St Stephan in Vienna. Architecture of the Written Sources

What do the written sources reveal about the process of building the Church of St Stephen in Vienna? How did this process change or stabilise medieval society? And how did construction work influence contemporary perceptions of affiliation and the formation of communities or groups? St Stephen`s in Vienna. Architecture of the Written Sources approaches these questions with the first systematic examination of the written sources in the church`s two-hundred-year research history. It undertakes, firstly, a problem-orientated analysis which relates architectural-archaeological evidence and petrographical findings to the "architecture of the written sources". This draws attention to inconsistencies or gaps in the source material, and, where necessary, proposes solutions. The project`s second focal point is the comparative investigation of contemporary perceptions of affiliation and community formation in the erection of individual sections of the building. This means addressing the combined efforts of the social-cultural groups involved in the architectural enterprise, as well as the multi-facetted symbolic content of St Stephen`s.

The research project of St Stephens in Vienna. Architecture of the Written Sources provided the framework for a subsequent documentation of the written sources relevant to St Stephens. For the first time these sources were subjected to a comprehensive and source-critical analysis with regard to both the building history and the contemporary perceptions of community. The systematic analysis was restricted to the churchs period of construction ranging from the end of the 12th to the middle of the 16th century. The analysis with regard to building history and perceptions of community basically led the following insights: The building history has to be outlined a lot more precisely than previously done. Special attention should be paid not only to the technical, construction-related resources including craftsmen and the local conditions at the time, but also to the functional extensions and shifts in the construction concept of St Stephens church - from a parish church to collegiate status with Habsburg burial site and seat of university under Rudolph IV and then a bishops church since 1469/89. Existing proposals for the reconstruction of the building process of St Stephens have to be revised mainly in two areas: the chronological sequence relating to the several stages of construction work (foundations, systematic arrangement of bays, enclosure walls, vault construction, roof construction), and the element of time. In addition, temporary solutions will have to be reckoned with.