Patrozinium - History - Architectural History - Exterior - Interior - Accoutrements - Stained Glass Windows - Glass Windows from Lydia Roppolt
Saint Rupert (or Saint Ruprecht), feast days: March 27th and September 24th.
St. Ruprecht's Church, the oldest church in Vienna, is situated in the oldest section of the city, in the area of the ancient Roman Vindobona. After the downfall of Vindobona, smaller settlements continued to live within the Roman walls, one of which around the church of St. Ruprecht.
St Ruprecht worked as bishop of Salzburg until approximately the year 715. According to tradition, St. Ruprecht's Church was founded in the year 740 by Cunald and Gisalrich, two of the church patron's companions. Ruprecht (attribute: salt vat) is both the patron saint of salt transporters and of the diocese of Salzburg. Accordingly, most of the churches which have been consecrated in the name of St. Ruprecht are foundations of Salzburg. Because Salzburg had influence on Vienna only between the years 796 and 829, that is, before Vienna was put in the custody of the episcopate of Passau, the most probable date of the church foundation falls within this period.
The first documentation of the church of St. Ruprecht follows in the year 1200; and, although it makes no mention of the church foundation, it describes the church parish as the oldest in Vienna.
St. Ruprecht's Church was attached to the "Prag House" the west side. This was a secondary residence for dukes at times and included direct access to the gallery! After 1500, the "salt office" was located in the Prag House and the monopolised good salt was sold to individual retailers. The salt office was also responsible for the maintenance of the church. In 1562, the church was to be converted into a salt warehouse, and in 1782 Joseph II ordered its closure -neither plan, however, came to fulfilment. St. Ruprecht's Church was put under the control of St. Stephan's Cathedral parish in 1813, and has been managed since that time by a church rector.
The oldest parts of the current structure are the lower tower rooms and the main nave which was erected in 1130. They are, in addition, the oldest maintained walls of the city still in use! After St. Ruprecht's Church was damaged during the fire of 1276, the apse was built as a part of the reconstruction and the tower was raised a storey higher. The beams in the uppermost tower room are the originals from the 13th century (they were felled in approximately the year 1260).
The side aisle was added in the middle of the 14th century. In 1622, a baroque redecoration followed: the windows were enlarged and the formerly flat roof of the main nave was transformed into an arch. The rotting attic was renovated in 1703, the inside of the church was newly furnished, and a baroque high altar was constructed around the Romanesque altar. Further contributions were made to the furnishings in 1765 when inlaid pews were put in.
During the construction of a building east of the church in 1824, digging was done under the fundament of the apse which then threatened to collapse. It was removed in 1829 and newly constructed through use of the old corbel and ribbed vaulting.
In 1832, the Prag House connected on the west side of the church was torn down, and the church was given a neo-gothic facade. Between 1924 and 1935 the neo-gothic facade was removed again and the baroque arch in the main nave-in a return to the original-was replaced by a wooden beam ceiling.
In 1949, the church was damaged both by shellfire in World War II and by the demolition of the ruins of a neighbouring building. At this time, the side windows of the apse were redesigned; the remaining windows were created by Lydia Roppolt in 1992.
In 1997/98 the church interior was renovated.
St. Ruprecht's Church is tightly encircled by buildings; in fact, until 1832 it was only possible to enter Ruprechtsplatz through the passageways of neighbouring buildings. One can still see such a passageway today in the building at Ruprechtsplatz 5.
There was a portal in front of the main entrance to the church until 1824. The form of the current pointed arch portal originated in 1835. There is an iron renaissance door from roughly the year 1530.
On the Romanesque tower, which has only stood independently since 1935, one can still identify a window in the second storey which used to be a door between the gallery and the Prag House.
The columns of the ambulatory in the third storey of the tower originate in 1140, those in the fourth storey in 1170. Lily ornamentation, linear markings (notable is the representation of a seven armed candlestick) and braided ornamentation are recognisable on the cube shaped capitals.
The oldest bells in Vienna may be found in the uppermost storey of the tower; there are two small, unlettered bells from approximately 1280. The yoke to which the bells are attached are notable because they are without screws.
A statue of St. Ruprecht (1837) stands on the north side of the tower.
Various phases of the church's construction are discernible on the north side of the church: the Roman masonry of the main nave with ashlar (squared stone) in the corners (1st half of the 12 century), the gothic masonry of the apse (1300), and the plastered brick masonry from the reconstruction (1829).
The simple stone altar has a Roman base and was raised in 1935.
