Vienna. Itinerary day 6

We began our last morning in Vienna having some breakfast at Café Central, and after that we visited Minoritenkirche (the Franciscan Church) and we came back to Jesuit Church (Vienna. Itinerary day 4. New Year’s Eve) to see it better in the daylight. During the walk we found another two churches: the Scottish (Schottenstift) and the Dominican Church (Dominikanerkirche).

Cafe Central

Cafe Central is one of that places you just can’t miss in Vienna. It’s a cafeteria in the ground floor of a mansion from the XIX century, where everything is luxurious and pleasant: peace, good service, delicious cakes, classical music and architecture…

This café opened its doors in 1860 and its style is neo-renaissance. It’s located at the ground floor of Palais Ferstel (the name is taken from the architect) and for many years it was the place of meeting for the intellectuals, who discussed about literature or political ideas, but also arranged chess tournaments and some other games.

It was closed for a long period after World War II and reopened in 1975 at a different location (but inside the same palace). In 1986 all its halls were luxuriously renewed with its present look.

Minoritenkirche

The Minoritenkirche (Franciscan Church or Church of Mary of the Snows) is very different from other temples, because the structure and the inside are very simple. It’s a gothic church that has been rebuilt several times after the damages caused in different wars.

The temple belongs to the Franciscan and here comes the Italian community in Vienna. It also holds a copy of “The last supper” from Leonardo da Vinci, ordered by Napoleon in 1806 when he conquered the city. He wanted to hang the painting in Belvedere Palace, but he didn’t take into account the obvious lack of space for such a big piece of art. Finally Austrian Emperor Francis I bought the mosaic and placed it in Minoritenkirche.

From the outside it’s curious to see the octagonal tower, which seems a bit short. This is because the Turkish downsized it in 1529.

Scottish Church

The Scottish Church (Schottenstift) is a catholic monastery founded in 1155 when Henry II took some Irish monks to Vienna, although they actually came from another Irish monastery in Germany.

In 1625 the abbey became part of the Austrian congregation inside the Benedictine order.

Dominican Church

Our last visit in Vienna (if we don’t consider the travel back to the airport) was the current Dominican Church (Dominikanenkirche), built in Italian baroque style over the original church from XII century. Due to the reorder of the area the church is elevated from the street level. The façade shows a front with a sculpture of the Virgin Mary.

The inside has a high central nave with deep lateral chapels, and the walls are richly covered with stuccos. Under the second chapel in the right side in the crypt there is the tomb of Empress Claudia, the wife of Leopold I.

After this walk we went back to the hotel to pick our luggage from the locker and we headed to the airport (How to arrive to Vienna). Our travel to Vienna was ending…