To Austria for Christmas and beyond. Day three. Linz. Traveling on a double-decker train. Part 2
Day One. Vein. Trade fairs. Introduction
Day two. Viennese environs and a few more fairs. Part 1
Second day. Viennese environs and a few more fairs. Part 2
Third day. Linz. Traveling on a double-decker train. Part 1
So, we decide to take a break and enjoy food not only spiritual. Just on the way we come across a nice cafe. . .
. . . where they serve a local specialty - Linz Torte (Linzer Torte), whose recipe is considered to be almost the oldest recipe in the world and dates back to 1477, when Linz was still part of the Holy Roman Empire. And if everyone knows about the Viennese Sacher, then the Linz cake became a discovery for me when preparing for the trip, and somehow I was not completely sure that this was the CAKE. According to the recipe, it reminded me very much of our grated pie. In fact, there is a similarity, but the dessert from Linz has a richer and richer taste.
After refreshing, we move on to the Parish Church of Linz (Stadtpfarrkirche), which is famous primarily for the fact that almost 500 years ago - May 26.1521 - the heiress of Bohemia and Hungary, Anna was married here with Archduke Ferdinand I. It is believed that it was this extremely important marriage for the entire Habsburg family that laid the foundations for one of the most powerful empires in Europe - Austria-Hungary, which lasted until 1918. And then, in honor of this significant event, the legendary jousting tournament "Losensteiner Turnier" took place on the Hauptplatz. : )
And the heart of Emperor Frederick III, whose name is also inextricably linked with Linz, is buried here.
On the Pfarplatz square near the church there is a small Christmas market dedicated to all kinds of folk crafts. . .
. . . and, so to speak, "raw material sources" of those. : )
We don’t linger here and pass by the Kepler House (Keplerhaus), where the world famous scientist lived from 1622 to 1626 and where he developed his third Kepler law (later I had to remember what it is ), published in his scientific work Harmonices mundi, published in Linz. . .
. . . we return to the Main Square and once again go to the information center. Among other things, there are bas-reliefs of the most revered "sons" of the city. . .
. . . as well as a huge map of Linz, where you can see how wide it is. We walked a very small part on foot.
After leaving the information center, we once again look around the square - we are looking for the building from the balcony of which Hitler spoke. But, of course, there is no special sign to designate such an “outstanding” event, so we conditionally consider such a balcony the balcony on the building of the Old Town Hall (it is also an information center), on which the Christmas tree is now standing. : ) And, by the way, upon returning home, I found information that yes, it was from this balcony in 1938 that Adolf Hitler announced the Anschluss.
It's already getting dark, the fair is starting to light up the lights. . .
. . . the festive illumination on the streets of the city turns on and the mood somehow improves.
And we start moving towards the station, although we have several more objects planned along the way. These are almost nearby churches:
Ursulinenkirche (Ursulinenkirche), which was part of the Ursuline Monastery founded in 1679 by imperial decree, and between 1938 and 1945 was expropriated and served as a courthouse. . .
. . . and the Carmelites (Karmelitenkirche), which is considered one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Austria - it was built in 1674-1726. modeled after the Josefskirche in Prague. In the church you can see altarpieces by Carlo Carlone, Martin Altomonte, J. Wolff and Karl von Reslfeld.
Next, our path leads to the New Cathedral of Linz, or St. Mary's Cathedral (Mariä -Empfä ngnis-Dom, Mariendom), whose construction lasted over 60 years from 1856 to 1924. The foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid on May 1.1862, on the occasion of which a festive cantata (Fest-Kantate Preiset den Herrn), written by the famous Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (remember, its bas-relief is in the information center of Linz) especially for this ceremony.
The cathedral can accommodate up to 20.000 people and is considered the largest church in Austria in terms of area and number of parishioners. The height of its spire, according to the latest measurements, is 134.69 m - according to the plan of the architect Vincenz Statz, it was planned that this cathedral would also become the highest in Austria, but according to the rules of that time, it should not exceed the height of the main Cathedral in Vienna - Stephansdom, the height of the South (the highest high) whose tower is 136.44 m. Actually, based on such characteristics, it is possible to photograph Mariendome only in parts (either up or in breadth). ; ))
The highlight of the New Cathedral is its huge stained-glass windows, which reflect the history of Linz, battles significant for Austria, Catholic scenes, as well as portraits of donors. But since it was already dark outside, there is no way to see them.
Therefore, we are content with what we have.
Inside, the Cathedral is also striking, although it cannot boast of magnificent decoration. First of all, of course, its size is impressive. If you describe the Cathedral in numbers, then its area is 5.170 square meters. m, the length of the nave is 27.5 m, the width of the nave is 13.5 m, the length of the transverse nave is 60 m, the height of the inner dome is 69 m. In total, the temple has 142 windows, 54 columns and 17 altars.
For some reason, we were not even immediately able to figure out how the services should be held here, where the priest should be located during them, etc. According to the descriptions, the central element of the Cathedral is the so-called “altar island” in the center of the cathedral, on which altar, pulpit and priest's place. All places are made of limestone, which is decorated in the colors of the cathedral and brought from Bavaria.
