Linz New Cathedral, Linz, Austria

The New Cathedral (Mariä-Empfängnis-Dom) construction plans were started in 1855 by Bishop Franz-Josef Rudigier. The first stone was laid in 1862. In 1924 Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner consecrated the finished building as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The plans, drawn by the master builder of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Vincenz Statz, were made in the French high Gothic style.

With 20,000 seats, the cathedral is the largest (130 meters long, and the ground 5,170 square meters), but not the highest, church in Austria. The originally-planned, higher spire was not approved, because in Austria-Hungary at the time, no building was allowed to be taller than the South Tower of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. At 135 m, the New Cathedral is two meters shorter than the Viennese cathedral.

Particularly noteworthy are the cathedral's stained-glass windows. The most famous is the Linz Window, which depicts the history of Linz. The windows also contain portraits of the various sponsors of the church's construction. During the Second World War some windows, particularly in the southern part of the cathedral, were damaged. Instead of restoring the original windows, they have been replaced with windows displaying modern art. Also noteworthy is the nativity scene in the church burial vault, with its figures made by S. Osterrieder, and the display of the regalia of Bishop Rudigier.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Bojan Petrovic (2 months ago)
Extremely fantastic experience! The tallest and largest cathedral in Austria. Has amazing story about construction. Simply beautiful.

Bogdan Kovalskyi (3 months ago)
Magnificent cathedral with interesting architecture. Reconstruction works had brought some interesting details which are harmonically merged with old architecture.

ARSHAD AHMAD (6 months ago)
The church is one of the beautiful and largest cathedral churches I have seen so far. It is located almost in the city center of Linz. It is a well maintained church with amazing architecture. It is more spacious and one of the largest cathedral churches in Austria. I am impressed notably the cathedral stained glass window and the most famous is the Linz Window which marvelously shows the history of Linz. In a nutshell it's a must visit place in Linz.

Iaroslav Piskarov (10 months ago)
Just another big cathedral from outside, but totally overwhelming from inside. The interior is tremendous. Absolutely must when in Linz and I believe worth a little detour if you're passing somehow close to the town

Maqbool Khan (11 months ago)
The New Cathedral of Meriendom is a largest church in Austria in terms of seating capacity. This new cathedral is huge and quiet oasis in the center of city with its open and contemporary interior. It’s colorful stained-glass windows are also spectacular and interesting for visitors.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Linz New Cathedral

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

House of the Dragon Filming Locations

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

Looks like you are a history fan!