Salzburg Cathedral

General view of the Cathedral  CC BY-SA 2.0 Mattana

The  Prince Archbishopric of Salzburg will equal  Colloredo and his treatment of Mozart to most people. Colloredo was the last in a long line of Prince-Archbishops from 798-1803. The first Cathedral had been built in 774. Archbishops Wolf Dietrich, Markus Sittikus and Paris Lodron created the Baroque city we know today.

Aerial view over this Baroque city with Cathedral  in foreground CC BY-SA 4.0 Bede735

 In 1598 the old Cathedral burnt down. Wolf Dietrich tries to patch up what is left of the cathedral quarter but after further structural collapses realises a new building will have to be built. In 1606 an order to demolish what is left of the medieval cathedral and conversiin of the Franciscan church as a temporary cathedral leads to  the new south-facing building started in 1611. Wolf Dietrich has to flee the city because of a Bavarian invasion. He is taken prisoner and resigns in 1612. His successor Markus Sittikus continues the construction but to a new plan, destroying Wolf Dietrtich's foundations and goes for an east facing three aisled basilica with four nave bays. It is designed by Santino Solari. Transept wings and choir are gathered around a domed crossing like a clover leaf. Progress is swift from 1614-1619 and when Markus died in 1619 the choir and transepts were roofed. Only the dome and nave roof were to be done. His successor Paris Lodron keeps Salzburg out of the Thirty Years War, and continues the building work with Solari in charge. All roofs are covered by 1622 and  vaults finished 1623.

High altar
CC-BY-SA 4.0 Diego Delso

 Solari brings in Italian plasterers and they work until 1628, Fra Arsenio Mascagni,a Servite priest from Florence, is employed to do ceiling frescos and altar pieces. He creates 86 partly monochrome frescos in the vaults of the central nave, choir, transepts and dome. Marble main altars are designed by Solari and given altarpieces by his son  Ignazio and Fra Arsenio. 

The great facade   CC-BY 2.0 Mattana

Central dome     CC-BY-SA 4.0 Diego Delso

The new Cathedral is inaugurated 25 September 1628 in massive celebrations lasting 8 days. The towers are unfinished and the side aisle altars lacking. Plasterers were still working on the interior until 1635. Final works likely done in 1652.

On my first visit in August 1967 I wrote "I went into the Cathedral and greatly admired its cleanliness and beautiful dome. Also of note were the vaults which were again absolutely spotless". I think I was surprised by the bareness and almost new feel of the building.(the dome had been bombed in 1944 and restoration onoy by 1959). I had not seen anything like it before. My next visit was on my birthday 15 July 1970.

So what do I think it is like after several more visits?

1.   Try  this amazing video below I have found with music  by Vladimir Sterzer  I am carried away,,,,,,,

2. This is how it is  when you walk in                     CC-BY-SA 4.0 Diego Delso

3.   This 369 degree film is fun. Try it!

                                             Fantastic improvising on the great organ Love it!

In conclusion : this was the first Italianate Baroque church built north of the Alps : it's proportions both inside and out are majestic. I once drove several hundred miles to hear the great organ for Sunday Mass and entering was like a homecoming. I now understand this building. It seemed new because of the major restoration after the War. It has so much to offer. I hope I shall return again.

                                                       

St Florian

 

Aerial view   CC SA-BY 4.0 C.Stadler/Bwag

St Florian will always remind me of Bruckner. In August 1967 I wrote "we drove out of Linz to the monastery of St Florian, about 10 miles southeast.. Here lies the tomb of Anton Bruckner , beneath the organ he played so brilliantly. The monastery is a huge and imposing structure and the adjoining church is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I shall never forget it and for me one of the highlights of the holiday was to gaze in silent admiration at the sight of Bruckner's tomb. After that we returned to the caravan and had an evening meal of of tinned "Country supper" followed by a tin of cherries".