In the left part of the Cathedral, there is a powerful 15-meter altar with a canopy, standing on a pedestal of black syenite. All drawings and carvings on the cross are gilded. The consecration of the main altar took place on April 29.1924, together with the whole Cathedral - there is an inscription about this on the reverse side of the base of the altar.
Next, let's look at the six chapels located in the altar part. The name of most of them begins with the word "Queen", based on the text of the Loreto Litany. And the first clockwise is the "Queen of the Confessors". There is an altar consecrated in 1889, which depicts St. Francis of Sales in the center, and also Saint Charles Borromeo and Alphonse Maria Liguori. Away from the statues, the mosaics depict St. Martin (goose) and St. Nicholas (three apples, anchor), Bonaventure (cardinal's hat) and St. John the Baptist (Carmelite cross). Above the altar is a mosaic dedicated to Bishop Franz Maria Doppelbauer in 1893, when he was 25 years old.
The Queen of the Apostles Chapel is next. On its altar, consecrated in 1887, a statue of Mary is depicted in the center, above it is a dove of the Holy Spirit and on both sides the apostles with tongues of fire over their heads.
Next comes "Queen of the Patriarchs"– St. Joseph with baby Jesus is depicted here. To the side are mosaic images of the holy patriarchs: Seth, Enoch, son of Seth, Noah (ark, olive branch) and the ancestors of the Israeli people: Abraham (sacrificial knife), Isaac (tree) and Jacob (ladder).
The altar was consecrated in 1887, and the cenotaph (empty grave) of Bishop Franz Josef Ruggier, who initiated the construction of this Cathedral, was also installed here.
Vow Chapelis the largest two-aisled chapel.
In it you can see Alpha and Omega (Christ as the beginning and end), the dove of the Holy Spirit with the Host and three cherubs (worship of the Blessed Sacrament) and a pelican that feeds its children with blood (the symbol of Christ). On the wall behind the altar, under a canopy on a pedestal, is a statue surrounded by seven angels. She arrived in Linz on January 7.1869.
In the Chapel of the Vow there are two side altars in honor of Mary's parents: the altar of Anna and the altar of Joachim, designed by Vincenz Statz in 1869, erected in 1871 and consecrated in 1872.
In the center of the altar of the Queenof the Prophets chapel is a limestone statue of John the Baptist holding a lamb in his left hand. On each side you can see three mosaic images of the prophets: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Moses, Elijah, Daniel and Jeremiah.
In the chapel "Mary, Queen of the Martyrs", the Pieta is installed as the main image of the altar, on both sides of which there are figures of martyrs carved from stone blocks. The Martyrs and the Pieta were made in 1901 by the sculptor Josef Sattler from Linz.
“Queen of the Virgins” on her altar has images of three holy virgins: Agnes of Rome (lamb), Catherine of Alexandria (wheel) and Barbara (chalice). On the sides of the altar are mosaic paintings depicting the holy virgins Agatha (pliers), Cecilia (organ), Lucia (oil lamp) and Anastasia (bonfire).
Above the altar, on a mosaic panel, there is a parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
Under the building of the Cathedral there is a crypt, where, by the way, you can go down by elevator. : ) Here, among other things, one of the largest Christmas nativity scenes in the world is installed. It was designed by Max Schlager and brought to life by carpenter Franz Koch and sculptor Karl Mayr. The figures were created by the Munich artist Sebastian Osterrieder from 1907 to 1909, who traveled specifically in the Holy Land to get as close to a naturalistic painting as possible.
The consecrated star at the back left of the den is said to resemble the star in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
But as you can see, the nativity scene does not have a completely standard look - at the time when we visited it, individual characters were depicted there. . .
. . . but neither Mary nor baby Jesus was there.
This is due to the fact that this nativity scene is, so to speak. . . interactive - it is rebuilt for Christmas. Just on Christmas Day, here you can see Mary with the newborn baby Jesus, the Magi and other traditional participants in Christmas events. : )
Another attraction of the New Cathedral is 14 stations displaying the Way of the Cross of Christ. Their author is Franz Forster, who explained the idea of his creation as follows: “Based on the fact that in the vast space of the dome, figurative images should be as large as possible so that they do not seem small, I decided to create half-figures in full size. As a result, it is possible to restrict to only a few people. Therefore, the viewer is not distracted by anything and can focus on the face of the suffering Savior.
Actually, this is where we finally complete our exploration of the New Cathedral, in which we spent, in my opinion, more than an hour, and go out into the street, where it is already completely dark. An overabundance of impressions from the churches visited today leads to the fact that we very casually examine the church located opposite the New Cathedral, not even remembering its name very much.
And then we continue our way towards the station. Although we linger at the crossroads, where we get acquainted with the tolerant traffic lights that are now popular in Austria. And if this one allows the transition for the girl-boy pair. . .
. . . then this one gives the green light to "boy and boy" couples. ; )))
On the way, we once again visit the Christmas market Volksgarten, which looks more fabulous and joyful in the evening lighting.
Let's drink the prescribed mulled wine here. . .
. . . admiring the Christmas tree, which here is a linden, decorated with many elegant garlands. : )
And then, having bought roasted chestnuts for the track (to be honest, they didn’t make any impression on me at all), we loaded onto our double-decker train and ended up in Vienna in an hour and a half.
