2022 Austria Day 3: Anker Clock, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Votivkirche, Hundertwasser House

10 Sep 2022: Day 3

The Anker Clock forms a bridge between the two parts of the Anker Insurance Company‘s building. In the course of 12 hours, twelve historical figures or pairs of figures move across the bridge. Every day at noon, all of the figures parade, each accompanied by music from its era. This clock (built 1911 - 1914) was created by the painter and sculptor Franz Matsch and is a typical Art Nouveau design.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the symbol of Vienna and also the very center of the city. At 136 meters in height, it is the tallest church in Austria. All inclusive ticket costs 20 euro which allows you to access the cathedral, catacombs, south tower and north tower. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of the inner city is 107 meters long. The tallest of its four towers is the south tower at 136 meters. 

The tower room, from which there is a gigantic view across Vienna, is reached via 343 steps. A total of 13 bells hang here. However, the best known of them, the Pummerin, hangs in the 68 meter-tall north tower. It is the second-biggest free-swinging chimed church bell in Europe. On the roof of St. Stephen's Cathedral, colorful roof tiles were laid to create the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna. St. Stephen's Cathedral also attained a particular reputation due to Vienna's most famous sweet treat: It soars above the brand logo on the pink-red packaging of the Manner Schnitten slices.

Buried in the catacombs of St. Stephen's Cathedral is Duke Rudolph IV, "the founder", who laid the foundation stone for the Gothic reconstruction of the cathedral in 1359. It is also the burial site of many other Habsburgs and Viennese cardinals and archbishops. The catacombs can only be visited as part of a public guided tour. We wasted a lot of time waiting for a guided tour, as the few guided tour timing given by the receptionist were reserved for group tour. And we were actually not that much interested in listening to the history of the catacombs. 

We spent a few hours in the Cathedral, and we were starving. We decided to grab some sandwiches for quick lunch from the square. We were fortunate to witness a marching service along the street. 

The Votivkirche is a neo-Gothic style church, second-tallest church in Vienna. Construction on the church began in 1856 as a symbol of gratitude for an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph. The Neo-Gothic church was consecrated in 1879 on the occasion of the imperial couple's silver wedding.

The Hundertwasser House in Vienna bears the unmistakable hand of the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), whose birth name was Friedrich Stowasser. The colorfully decorated exterior façade of Hundertwasser House in Vienna draws attention to itself almost magically. Anyone who lives in the Hundertwasser House also has the right to decorate the façade around the windows entirely to their own taste. More than 200 trees and shrubs on the balconies and roof terraces make the Hundertwasserhaus a green oasis in the heart of the city. The Hundertwasserhaus can only be viewed from outside.

We picked up our rented car from Sixth, located at west train center. We chose the most affordable model, which was Opel Corsa. It costed 752 euro for 7 days to return in different location (Innsbruck), inclusive of tyre/windshield protection and reduced the loss damage liability to zero. 

We drove for about 3 hours to St. Wolfgang and stayed a night at Haus Tulpe. We were going to catch the morning ride up to Schafbergspitze.