St. Stephen's Cathedral
성 슈테판 대성당
St. Stephen's Cathedral, called the Stephansdom in German, is the main Catholic church of Vienna, the capital of Austria. It stands on Stephansplatz in the middle of the old city. A first church was begun here in 1137 and dedicated in 1147, and most of the Gothic building we see today was started under Duke Rudolf IV in the 1300s. Major building work went on until 1511.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- Austria
- Location
- Vienna, Austria
- Built
- 1511
- Height
- 136 m
- Type
- Religious building
Quick answers
Where is St. Stephen's Cathedral?
St. Stephen's Cathedral is in Vienna, Austria.
When was St. Stephen's Cathedral built?
St. Stephen's Cathedral was built in 1511.
How tall is St. Stephen's Cathedral?
St. Stephen's Cathedral is about 136 m tall.
Vienna’s Gothic landmark, known for its zigzag glazed-tile roof and 136 m south tower.
The cathedral is famous for two things you can spot from far away. One is its south tower, 136 metres tall, which Viennese people fondly call Steffl, a nickname for Stephen. The other is its steep roof, covered with about 230,000 glazed tiles laid in a bright zigzag pattern. It is the tallest church in Austria and one of the best-known symbols of Vienna, and many important events in Austrian history have taken place inside it.
History
A great fire in 1258 destroyed much of the first church, and a larger one was built on its ruins. The south tower took 65 years to build and was finished in 1433. A matching north tower was started in 1450, but work stopped in 1511 and it was never finished, so it is only about 68 metres tall. During the sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683, the south tower was used as a lookout post. In April 1945, near the end of World War II, fire spread from nearby shops and the roof collapsed. The cathedral was carefully rebuilt.
The tiled roof and the bells
The roof is 111 metres long. On the south side above the choir, the coloured tiles form a picture of a double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Habsburg family that ruled the empire from Vienna. The cathedral has 22 bells. The biggest, the Pummerin (the Boomer), weighs about 20 tonnes and is the largest bell in Austria. The first Pummerin was made partly from cannons captured from the Ottoman army that besieged Vienna; it was destroyed in the 1945 fire and replaced with the bell that hangs in the north tower today.
Visiting today
Visitors can climb 343 steps up the south tower to the old watchmen's room, where guards once looked out for fires in the city. Night watchmen kept up that job until 1955. A lift goes up the north tower to see the Pummerin. Below the church are catacombs, underground burial chambers holding the bones of more than 11,000 people, as well as tombs of rulers such as Duke Rudolf IV. The composer Mozart was married here, and his funeral was held here in 1791.
Fun facts
- The cathedral roof is covered with about 230,000 glazed tiles.
- The giant Pummerin bell weighs about 20 tonnes and hangs 20 metres above the street in the north tower.
- Watchmen lived high up in the south tower and rang the bells if they spotted a fire, a job that lasted until 1955.
- The main door is called the Giant's Door, possibly after a mammoth bone that once hung above it.
On the globe
The model shows Vienna's Gothic cathedral with its patterned zigzag tile roof and tall pointed south tower. Zoom in to see the bright roof pattern next to the tower.
Quiz time
Which is taller: St. Stephen's Cathedral or Hungarian Parliament Building?
Show the answer
St. Stephen's Cathedral. (136 m vs 96 m) Hungarian Parliament Building →
Nearby on the globe
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Sources
- Read more on Wikipedia
- St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna — Wikipedia
- 슈테판 대성당 — 위키백과
- St. Stephen's Cathedral — wien.info (Vienna Tourist Board)
Updated: 2026-10-13