Gothic in the glass
The cathedral reflected in the curved facade is the best angle for a photograph.
C.Stadler/Bwag โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท C.Stadler/Bwag โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Donald Judge โ CC BY 2.0 ยท Donald Judge โ CC BY 2.0
For minutes, yes, especially since you will pass it anyway in the cathedral square. But it is a commercial building rather than a monument to visit, so do not allocate time to it. The rooftop restaurant gives a close view of the cathedral if you want to sit.
Because it stands at Vienna's most symbolic point, opposite a cathedral centuries old. Opponents saw it as an intrusion on a historic view; supporters argued the city should keep building rather than freeze. The argument itself has become part of the building's story.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet โ be the first.
A commercial building of 1990 designed by the architect Hans Hollein, standing directly opposite St Stephen's Cathedral at the most central point in Vienna. Its position is the reason for the controversy. The building is contemporary, with a curved glass and stone facade and a projecting cylinder at the corner, and placing it in front of a fourteenth-century Gothic cathedral caused a sharp argument when it went up. The objection was that it does not respect its surroundings; the defence was that Vienna should not have stopped building in 1900. The clever detail in the design is the reflection: the curved glass face mirrors the cathedral opposite, so you see the Gothic within the contemporary. That is deliberate and works well in certain light, and it is the best angle from which to photograph it. The building today holds shops, offices, a hotel and a restaurant at the top with a terrace looking at the cathedral. There is nothing to visit inside as a monument โ the value is in standing before it and comparing it with what it faces, and minutes are enough.
The cathedral reflected in the curved facade is the best angle for a photograph.
Placing a contemporary building before a Gothic cathedral caused a sharp dispute.
A short pause at Vienna's most central point โ you pass it regardless.
Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, opposite St Stephen's Cathedral