St Florian was an official in the Roman province in present day Lower Austria during the reign of Domitian. It  was a time of persecution  in 304 and Florian's defence of local Christians led to his own torture and death, by being attached to a very large stone and thrown into the river. A local believer, Valeria, managed to save his body and it was buried in a beech grove near present day St Florian.In 488 the body and of  other local saints were moved to Rome for safety. Florian is also popular in Poland. Only in the 18th century with pilgrimage at its height at St Florian did Provost Johann Georg get a portion of Florian relics back. St Florian has become known as a protector from fire - popular with Fire Brigades. There may have been a church at St Florian in the 8th century but the usual date for foundation of a convent for Augustinian canons is 1071. The collegiate church was consecrated in 1091.The remains of some 6000 local Christians were buried in the convent.(More of this later). Provost Leopold Zehetner 's time(1612-46) was one of recovery, including the growth of the library to 4000 books, despite the depredations of the Thirty Years War  He was in favour of replacing the Gothic church, but it was under Provost David Fuhrmann (1667-89) that a new Collegiate Church was commissioned from the Italian Carlo Antonio Carlone, and the foundation stone laid in 1686.with flourishes of trumpets and trombones (the bill for them exists!). 

Over the next 70 years the monastery was transformed. The complex got bigger and bigger under Fuhremann's five successors.The Augustinian canons were well known for engagement in scientific work When Emperor Joseph II reformed monasteries, St Florian was threatened with closure. Fortunately this was avoided but their estates were in the Wachau were forfeit along with the church treasure. Although avoiding secularisation, St Florian had to deal with financial problems. Nevertheless it kept its status as a spiritual scientific centre in the first half of the 19th century and acted as a cradle of modern historiography. In the 20th century it has been used for a number of other purposes, including a broadcasting station, wine cellar, and an HQ for US Army in 1945. In 1948 the canons returned.

The Collegiate Church  (http://www.stift-st-florian.at/en/home.html)

Carlone built his new twin-towered basilica to directly replace the medieval church. It has a calotte over the crossing (like skull cap - dome without drum) and sail vaults in the nave. In the nave the stucco work is by his brother, Bartolomeo Carlone. (reminiscent of Passau Cathedral). The panels in the ceiling were meant to be stucco but the new Provost wanted frescos. Therefore Carlone used illusionist architectural painting by Johann Anton Gumpp and Melchior Steidl. The high altar by Giovanni Battist Colomba of red Salzburg marble is embellished with statues of saints by Giuseppe Boni. The superb canons' choir stalls by Linz sculptor Adam Franz date from 1690. Choral music was very important in the lives of the canons.

Marmorsaal (http://www.stift-st-florian.at/en/home.html)

The magnificent Library (http://www.stift-st-florian.at/en/home.html)

Prandtauer took over on Carlone's death in 1708. Carlone's plans for the design of the convent were much changed. Under him the Imperial rooms for important visitors were created. The Marmorsaal glorifies Prince Eugen's victories over the Turks with huge frescos by Bartolomeo Altomonte. Gotthard Hayberger's Library (1744-51) with undulating bookcases by J.C.Jegg has ceiling frescos of the Blessings coming from the marriage of Virtue and Wisdom.

The main organ by Franz Xaver Krismann from Laibach was built 1770-4 and is now known as the Bruckner organ. It was rebuilt in the 19th century and completely overhauled after the Second World War. Anton Bruckner has always been one of my favourite composers. I have loved his music since the 1960s when it was nowhere near so popular. Since then I have been fortunate enough to hear the great symphonies conducted by great conductors like Herbert von Karajan, Bernard Haitink, Gunther Wand and greatest of all, Eugen Jochum. 

