which was intended to be dedicated to St. Stephen, the patron of the Episcopal church of Passau. From the time between 1230 and 1245, the late Romanesque west facade is still preserved. Many significant art treasures can be found in the church, which you can see only during a tour. The main, south tower is 136.4 meters high and is accessible to the public up to a height of 72 meters. Here is the so-called Tower Room, which you reach by a stone spiral staircase with 343 steps.