Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Ruprecht is the oldest church in Vienna. It is located in the historic center of the city, 500 meters away from St. Stephen's Cathedral and in the immediate vicinity of the Danube River embankment.
The church is located in the most ancient area of the city - earlier there was an ancient Roman camp here. It is believed that earlier this place was a tiny chapel located in the catacombs. The first sacred building was built at the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries, while stone was used for construction, which remained from ancient Roman times. The modern building of the Ruprechtskirche dates back to the 9th century, but it was completed and rebuilt several times.
The church itself is consecrated in honor of St. Rupert, the patron saint of salt merchants and one of the patron saints of Austria as a whole. Moreover, in the Middle Ages, the Salt Administration of the city sat in the building adjacent to the tower of this church, and before the construction of St. Stephen's Cathedral - that is, until 1147 - the Ruprechtskirche served as a kind of Vienna cathedral.
Unfortunately, the church almost completely burned down several times during the fires and therefore only partially survived in its original form. Only the nave and lower tiers of the tower remain from the original Romanesque building. The choir was erected a little later, in the 13th century, and the south nave was completed in the 15th century. In 1622, individual baroque elements were added to the Ruprechtskirche, which, however, did not significantly change the overall appearance of the building.
Unfortunately, due to fires and devastating bombing during the Second World War, the unique interior of the church has hardly been preserved. However, it is worth noting the stained glass window from 1370, depicting the Crucifixion of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child. The oldest bells in all of Vienna, made back in 1280, also operate here. Not far from the tower there is a small statue of the patron saint of the church - Saint Rupert. The church also contains the sacred relics of Saint Vitaly and one unknown early Christian, who was killed by the Romans for his faith. His remains were found in the catacombs during the construction of the church.