Imperial rooms  

https://trudymason.com/tag/anton-bruckner-sarcophagus/

Pope Pius VI slept in this bed on his visit to Vienna 
to meet Emperor Joseph II 
https://trudymason.com/tag/anton-bruckner-sarcophagus/

On the tour of the monastery I was shown the great staircase by Prandtauer, the Marmorsaal, and the series of state room. These are particularly interesting because in most other monasteries such rooms have been altered,and their contents lost. Here we get a real idea of the how they looked in the 18th century.The 16 rooms - large and small- evoke the era of Charles VI and Maria Teresa. In one of them is the bed in which Bruckner died with a haunting photo of him in the bed. My father aged 92 had only recently died......  The tour continued into the "Tomb" area or charnel house, to which the  thousands of skeletons of early Christians had been moved. Bruckner had a fascination with death and dead people. It was a spooky place and above I could hear a choir singing. We emerged into the Church and it was empty - no sign of singers or choir. ......

This is the Bruckner room, bed and photo just before he died.

                                   https://trudymason.com/tag/anton-bruckner-sarcophagus/

Later on I had a typical Austrian lunch in the nice restaurant in the cloister. A couple of choir boys passed by and I felt a little reassured of my sanity. However, for me,  these Baroque monasteries have an air of mystery,  always. 

The Bruckner Organ  CC BY-SA 4.0 C.Stadler/Bwag

Unusually in this post I have not just Creative Commons photos. I hope that Stift St Florian will appreciate my motives and see this post as an incentive to visit.  Trudy Mason's photos are amazing and she has done a far better job than I of recording her visit.

Melk

 

Classic view up to the Church flanked by Library and Marmorsaal CC BY-SA 4.0 Thomas Ledl

CC BY-SA 4.Uoaei1

Twice I bypassed this great Abbey and when I finally  had the time and opportunity in 1989, I  arrived in the dark- and pitched my little ridge tent in the campsite near the river. 

We returned in  2008 arriving by boat on a river trip from Durnstein.

 

Now I see Melk every day - I have a model on the shelf next to where I am writing today. 

The Benedictines were given a castle by the Babenburg Margrave Leopold II in  1089 and it was on this land that a monastery grew up. The rise of Protestantism in the 16th century led to significant decline and 1550 there were only 8 monks living there. Turkish raids and taxation were ruining the Abbey. The defeat of the Turks outside Vienna in 1683 lifted a huge cloud from the area and confidence returned. In 1700 Bertold Dietmayr was elected Abbot at the age of 30. Ambitious and energetic  he was to be abbot 39 years . By his work at the University in Vienna, as a member of the Imperial Diet, and manager of the conventual estates, he had the means and ability to push for rebuilding. Display of splendour could serve God. He was able to prove that the rebuilding plans came from current revenues when challenged by critics. The chosen architect was Jakob Prandtauer (1660-1726) from the Tyrol,  a master mason and sculptor. He belonged to a religious brotherhood and his son was a canon. His designs retained a monastic character e.g. he southern facade. He was told to keep to the old site which  extended along  a rocky ledge.

 

Aeria

Aerial view showing the fantastic situation   CC BY-SA 4.0 Carsten Steger

Prelate's court CC BY-SA 3.0 Aconcagua

The scale of the monastic buildings is staggering. There is the Prelatial court where the Abbot had his quarters and there is  the Imperial suite intended for visits by the Emperor and important guests - featuring a monumental staircase and reception rooms leading to the Marmorsaal. and the Library. Paul Troger (1698-1762) provided the frescos in the Marmorsaal (Hercules Heroicus the triumph of moderation)  and in the Library (Hercules Christianus . the triumph of  divine wisdom). Maybe the choice of Hercules is an allusion to the Emperor - a new Hercules triumphing over vice and promoting wisdom. 

Marmorsaal ceiling CC BY SA 2.5 Alberto Fernandez Fernandez

Marmorsaal    CC BY - SA 2.0

The abbey complex we see today is majestic from any angle. The ridge on which it is built so narrow that the church is an inseparable part of the whole .The church facade is usually seen through the flanking curves of the monastic buildings housing Library one side and Marmorsaal the other. Formerly this western orientation had been a plain arcaded court. Prandtauer  opened it up with a low gallery in front . Genius! The tower superstructures were rebuilt by Munggenast after a fire in 1738 light and beautiful with some similarity with Durnstein. The dome is unlike the usual type at Viennese churches and has horizontal bands rather than the usual vertical ribs as at St Peter's in Rome.

