Following Rick Steve's Vienna City walking tour, we stepped off of Graben to tour St. Peter's Church. The text in the travel guide did not prepare me for what I was about to see, although you can see that there is fair warning.
Leopold I also ordered this church to be built as a thank-you for surviving the 1679 plague. The church stands on the site of a much older church that may have been Vienna's first (or second) Christian church. Inside, St. Peter's shows Vienna at its Baroque best. [Steves] [emphasis added]
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| The church is squished in a side street. Normal and not too flashy. |
I stepped inside the Church and it took my breath away. I turned around and said "This is MORE than we have seen so far." Finally, I caught my breath and turned to look.
The video will help to set the stage.
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| These were the most ornate of any I have ever seen. Rows and rows of beautifully carved pews. |
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| The interior was stunning. Gold and silver everywhere. Rich tones in the wood, the walls, the ceiling. |
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| Everything was ornate. |
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| The ceiling, the windows, the wooden circles around. Breathtaking. |
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| The baroque-ness just didn't stop. Nothing was missed. The gold statue shows "The Martyrdom of St. John Nepomik. He was a Czech saint who defied the heretical King Wenceslas, so he was tossed off to his death off of the Charles Bridge in Prague. [Steves] |
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| This is a painting of the modern saint, Josemaria Escriva, founder of the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei, of Da Vinci Code notoriety. [Steves] |
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| The last pew in each section was ornately carved. |
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| The name on the statue to the right caught my eye. |
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| Isn't this the saint from a Magdeburg church? |
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| Look closely and compare the facial features with the blog post from Magdeburg. Looks like someone didn't get the memo. Click here for the other depiction of this saint. Click here for other depictions of Saint Maurice. Maybe it's a different guy.... |
This video shows the details of the organ. Sorry, but no one was playing. DARN!!
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| The organ in the back of the congregation seating area. |
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| Organ details. |
More information on this church (Amazon affiliate links)
Guidebook from Rick Steves
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