Klosterneuburg’s Leopoldifest

I woke up on Saturday with the thought that I only had two more days in Vienna. After being ambivalent about coming, now I didn’t want to leave. It was pretty chilly in the apartment, which meant it must be quite chilly outside. I checked the weather - 27°. I turned up the heat and made a mental checklist of things I needed to do before beginning to pack. One was a load of wash. While the water was boiling for coffee, I threw some clothes in the washer.  I had some breakfast, checked my e-mail and took a shower. By this time the wash was done, so I took it out and hung it up to finish drying. The machine does a kind of damp dry. I know that sounds strange, but when the cycle is done, the clothes are hot but still slightly damp. They dry completely in an hour or so. This morning I was staying close to home because I had to meet Martin at 2:00.

Votivkirche

My first stop today was the Votivkirche. This neo-gothic church was built by Emperor Franz Josef in the mid 1800’s in gratitude for being spared in an assassination attempt.  It is not a building of architectural significance, but I hadn’t been in it since my student days. It was literally a few blocks from the apartment; and, on a bright sunny day, it would be at its best. Much of the exterior was shrouded in scaffolding. As I learned from Martin later, the entire exterior was being restored. The building is made of sandstone and acid rain had weakened much of it. The two slender towers that had already been restored and cleaned, gleamed in the morning sun.

Interior

After some trial and error, I finally found a door that allowed me to enter.  I came into the south transept and at once my eye went up to the soaring arches and vaulted ceiling. In many ways, it reminded me of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC, whose dates are roughly similar. The nave was closed to the public, so I could only visit the two transepts and the area around the sanctuary. While not an original building, there is a harmonious quality to it. As some might say, “it works”. 

Jägerstätter Window

I was getting ready to leave, when I saw the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and went in to say a prayer. Before leaving, I was admiring the stained glass which was clearly modern. The church had suffered severe damage at the end of WWII. One window in particular caught my eye. It showed Bl. Franz Jägerstätter holding a Nazi flag torn in half. Jägerstätter was an Austrian farmer who refused induction into the Nazi army because of his Catholic faith. He was executed by the Nazis and declared Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

It was such a beautiful day, I decided to walk along the canal for a bit before finding something to eat. Along the banks there is a long promenade that is used for concerts, outdoor dining and other activities. In the late fall, however, it seemed almost abandoned and desolate. An air of “Schwermut” (melancholy) hung over the place – and that was on a bright, sunny day! I could only imagine what it would have been on a cold, gray day. I left the canal and turned into the neighborhood near Servitenwirt. I picked up a sandwich to eat at the apartment. I still had beer to finish before leaving!

The church at Klosterneuburg

At two o’clock, I met Martin on the subway and we traveled out to the end of the line in Heiligenstadt (famous as Beethoven’s residence for many years). Outside the station, we boarded a local bus for the town of Klosterneuburg, home of the famous Augustinian priory of the same name. This weekend the priory, the town and the state of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) were celebrating the feast of their patron, St. Leopold. Leopold was a 12^th century Habsburg archduke, who was revered for his piety. The town and the religious community celebrate the feast jointly; and, as a result, it is a blend of both the sacred and the secular. There are a number of liturgical celebrations and also a carnival with rides, booths and food stalls. This juxtaposition can only make sense in a Catholic country like Austria. The reason that Martin and I were going was for a tour inside the “Stift”.

The entrance to the imperial wing

During the three-day celebration, guided tours are available to take visitors inside the monastery. Klosterneuburg was an “Imperial” monastery, which meant that enjoyed the special protection of the emperor. It also meant that the monastery had to provide hospitality to the emperor and his retinue when they traveled. One entire wing of the monastery was constructed for this purpose. Unfortunately, the emperor who commissioned the building died before he could ever use it. We, however, were able to see it. It was truly magnificent.

The Verdun Altar

Klosterneuburg has been rebuilt many times over the centuries. On the tour, we were able to visit the remains of several eras of the abbey’s history. The most significant work of art at Klosterneuburg is the Verdun altar, a masterpiece of medieval art. The altar comprises a total of 51 enameled panels of Biblical scenes arranged in three horizontal layers, corresponding to the epochs of the history of salvation. It is a masterwork of medieval enamel work. We were viewing the altar just as the liturgy upstairs was concluding. Our guide advised us to return in a few minutes, because they would be returning the monastery’s most precious relic, the skull of St. Leopold, to its usual resting place in front to the Verdun altar. Right on schedule, a procession arrived from the church above us and the relic was reverently replaced in its usual space. That was not something one sees every day.

It was after 6:00 now, so Martin and I made our way back into Vienna. We began looking for a place to eat, but struck out at two places that he knew. We eventually went into a Middle Eastern place relatively close to the apartment called, Habibi and Hawara. The menu looked interesting, if confusing. Eventually we ordered, but it took forever for the food to come. There was a large private party going on and I think the staff was extremely overstretched. Eventually the food came and it was very good, but I was exhausted by this point. I know it’s hard to believe, but I was almost too tired to eat! Somehow we managed, though. We paid our bill and went our separate ways- me, on foot; martin on the U-Bahn. I got back to the apartment and literally fell into bed.