Europe 2019 - Day 49 (Part 1)

24 June 2019, Monday

After a nice hot shower yesterday to wash away the rain and all other unnecessary things, and a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed, we woke up early to finish the sights in Vienna before checking out. 

First we went to see the Church of the Teutonic Knights. This is a Gothic Church and is the mother church of the Teutonic Order, a German-based Roman Catholic religious order formed at the end of the 12th century. It is the current seat of the Grand Master of the Order. Nearby was the Evangelist Church, built in 1783-84.

Next, to Michaelerplatz. There were some ruins preserved here from the time of the Romans until the late 19th century. They were uncovered during 1990/91 during archaeological excavations. It includes remainders of settlement outside the Roman legionary fortress, i.e. the Renaissance period walls. Here we saw St Michael’s Church. The oldest part of this Church was built in the 13th century, rebuilding and additions were made in 1793, and there are catacombs underneath the church - burials were until 1783. It is one of the oldest churches in Vienna, and also one of the few remaining Romanesque buildings. It is dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It used to be the parish church of the Imperial Court. Its present-day aspect has been unchanged since 1792.

Nearby was the Hofburg, built probably in the 13th century. It used to serve as the main winter palace for the rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (the Habsburgs) for hundreds of years. Then on 8 November 1945, it was used as the Soviet Army’s officers’ house, and offered a range of leisure time activities to Soviet officers and their families, such as operas, concerts, dancing etc. However, there were always political-ideological motivation behind those events. They had this place all to themselves because apparently the Soviets would rather stay among themselves. Today the complex is home to offices of the president of Austria and serves as a presidential base.

Here we also passed the Spanish riding school, it is a tourist attraction I’m not sure why. It wasn’t even on our list of things to see but we just happened to pass it. It was built during the Habsburg Monarchy and has stood ever since, and is responsible for training horses for classical dressage (whatever that is), a long-standing renowned tradition in Austria, for hundreds of years.

On the way to our next destination we passed the Sisi Museum and a monument of Francis II, the Holy Roman Emperor (then Emperor of Austria), Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia etc. (reigned 1792-1835). The statue was erected in 1846. The inscription, amorem meum populis meis, means "[I give] my love to my people"; it's a quotation from the emperor's testament. This sweet thought didn't help his memory much, for he is remembered mostly for the serial defeats (and humiliations) at the hands of Napoleon.