Dome and high altar           CC BY-SA 3.0

The interior strikes first for its intense colour scheme : pillasters of reddish brown ,marble against a background of paler red with white only in the ceiling frescos. There is a great sense of height and just about all wall space is faced or decorated. There are subtle lighting effects and light is concentrated around the dome and high altar areas. The crossing with shallow transepts does not have heavy transverse arches and the dome appears to hover. The dome is 210 feet and painted angels hover making music. There are very fine frescos of the Church Triumphant and of the Holy Trinity  by Michael Rottmayr dating from 1716. The high altar (1732) is by Antonio  Beduzzi and the statues are by Peter Widerin. Saints Peter and Paul are taking leave of each other. There is a huge crown above them symbolic of victory and the words 'non coronabitur nisi legitime certaverit' or he shall not be crowned except he have fought the good fight. Far above God the Father sits on a globe. There is a notable altar by Widerin nestled away on a pier at the side. The organ case is splendid (1733).

The ceiling frescos         CC BY-SA 4.Uoaei1

Durnstein

 

Durnstein Castle has a certain pull for English visitors because it was likely here that bad Archduke Leopold of Austria held our King Richard the Lionheart to ransom after the Third Crusade. We only clambered up there once on the first day. After that the attractions of  Durnstein  Pfarrkirche were much more attractive. Situated on the Danube it is such a charming place and a fantastic base to explore the Wachau, by bike in those days....

The priory was founded in 1410 standing on a rock overlooking the river Danube. It was Prior Ubelbacher who had the existing roof and ridge turret pulled down and       commissioned J.Prandtauer, Josef Munggenast and Matthias Steinl, and stuccoist Santino Bussi. The south portal is by Steinl with statuary of the Divine virtues with vigilance and strength done in 1718.The Priory courtyard was probably designed by Prandtauer.

The entrance to the church  by Matthias Steinl has the Four fathers of the Church and Christ Our Saviour  above.

The tower is the most memorable part of the exterior. It dates from 1733, richly ornamented with putti, obelisks and balustrades and is by Steinl and Mungennast. The blue and white decor is so memorable from the river/It is probably the finest Baroque tower in Austria. It seems to grow out of the terrace, almost like a tree trun                                                                                                                                  

The interior of the church is intimate and there are over 100 angels present ; the walls are curving and above them stucco reliefs of the Annunciation, Nativity, the Magi and the Resurrection.The stucco ornament on the ceiling is by Bussi. The high altar tabernacle is unusually  a globe. There are fine choir stalls with gilded scenes from the Te Deum.

On the south side of the church on the site of an old cloister there is a Christmas altar and a baroque setting for the Good Friday Holy Sepulchre, by Antonio Galli-Bibiena. 

Gottweig Abbey

 My memories of Gottweig are of arriving by bicycle totally out of breath, for it is a hilly area and it was a beautiful hot day. We were staying in Durnstein (more of this in a later post) and hired bikes to ride along the Danube. It was one of our best holidays ever. We could see this celestial city or whatever it was from afar and upon arrival it seemed even more majestic. I had been here a few years previously by car but the bike approach was infinitely superior, if painful. 

Gottweig Abbey had been founded in the 11th century as a monastery for Canons Regular by Altmann, Bishop of Passau. Things didn't go well and laxity caused Bishop Ulrich of Passau to get Pope Urban II to agree to make a foundatiobn for Benedictine monks under the Rule of St Benedict. Prior Hartmann of St Blaise's Abbey was made Abbot and things improved. Gottweig became a famed place of learning. Abbot Hartmann (1094-1114) founded a monastic school, a library and a nunnery which started at the foot of the hill, and was later moved to the top and still going until 1557. Decline set in by the 15th and 16th centuries and by 1564 there no monks at all. Then there was a major fire in 1580.Michael Herrlich  was brought over from Melk to become the new Abbot. He brought it back to life financially and spiritually and began a rebuild. Gottweig survived the 17th century satisfactorily until a major fire in 1718. Abbot Gottfried Bessel (1714-49) was responsible for the grand rebuild we see today to the designs of Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt.