There is a sandstone plaque with the inscription "AEIOU 1439" on the arch of the west gallery which was the motto of Emperor Friedrich III. The meaning of this maxim is not clear. Of the roughly 300 attempts to explain this abbreviation, the two most popular are: "Aller Ehren ist Österreich voll," (Austria is filled with great respect) and "Austria erit in orbe ultimum," (Austria will stand forever). The plaque commemorates the entrance procession of Friederich III into Vienna on December 6th, 1439, not the construction of the gallery which was already standing in the 12th century. The tracery of the parapet dates from the first half of the 14th century. From the west gallery, one can enter a tower room, next to a gothic portal; together they formerly served as the passage to the Prag House.
The Romanesque main nave dates from the first half of the 12th century. The oak beam ceiling was installed in 1935-in accordance with the older Romanesque model. Behind the pointed triumphal arch is the 5/8 apse which was renovated after the fire of 1276. The consoles formed by the ribbed vaulting reveal decorative foliage in places.
In 1935, a round arched window was revealed on the south wall of the gallery, originally an outer wall, which today leads to the attic. The round arch is chiselled from two stones. In order to create the illusion of an authentic vault, the arch was painted alternatively red and white.
The original southern outer wall is perforated by three irregular, pointed arch arcades and it leads into the gothic cross-ribbed arched side aisle from approximately 1340.
A baroque crucifix from the first quarter of the 18th century has been hanging above the triumphal arch since 1765. The wooden sculpture of St. Ruprecht from roughly 1370 is neither historically nor anatomically correct; for example, the hands (without arms) protrude directly from the torso and the saint's attributes are missing or have been supplemented. In the embellished frame ("Madonna") from the years 1510-1520, the child is turned to Maria (not to the observer) and holds onto the braids of the mother. The bottom of this hanging figure forms a face. This unusual presentation is derived from the "Madonna of the Crescent Moon". The moon itself, which commonly has a face, is not visible here; rather, there is only a dark face to counterbalance Maria.
There is a sacramental altar in the side apse, the tracery of which originates from the ledge of the west portal of 1835.
The tabernacle, made of bronze casting with staves (the symbol of wine and, accordingly, the blood of Christ-the round disk in the centre is the symbol of the host), was created in 1998 by Ignaz Kienast (b.1959).
In front of the altar, there is an eight sided baptismal font made of Adnete marble. The inscription, "A+M+D+Y+E+M," means, "anno MD in aeternam memoriam," (in the year 1500, in eternal commemoration). On the west wall of the side aisle, there is a former high altar picture from Johann Georg Schmidt (1720) which shows St. Rupert with cherubs who carry his attributes: the bishop's crook, a book and a salt keg. On the west wall of the main nave one can find a relief of Rupert from the early 16th century, originally part of a gothic winged altar.
The Loretto Madonna in a tower room is an ebony figure which comes from Croatia and which was especially revered in the times of Turkish invasions and the plague. On the left and right are the baroque figures of her parents, Joachim and Anna from the former baroque high altar from 1703.
The sarcophagus of St. Vitalis lies along the north wall of the church under the gallery. The relics were a gift to the church from Empress Maria Theresa in the year 1765, and are the remains of a martyr from the Roman catacombs. The skeleton is dressed in Baroque fashion and its missing pieces have been supplemented with wax.
The martyr's resting place-not least of all because of it's proximity to the former Gestapo headquarters on Morzinplatz-is intended as a memorial for all people who have been victims of persecution due to their origins, their convictions or their beliefs.
The two oldest glass window panes in Vienna (approximately 1370) can be found in the middle window of the apse. On the top, one sees the crucified Christ with Maria and Johannes, below the Madonna with baby. The window panes are the preserved originals and have been only barely touched up. The two side windows of the apse were created from the plan of Herbert Tahedl (1949) and show St. Ruprecht as teacher (left) and as bishop (right) with the church founders, Cunald and Gisalrich. On the left, there is a date and the (legendary) year of the church foundation: 1949 and 740.
The north wall shows three figuratively fashioned window scenes representing the salvation of man. From left to right, there is: "Daniel in the lion's pit", "Jonah and the fish", and the "three youths in the fire oven". In the north wall of the apse, one can see St. Rupert with the two traditional church founders, Cunald and Gisalrich.
The north wall is deliberately held free from further pictorial decoration so that the strong colours of the stained glass windows can better take effect. The windows of the side aisle took their inspiration from poems written by the church rector, Father Joop Roeland; their main theme is the praise of creation.
