Vienna - Stephansplatz

The square in front of St Stephen's Cathedral forms the center of the inner city of Vienna and is now a bustling pedestrian precinct surrounded by shops and cafes. After war damage and the building of an underground station the entire open space was newly laid out. Of interest are houses No. 2, "Zur Weltkugel" (The Globe), No. 3, Das Churhaus (Election House), No. 5, Domherrenhof (Prebendary's Court), No. 6, Zwettlerhof (Zwettler Court) and No. 7, the Archbishop's Palace. Until 1732 Stephansplatz was a cemetery, as is indicated by the tombstones incorporated in the external walls of the cathedral and the Late Gothic column in which the eternal light burned for the dead. A copy can be seen at the west end of the south cathedral wall. To the right of the cathedral colored stones mark the outline of the Chapel of Mary Magdalene, in which burial services were once held. It was first documented in 1378 and burned down in 1781. When Stephansplatz underground station was being constructed the Virgilkapelle (Virgilian Chapel) was discovered beneath the crypt of Mary Magdalene.