Hildebradt's vision was for possibly the grandest Imperial Baroque complex ever built. The fact that it was never completed does not lessen its significance as the epitomy of  Counter Reformation Imperial pretension. Abbot Bessel  had connections with the Schonborn family and hence Hildebrandt became the chosen architect. The Schonborns saw it as their very own project. Hildebrandt was a big expert on fortifications and he used this in his design.  The plan involved parts of the old monastery, with huge bastioned fortifications a large domed church in the centre and state rooms led off two grand staircases The accommodation was clearly vastly in excess of what was required by the Abbey. Apparently the design was to suggest a crown on the landscape  In practice Hildebrandt's plans were just too expensive and we are left with a huge torso. The best remnant is the tremendous staircase with a ceiling by Paul Troger of the apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI. The Escorial of Philip II of Spain was an inspiration : Gottweig is like a palace with the church in the centre. Its like the fortrress of God. This was the high water mark of he Austrian Empire, The Turks had been repulsed. There would be a Kaiserstiege amd a Kaisersaal in such a building.The emphasis of the links between and Crown and church to provide a common enterprise of Godly rule.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Church facade  CC BY-SA 2.5 Tschaensky

                                                                                                                                                                       The Church facade has a classical feel. The interior has a 4 bay basilica with narrower higher chancel. The organ screen at the back of the nave is unusual but over large. The colour scheme of blue gold brown dates from the 19th century and is not to everyone's taste.

Today there are some 150,000 books and manuscripts in the Library and a significant collection of religious engravings and various antiquities. It still houses a Benedictine congregation of around 30 members.

Finally, go on a little tour with the video below. Easier than ascending by bike....

Kollegienkirche, Salzburg

 

I first saw Salzburg in the summer of 1967. My friend and I were in a caravan and horrified at the prices of the candlelight concerts in the Schloss Mirabel and saw the 'great and good' in their evening dress and furs coming out of the Festspielhaus Mozart Zauberflote..... The Cathedral was a dose of cold water to me and I don't remember the University Church. In fact it was my fourth  visit before I went inside! Only now in retrospect do I appreciate its attraction and importance externally. Of the inside I remember the bareness but little else. What an admission! I will try to make amends revisiting it now from my desk in St Albans, UK.  

In the later 17th century the  Benedictine University of Salzburg did not have a separate church and the same building housed secular events and church services. This was unacceptable to Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst and he decreed  a new church in 1694. At this time other major building projects for the Prince-Archbishop were being done by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach so it was natural for him to get the job. He was based in Vienna, like his rival Johann Lucas van Hildebrandt. Both were architects who design and  manage, but do not supervise the construction. The Kollegienkirche is Fischer's second Salzburg church and turned out to be a masterpiece. He was using the same site which others had planned a church under Prince-Archbishop Paris Lodron. Fischer used a double Greek cross, increased the size and progress was slow because other modifications were made during the construction 1696-1707. The facade brings to mind Borromini, Guarini and Bernini.

Engraving from c.1712

Bells and a gallery organ  were added in 1708. The various chapel altars were added in the 1720s. The high altar designed by Fischer was rebuilt in 1738. This meant the church was complete. Vault frescos were not favoured. Fischer's church was to be his white temple.

The Church came through the Napoleonic War, the secularisation  of abbeys in 1803 and other political changes in Salzburg, without major damage. It was reconsecrated in 1812 and got through the 19th century unscathed except for the loss of the Baroque organ. There were major renovations in 1863/3, 1866 and 1882 and several times in the 20th century - the latest 2003-13. I suspect this was going on during my last visit. I do not remember it as a church, more of a performance space, and indeed today it is used for exhibitions and concerts (just like our own Cathedral in St Albans a few hundred yards from I sit : there is a Sound and Light Show on tonight).

