Vienna’s city centre as a reflection of religious conflicts
1.5 hours each
Duration:
Starting with
the oldest church, discover how centuries of religious conflict are reflected in the city’s skyline.
Church towers grew ever higher thanks to donations and payments for indulgences, which promised eternal salvation. Meanwhile, Luther’s theses spread like wildfire. Did you know that in the 16th century, almost three-quarters of Vienna’s population were Protestant? Seeking help, the imperial family turned to Ignatius Loyola. The Counter-Reformation was waged with relentless severity. Finally, Joseph II’s Patent of Toleration allowed Lutherans, Reformed Protestants and Orthodox Christians, and eventually Jews too, to build places of worship, though not with bells or towers.
Two city walks through the city centre that tell of faith and superstition, of the chequered history of the Jews between periods of prosperity and expulsion, of Ottoman incursions, of burial rites, of Freemasons, and of how a victory by Prince Eugene, who built a bridge near Belgrade, paved the way for Orthodox merchants to come to Vienna.
Tour 1: From Schwedenplatz to Neuer Markt (Orthodox Vienna, Freemasons, medieval beliefs, the founding of monasteries, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation…)
Tour 2: From Neuer Markt to Schottentor (Jewish Vienna, the founding of monasteries, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, encounters with Islam…)
