Wiener Neustadt Cathedral

Wiener Neustadt Cathedral (also known as Liebfrauendom) is a late Romanesque church in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria.

In 1279, the Roman Catholic cathedral, which was still a parish church, was given the patronage of the Holy Virgin Mary and St. Rupert.From 1468 to 1785, it served as the cathedral of the diocese of Wiener Neustadt.

Wiener Neustadt belonged to the Duchy of Styria and hence to the Archdiocese of Salzburg when it was created, which is why the church gained the patron saint of St. Rupert.

Since 1990, Wiener Neustadt has been a titular diocese.

The cathedral’s position and orientation are part of medieval town design.Its axis (nave) runs through the center and points to where the sun rose on Pentecost Sunday (May 24, 1192).This date relates to the day on which Duke Leopold V. was enfeoffed with Styria by Emperor Heinrich VI.This occurrence was memorialized in the municipal plan.On Pentecost Sunday 1193 (May 16), the chancel was likewise orientated towards the rising sun, and the cathedral’s floor plan was drawn out from portal point P.The portal point was specified as the intersection of two straight lines, namely the nave axis and the connecting line between town A’s stakeout point on the main plaza and the town’s northwest corner (Reckturm).Inscribed metal markers have been placed at points A and P.The differing orientation days explain the cathedral’s prominent axis bend between the nave and the chancel, which points south.When the Gothic choir was built, it replaced the Romanesque building as the “sacred line.”

The mother parish privileges of the parish church Lanzenkirchen hl. Nicholas in Lanzenkirchen were handed to Wiener Neustadt in 1207.The parish church, which initially consisted of today’s nave and west towers, began building about the same period.In the 14th century, a Gothic-style transept and chancel were built in place of the Romanesque apse.A sacristy was also built.Lorenz Luchsperger adorned the cathedral with life-size wooden statues of the 12 apostles around the end of the 15th century.The parish church of Hausmannstättenreceive contains a noteworthy model of this group of apostles.

Melchior Khlesl was the administrator of the Wiener Neustadt diocese from 1588 to 1630.He gave the early baroque pulpit as a gift.The late Baroque high altar was consecrated in 1776, with the high altarpiece by Gianbettino Cignaroli representing the Assumption of Mary.

The Romanesque and Gothic Karner Wiener Neustadt hl. Michael were demolished in 1870.

The 64-meter-high towers fell into disrepair after many earthquakes in the nineteenth century.They were demolished in 1886 and reconstructed from 1892 to 1899 under the guidance of Viennese architect Richard Jordan.

During the morning earthquake of April 16, 1972 ( EMS = 7) with an epicenter under Seebenstein, pieces of the wall collapsed during a trade fair.No one was hurt, however.

From 1975 until 1999, the entire cathedral was rebuilt, first on the inside by Bishop Florian Kuntner and subsequently on the outside by Domprovost Heinrich Hahn.Franz Xaver Brandmayr will take over as provost of Wiener Neustadt on September 1, 2020.He took over for Karl Pichelbauer, who had retired.

Pictures, documents, and artefacts related to the cathedral’s construction history and the functions of the fire station are displayed in the cathedral’s south tower.