View into the chancel. Note the  two huge white columns and stuccowork over the high altar

The interior is lofty with barrel-vault nave and transept and a light filled dome. The use of space by Fischer originates from Roman and French models discovered while in Italy and this, combined with  lots of light and no colour, produces an overwhelming effect. Use of stucco apart from the chancel is restricted,. In the latter Fischer has required two white triumphal columns with huge pedestals, and then the apse is dominated by the stucco of the  Immaculate Conception  with clouds and angels.

Overall I guess this great church is the forerunner of Weingarten, Ottobeuren and St Gallen. What more could I want?

This video gives a good idea of the atmosphere

Jesuit Church Vienna

We first discovered this church in the Old City in November 2007  This was founded as the University Church when Emperor Ferdinand II entrusted the Jesuits with the University. It was built in 1662 to designs by Carlo Antonio Carlone and dedicated to the Nine Angelic Choirs. We heard one of these when we heard a liturgical performance of a Mozart Mass with orchestra. It was packed.

This early Baroque church faces an imposing square. and can be found in the narrow streets near the St Stephen's Cathedral. The interior is notable for the tromp l'oeil effects in the main nave by Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709). His most famous work is the dome effect in St Ignacio in Rome - possibly the greatest piece of illusionistic painting ever achieved. Therefore it is great to see his dome here at the Jesuit church painted on a flat surface in 1705! It was Emperor Leopold I who bought Pozzo to Vienna kn 1702 and he worked here until his death. Almost unbelievable but this is kind of effect is a key element in some Baroque buildings He also integrates his painting of the Assumption into the architecture of the building and ensures it is lit by cunning narrow window openings. Alas I was unaware of the authorship of these masterpieces when last I visited earlier in 2017, We shall return. The photos are ours except for the two from Wiki Media Commons.

Pozzo's dome. Photo from Wiki Media Commons

Assumption behind high altar by Pozzo from Wiki Media Commons

Karlskirche, Vienna

The Karlskirche is one of the iconic buildings of Vienna. When plague struck Vienna in 1713 and took nearly 13000 Viennese victims, this part of Vienna was wooded meadows alongside the Wien river. Today it is the axis of a huge open space in central Vienna. Indeed planners have argued over the centuries how to organise the huge space with this gigantic masterpiece as a backdrop. Johannes Brahms lived just round the corner from it. The famed Musikverein concert hall is within easy walking distance. Yet the first time I saw it back in the late 1960s it seemed to be out on a limb and rather dingy. Inside seemed too short and dark. In fact it is 262 feet long and 197 feet wide.Today is very different..
Emperor Charles VI pledged this church for the plague victims and dedicated it to St Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584 a former Archbishop of Milan and saint of plague victim). In the contest to design it, the victor was Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. He worked on it until his death in 1723 and his son finished it in 1737.
The building symbolises Church and Emire with the cross on the dome the power of God and the two triumphal arches the power of the Emperor. The porch is like a Greek temple and the huge columns remind one of  the column of Trajan in Rome. The two huge bell towers have even been said to be pagoda like.
Inside the 236 foot dome Gaetano Fanti created trompe l'oeil paintings at the lower edge and Johann Michael Rottmayr, in 1725-30, the huge fresco of St Borromeo begging the Trinity to end the plague. Rottmayr also did the smaller paintings in the choir vault, chapels and above the organ.Back in 2007 major work was being undertaken in the dome. Our photos show the restoration of the frescos. A huge platform has been erected and visitors can still  use this to get astounding closeup views of the ceiling. of the dome as the restoration continues.
The high altar was designed by Fischer von Erlach shows Borromeo rising through the clouds toward the Divine Light. This and other stucco work is by Albert Camesina.
During our visit this spring in 2017 we went to Saturday night Mass where local soldiers were having a special occasion in full uniform and the organist entertained us with music in the best possible taste (some doubtful vibrato effects).

Pulpit

Dome view

Dome view

Borromeo in the dome

Another view of the dome

High altar

High altar

View into dome with scaffolding

Another view of the scaffolding