The second day of class was briefer in terms of lecture than the first day, but the walking tour offered an effective supplement to the class and reading material. The early/post Roman history of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire seems to parallel the formation of Vienna itself. In the era immediately following the fall of the Roman Empire, Vienna was no major city or cultural center (it wasn’t even mentioned until over 600 years later!) just as the Holy Roman Empire did not start to grow until the installation of the Babenbergs in the mid tenth century. It seems that as the Empire grew, so did Vienna. This was obviously aided by the city being designated as Heinrich II’s residence and the accompanying installation of religious centers like St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Schottenstift monastery. Being that the middle ages or rather the Age of Faith was dominated by religious faith it would seem that these religious centers would work to lay the foundations for early growth and the subsequent rise of Vienna.
I found it intriguing that so much of the groundwork for the ascension of Vienna to a major city and cultural center was laid during the pre-Habsburg era. Not only did the Babenburgs provide the religious basis for the city’s expansion, but Ottokar, the King of Bohemia, provided a base for the future cultural complexity of Vienna before Rudolph would defeat him and begin the Habsburg dynasty.
The walking tour immediately following class proved to be a great supplement to the day’s lecture material as we got to see the Schottenstift monastery first hand, but unfortunately couldn’t go inside. Along the way our group learned that the buildings in Vienna, especially those close to the Habsburg palace that have red flags and accompanying plaques were owned by the aristocracy or lords that were welcome by the Habsburgs. This layout of the city can say a lot about how the Habsburg dynasty operated in terms of relations with its subjects. Since the Habsburgs were constantly consumed with attaining re-election the title of Holy Roman Emperor I would assume they would keep the members of high society close to them in order to keep the aristocracy in favorable relations. Even if these lords that lived close to the palace weren’t part of the electors, its reasonable to assume that keeping the aristocracy on good terms in general could only help relations with the electors on the whole. Of course this is just speculation, but it would seem to be a very Habsburgian way of getting what they want. The dynasty was exceptionally good at territorial expansion without excessive warring and I would assume that this ability for clever accomplishment would extend beyond solely marriages and into the realm of seeking re-election within the dynasty.
My visit to St. Stephen’s Cathedral today was both extremely interesting and disappointing. The cathedral itself is amazing, the gothic architecture is not only evident by the exterior but the dark lighting and accompanying interior architecture preservers the gothic style. The tour that I paid 4.5 Euros for was rather disappointing both for its brevity and lack of coverage. I wasn’t aware that you have to pay more in order to see the catacombs and upper level so I will have to revisit the Cathedral another day. Besides the disappointing structure of the tour, its substance was very interesting. The remodeling that took place after the fire during the Second World War is notable by the slight color change for historical reference, but preserves the gothic architecture amazingly well. Perhaps my favorite part of the Cathedral was the tomb of Frederick III. The area of the church and tomb itself is stunning for how elaborate the woodcarving and structure of the tomb. I only wish there were a way to go up and see the top of the tomb instead of being forced to see the picture, but oh well. I can’t believe the tomb itself weighs 45 tons! But it would make sense that it would be elaborate for the Habsburg that started the line of Emperors that would last for the better part of the next 400 years! I thoroughly enjoyed the Cathedral, but I will have to return another day to see the catacomb and upper level.
The German world of the day is Wahrscheinlich and it means probably
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