Tourist attractions in Vienna : Michaelerkirche

St. Michael's Church is one of the oldest churches in Vienna. Dedicated to the Archangel Michael, St. Michael's used to be the parish church of the Imperial Court and is located at Michaelerplatz across from St. Michael's Gate at the Hofburg Palace. The church is a late Romanesque, early Gothic building dating from about 1220 to 1240. Many alterations over time resulted in its current appearance, which is unchanged since 1792.

Photo by Jim Nix / Nomadic Pursuits

The present façade was built in a Neoclassical style by Ernest Koch, a typical style for the reign of emperor Joseph II. Above the entrance, on top of the pediment, stands a group with winged angels and St. Michael slaying Lucifer (1725). These sculptural figures were executed by the Italian sculptor Lorenzo Mattielli, who also sculpted the Hercules figures at the Hofburg entrance, just opposite the church. The high polygonal Gothic bell tower from the 16th century has become one of the symbols of the Inner City.

Photo by Amin.Mana

Photo by akk_rus

The interior of the church consists of a nave and two aisles that have conserved the ancient Gothic structure. The side chapels were added later on. The polygonal apse was replaced in the 14th century (1327–1340) by an early Gothic choir with three bays. 

Photo by Jim Nix / Nomadic Pursuits

Photo by Jim Nix / Nomadic Pursuits

Photo by Christian Tauber

The high altar was designed in 1781 by Jean Baptist d´Avrange and among others constructed by Carl Merville. The uniqueness of this altar consists in the harmonious unity of the icon Maria Candia (1540) in the foreground and the Engelsturz (1781, “Fall of the Angels”) in the background. 
 

Photo by dugspr — Home for Good

Photo by dugspr — Home for Good

Photo by Amin.Mana

Photo by Amin.Mana

Photo by Amin.Mana

Maria Candida, the centerpiece of the high altar is a Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary, belonging to the Cretan School of hagiography and named after the former capital (now Heraklion), displayed as being carried by two archangels. The Engelsturz was designed in a very light color as a high relief between four Gothic windows in order to emphasize the polychrome icon of Maria Candia. Two more cherubims protect the holy shrine in accord with the old testament idea. The four seated evangelists are (from left to right) John, Luke, Mark and Matthew. The standing figures are the two saints of the plague: on the left Saint Sebastian and on the right Saint Rochus .

Photo by DOS82

The gilded pipe organ is the largest playable Baroque organ of Austria, built in 1714 by Johann David Sieber. It was once played by the 17-year old Joseph Haydn in 1749. 

Image from michaelerkirche.at

Image from michaelerkirche.at

St. Michael's is famous for its Michaelergruft, a large crypt located underneath the church. The crypt was created in the 16th and 17th centuries, as a result of the closure of the graveyard that had been located around the church. Only noblemen and rich citizens were buried here, who were able to purchase their own expensive family crypts. 

Image from michaelerkirche.at

Aristocrats were able to access their family crypts through marble slabs marked with their coats of arms in the church floor. The coffin of a deceased member of the family could then be lowered directly into the crypt via these marble slabs. Due to the special climatic conditions and constant temperature in the crypt, more than 4000 corpses were kept well preserved. Hundreds of mummified corpses, some still in burial finery or with a wig, are on display. The most famous among them is Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782), the well-known writer of opera librettos of the baroque era.

Photo by davidecasteel

Photo by davidecasteel

Remains of the Roman military camp at Vindobona have been found following the archaeological excavations in the Michaelerplatz (St. Michael's Square) between 1989 and 1991. Vindobona was a Celtic settlement and later a Roman military camp on the site of the modern city of Vienna. Displayed in the square is a rectangular opening that shows wall remains consisted primarily of the residences of soldiers' wives and children. The remains of the walls date from different phases from the 1st to the 5th century AD. The houses were typical Roman villas, with living quarters and space for working set around a middle courtyard with columned halls.


Text Sources: wikipedia.org  and  michaelerkirche.at