Sundays in Vienna: St. Peter's Kirche

St. Peter's Church. I stumbled upon this when I decided to go exploring one Sunday after Mass. I just started walking down a street and saw the dome above the buildings. I thought to myself, "That looks important. I shall investigate." And so I did.

This church is also being restored. Many buildings in Europe need constant care and attention since they are so old, some older than our country...

I love how this painting has 3-D effects. The gospel writer's robe overflows onto the arch just right of the altar.

This is the organ. I love hearing organ music during Mass. I wonder what Italy will have...

As I was taking several pictures of the entire interior, these women in robes came out and everyone got quiet and found a place to sit. About 2 mins later, the women started singing. I found a 'free' concert!! It was very enjoyable and I recognized one song, though, it was a Christmas song in the US, it must have different lyrics for ordinary season. I took a video as well, we'll see if I can figure out how to post that...

I have to look at my English guide of the church to remember who is in the painting and why it's in the church. But, there were about 8 or so paintings this large lining the inside of the church. Absolutely beautiful!

This is what you see when you walk into the church. It's the altar, as one can see, it's a rather ornate altar. Just breathtaking!

When I first walked in and looked to my right, this is what I saw. It's in honor of Mary, but I'm not sure which Mary it is--again I have to consult my little paper guide.

This is the ceiling of the church. I hope you can see the dove in the center, with God and Jesus just right of it, representing the Holy Trinity.

Sundays in Vienna: St. Stephansdom

I often go exploring churches on Sundays. They provide free music, free seating, and relaxation/meditation time so I can write in my journal about everything that happened the week before with little guilt. Again, I cannot stress how happy I am to be in a current/former Catholic nation.

Ahh, St. Stephansdom. A comforting monument in the center of Vienna. It is being worked on now, but they covered it with cloth that has the appearance of what the building would look like during normal times.

This is the entrance. I have spent a few Saturday evenings here, whether for Mass or wanting a place to sit and write in my journal for a bit while listening to live organ music. I have attended the musical Mass, which has a small orchestra and choir at 9:30, the Latin Mass at 11am, and the German Mass at noon on Sundays. The Latin Mass had no music and was held in a chapel instead of the main part of the church, but was nice. The German Mass is typical with organ music, and the musical Mass was enjoyable as well.

They have many reliefs on the side of the church. This is the scene from the Garden of Gethsemane.

It was somewhat damaged during WWII, but not severely. In the 60s, the people of Vienna paid for the decorative and colorful tiled roof.

This man loved his horses. He was kissing them and talking sweetly to them. I had to take a picture. It is common to find horse tours around the main attractions in Vienna. One of them is based around St. Stephansdom...you just have to be careful about where you step.