The colourful roof of St Stephen’s Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) is one of Vienna’s most iconic landmarks. It is covered with around 230,000 glazed tiles, forming a vast mosaic visible from many parts of the city. Behind this striking feature of the monument, however, lie the terrible events of the Second World War, when bombs fell on the cathedral and destroyed its most beautiful parts.
A cathedral older than many European capitals
The history of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is intertwined with the development of Vienna. The first church was consecrated here in 1147, during the reign of the Babenberg dynasty. Following a fire in 1258, reconstruction of the cathedral began, and over the years it underwent further modernisations. Romanesque gave way to Gothic, and the entire cathedral took on ever greater religious and political significance. A turning point in the cathedral’s history was the completion of the south tower in 1433. The slender structure reached a height of 136.4 metres and dominated the city skyline for centuries. Imperial ceremonies, weddings and funerals associated with the Habsburgs took place within the cathedral’s walls. Many distinguished and distinguished figures of Austria were buried there.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral and its roof
The cathedral owes its greatest fame to its extraordinary roof. It is approximately 111 m long, and at its highest point rises 38 m above the floor. Its surface is made up of around 230,000 glazed tiles arranged in various patterns. The southern slope features the mighty double-headed Habsburg eagle, whilst on the northern side one can see the coats of arms of the Republic of Austria and Vienna. The distinctive zigzag ornament appeared on the cathedral in the 18th century during a thorough reconstruction of its roof. The roof was designed so that the colourful composition would be clearly visible even from a great distance. The steep pitch of the roof means that snow rarely accumulates on its surface, whilst rain helps to keep the tiles clean.
Vienna and the Second World War
Beneath the roof tiles lay an impressive larch timber roof structure, crafted by Gothic master carpenters in the 15th century. It was one of the largest structures of its kind in the whole of Europe. The tragic events of the end of the Second World War brought this masterpiece to an end. In the spring of 1945, Vienna became the scene of fierce fighting between the Germans and the Red Army. Many conflicting accounts have arisen regarding the causes of the subsequent fire. What is known, however, is that the order to shell the cathedral issued by SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef ‘Sepp’ Dietrich was not carried out. The disaster came from another direction. On the evening of 11 April, flames leaping from the burning buildings on St Stephen’s Square spread to the scaffolding, and from there directly to the wooden roof structure. The fire spread rapidly across the centuries-old planks and beams. As a result of the fire, sections of the cathedral’s vaults collapsed and parts of the burning roof fell into the interior. The falling debris destroyed, among other things, the priceless organ, the Gothic choir stalls dating from 1487, and most of the bells – the famous Pummerin fell from the tower and shattered on the floor. The Viennese were devastated by the scale of the conflagration. Today, we can compare it to the Notre Dame fire of 2019, although the Parisian cathedral suffered less damage.
A new steel roof on St. Stephen’s Cathedral
After the end of the Second World War, a large-scale restoration of Vienna’s damaged monuments and the reconstruction of what had collapsed began. The restoration of St. Stephen’s Cathedral from its ruins was of exceptional importance to the Austrian public. The cathedral was, after all, the heart of the capital, where Emperor Frederick III, among others, is buried. The work was funded through public fundraising and support from the federal states. In total, around 7,000 tonnes of rubble were removed from the interior. During the design phase, a rather controversial decision was made to replace the wooden roof truss with a steel structure. Over 600 tonnes of steel were used in its construction, whilst retaining the original shape and pitch of the roof. Next, the colourful patterns of the roof tiles were recreated based on preserved plans, photographs, paintings and salvaged fragments of the original roofing. The new roof was completed in 1950, as indicated by the date on one of the roof slopes.
A symbol of post-war rebirth and of Vienna
On 26 April 1952, St Stephen’s Cathedral was reopened by Cardinal Theodor Innitzer. On the same day, the new Pummerin bell arrived in Vienna, cast in St Florian near Linz as a replacement for its destroyed predecessor. Today’s roof still retains its medieval form, historic coats of arms and original colour scheme, although its structure was only built 70 years ago. The multicoloured mosaic has been a source of wonder for several centuries and makes St. Stephen’s Cathedral one of the most beautiful roofs in Europe.
Source: vienna.at, stephansdom.or.at
See also:Architecture|Religious architecture|City|Vienna |Austria
