80 Years Since the End of the War: When Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral Burned
The exact sequence of events leading to the catastrophe is still difficult to reconstruct today. Situated between the fronts, St. Stephen's Square had previously come under fire from both warring parties. The reconstruction of the church building in the following years was financed by donations from the public.
The disaster during the final battle for Vienna began on the evening of April 11, 1945: Shells ignited the row of houses on the west facade of the cathedral, and the fire spread via an old scaffold on the north tower to the wooden roof truss. Possible further shelling led to the collapse of a supporting wall on the vault, resulting in the destruction of the nave.
Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral burned: Exact cause still unclear
The exact cause of the fire is still not completely clarified to this day. However, the "most plausible theory" is that the cathedral fire broke out as a result of fighting between the retreating German Wehrmacht and the Red Army. This was also confirmed by cathedral master builder Wolfgang Zehetner in an interview with "Kathpress".
Only a few weeks after the fire and the liberation of Vienna, on May 15, 1945, Cardinal Theodor Innitzer appealed to the faithful to participate in the reconstruction of St. Stephen's Cathedral. On December 19, 1948, the first construction phase was completed with the opening of the nave, and shortly before Christmas, the first festive service since the Easter Mass on April 1, 1945, was celebrated in St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Reconstruction completed with organ consecration in Vienna in 2020
75 years after the fire disaster, the reconstruction of the cathedral was finally completed at Easter 2020 with the consecration of the new giant organ. However, the celebration fell victim to the first lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic and was eventually rescheduled for October 4, 2020.
(APA/Red)
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