August 7th

Fresco in Karlskirche

Private Crown of Rudolf II

Sudarium of St. Veronica

KarlsKirche

Main Altar of KarlsKirche

Today was a real rainy day here in Vienna. A small group of us however decided to head over and check out the Naschmarkt near Karlsplatz. There we saw the various merchants who had jewelry, vinyl albums, and clothing for sale. Ben, Sheena, Misha, and myself stopped at a falafel stand and purchased some great pita bread, humus, and the fried chickpeas that make up a falafel. The man at the stand was very nice and when Ben remarked how he spoke very good English, the man responded that he speaks great English because of all the 10 seasons of Friends he watched. After that we headed Karlskirche, one of the finest Baroque churches in Vienna. The church was constructed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and was completed in 1739. The church was exquisitely decorated and was very beautiful on the inside. The frescos on the ceiling were some of the most detailed works of art I have seen inside a church. Karlskirche really shows off the power that the Catholic Church has and with its grandeur, imposes itself on whoever enters into the sanctuary. The treasury in the Hofburg was an amazing museum. I really admired the crown of Rudolf II. This ornate crown was actually Rudolf II’s private crown. It was for his personal use and was the only crown in world history that depicted a ruler on the crown itself. It was from the year 1602 and had a massive sapphire on top, with giant red rubies, and diamonds set on gold plating. The sapphire was symbolic of the kingdom of heaven, the rubies symbolized the Holy Spirit, and the diamonds symbolized Christ. Altogether the symbolism of the holy trinity seemed fitting for the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. I also thought the Sudarium of St. Veronica was an interesting piece. She was one of the women who wept for Christ on his way to Calvalry while bearing his cross. She wiped his face with her cloth and folded it three times, which made an imprint of Christ’s face. It was interesting how the Catholic Church recognized it as one of three holy Sudariums. I thought that was a bold proclamation because what went in to actually identifying this as a piece of cloth that was actually used to wipe the face of Christ?