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Stephensdom

The Gothic Saint Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephensdom) is one of Vienna’s most recognisable structure and is locally known as Steffl (little Stephen), though as you can see from the pictures below, it definitely is nowhere near “little”.

From the outside of the cathedral, the first thing that will strike you is the glorious tiled roof, with its dazzling row of chevrons.  Throughout the year, the area around it, Stephenplatz is crowded with street performers, tour groups and expensive Fiaker (horse-drawn carts).

Stephensdom Catacombs (Katakomben)

Entrance to the cathedral’s Katakomben is only possible with a guided tour (conducted daily every 15-30 min; cost €4.50).  The catacombs house the remains of countless plague victims, kept in mass graves in different rooms.  In each room, we can see piles of bones.  Each piles represent a certain era with the Black Death.  Bodies were not burned as it would have destroyed the after-life of the victims.  Very eerie… We were not allowed to take pictures (not that we want to; you never know what you might capture)

The Entrance and Exit to the Catacombs.  Our guide is the guy in Black and White shirt in the background.

While the facade of the Cathedral will impress, the interior will amaze.  I had been to many European cathedrals and yet I feel that this is one of the most impressive with its grand structure.  I will now let the pictures do the talking…

One thing that ticks me off is the kind of customer service provided for tourist information.  The Tourist Info desk was manned by a grumpy guy who spends most of his reading newspapers and when approached with questions, he will direct them to the Tourist Info machine which will provide you with information about the cathedral in different languages for €2!

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