Vienna – Vienna Austriae

Vienna commented by Braun

“But the city of Vienna is not only the capital of the whole noble country of Austria, but also a strong bulwark of all Christendom, situated at the confluence of the Wien River and the Danube. […] Little is known for certain about its beginnings. Many are of the opinion that Henry I, Duke of Austria, […] endowed the Abbey of the Scots and also laid the foundation stone of the splendid church of St Stephen, whose tower, however, was completed only in 1400. In the whole of Germany no other city can be compared with this one in respect of the handsomeness of its buildings and houses, the strength of its fortifications, walls and moats, and the wealth and abundance of its everyday life.”

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In the present plate, the 136-m-tall free-standing south tower of St Stephen’s cathedral is rising high above all other buildings. This 13th-century late Romanesque building was almost completely rebuilt in the Gothic style in the two succeeding centuries. On the left, next to the cathedral, is the Old Hofburg palace, residence of the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1438 onwards. In the second half of the 12th century Vienna developed into the residence of the Duchy of Austria and a city wall was built around it at the beginning of the 13th century. In 1221 Vienna was granted a municipal charter, the university was founded in 1365 and the city became an episcopal see in 1469. In the 15th century trade declined, but the city’s position as residence of the Holy Roman Empire was able to compensate the commercial losses. After the Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman army in 1529, the city’s fortifications were rebuilt. The new fortifications, highly praised by Braun, resisted another Turkish siege before the Battle of Vienna in 1683.