Interesting Liturgical Sights on a Recent Trip to Europe (1): Vienna and Environs

In May, my daughter and I visited a few places in Austria and Italy, and while I wasn’t much of a shutterbug (I’m trying these days to leave my camera mostly unused), I’ll admit that I pulled it out whenever I saw something that I thought NLM readers might enjoy seeing. As usual, click on the images to enlarge.

The ceiling of the sacristy at Heiligenkreuz Abbey. Note how the tormentors of the three children in the fiery furnace are sporting turbans, a reminder that the Turks once ransacked this abbey.

For a place that’s supposed to help priests become recollected for Mass, the interplay between this priest and his server is rather funny!

The Pummerin of Stephansdom in Vienna, the third largest bell in Europe at 44,380 lbs or the weight of 15-20 cars; its metal is from 208 Turkish cannons melted down after the Siege of Vienna.

Our guide took us up to the perimeter of the Stephansdom roof to give us a close look at the tiles.

Here’s the huge room under the Stephansdom roof, above the vaulted nave of the church - it's almost the size of a church in itself.

At the Jesuitenkirche in Vienna, I was delighted to find, at the altar of St. Joseph, a traditional Roman lectionary opened to the correct page. Some young Jesuit is interested in the right things...

The Karlskirche, named after St. Charles Borromeo, proudly displays a gold mitre he wore, as the Latin document explains.

Another item in the small museum in situ is this magnificent cope, c. 1450, of silk with metal embroidery, depicting six female saints: Agnes, unknown (with palm), Catherine of Alexandria, Dorothy, Agatha or Apollonia, and Sophia or Barbara.

A delightful surprise for me this time was discovering the Gothic church in the heart of Vienna that belongs to the SSPX: Church of the Minims of Maria Schnee, where the following two photos were also taken.

The church had belonged to the Italian community in Vienna for a couple of centuries, and the side chapel of St. Anthony is full of ex votos in Italian.

Our trip culminated in a pilgrimage on foot to Mariazell, the greatest Marian shrine of central Europe. The Gnadenbild, a medieval wooden statue, is located in the silver-dominated shrine at the bottom of the photo.

Mariazell is a rococo extravaganza.

I was struck by this side altar to St. Benedict where a gorgeous set of rococo altar cards was on permanent display (dare one hope that they are put to their proper use from time to time?).

A small Calvary monument indicates how deeply the Improperia had penetrated into the devotions of the people; here, in German translation.

A processional banner announcing “the great mother of Austria” (Our Lady of Mariazell).

On the drive from Mariazell back to Vienna, there is a little-known but dazzling church in a town called Neuberg an der Mürz. It is a rare example in this part of Europe of a completely Gothic structure with its original decoration (although Baroque altars have been added).

Next week, I will conclude with some photos from Venice.