Austrian Adventures, Part 1

Now that the beans are out of the bag, and the cats have been spilled, or something, (English is such a difficult language) I'd like to share some of my adventures in Austria with you!

(See “Buxtehude und der Kaiser”, in case you missed the announcement)

My friends Olga and David Wise (the same lovely people who taught Jim and me German!) were over here on a visit, and invited me to stay with them in Vienna for a few days. Given the new direction of my research, I didn't hesitate long before saying yes!

I was very interested in seeing Dürer's final portrait of Maximilian, which dates from 1519. It may have been painted posthumously from sketches he made six months prior.

Also Bernhard Strigel's family group, consisting of Maximilian, his son Philip the Handsome, his first wife Mary of Burgundy (who were both deceased when this was painted, btw!),  and his grandsons Ferdinand and Charles.

I think it's interesting that Max is embracing Ferdinand, and not his heir presumptive, Charles (later Emperor Charles V). But then again, Ferdinand was the one who completed the grandest piece of Max's 'Gedächtnis' (memorial): the breathtaking cenotaph in Innsbruck's Hofkirche. Stay tuned for more about that!

Both of those paintings are housed in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. I also saw a wonderful stag hunting scene by Lucas Cranach the Elder which depicts Max front and center, and Frederick the Wise too! Another stunner was a painting that Maximilian commissioned from Leonhard Beck: “St. George and the dragon”, which is emblematic of Max's ideals of chivalry. We see St. George slaying the dragon with a noble lady looking on, and in the midground, we see the 'after' scene: the lady leaving the scene with St. George following on his horse.

Maximilian identified strongly with St. George, and was depicted as that saint in several works of art. I read somewhere that if his mother, Eleanor of Portugal, had gotten her way, he would have been christened 'George'!

Another thing he identified with strongly was 'getting the girl', and I guess Leonhard Beck knew it!

Actually, the first thing I did upon arriving in Vienna was to leave it again! Weird, I know. I took a field trip down to Wiener Neustadt, located about 30 miles from Vienna. It was a terrible day for a pilgrimage: heavy drizzle, about 52 degrees F, and windy! But hey, if you're not prepared to get your feet wet for your research, you're not very invested, right? :-)

Wiener Neustadt is interesting for several reasons: first of all, it has a remarkably long history for something called “Vienna New Town”: it was founded by Richard the Lionhearted! Secondly, it has gone down in history as the place where Max first saw the light of day in 1459, and the place where he was buried in 1519.

His tomb is housed in the St. George Chapel, which is now part of the Theresian Military Academy. It was completely destroyed during World War II, and later rebuilt.

Mere mortals are allowed into the academy to view the chapel (I wrote ahead to inquire, just to be sure!) Just ask at the guardhouse, they said.

Easy enough, I thought to myself. You probably have to sign in, or leave your passport or something.

Nope.

You get a private guided tour by one of the soldiers (or cadets, I guess?)!!

Here's where I will share that I can understand German spoken by northern Germans pretty well. Southern Germans with a little more difficulty. Austrians with more difficulty still (just not used to it yet, I guess.)

I don't know where this nice young soldier came from, but I could barely understand a word he said. And we both knew it! Ha!

But he gamely recited his spiel, and I had done my homework beforehand, so I knew what I was seeing.

For example, the baptismal font where baby Max was baptized in 1459 survived the bombing (it's made of granite) and still stands in the rebuilt chapel.

At the other end of the timeline, Max left instructions that he was to be buried right in front of the altar, so that every time mass is said, the priest is standing right above him.

A dramatic soul, our Max.

The rebuilt 'Waffenwand', originally
commissioned by Emperor Friedrich III

After that interesting experience, I headed to the Wiener Neustadt City Museum, a small but nicely run facility located in a former church, St. Peter on the Sperr.

After visiting the 'Habsburg Wing', their exhibit on Wiener Neustadt during WWI and their antiquities collection in the basement (who knew that there were Celts in Austria?) I had a cup of coffee and a nice chat with the man at the desk, who was surprised to find a (somewhat) German speaking American in his museum! I told him about 'Project Max', and acquired a lovely catalogue from an exhibit they'd had about Max back in 2000.

He told me that Wiener Neustadt was heavily bombed during WWII (and suffered major civilian casualties) because a Messerschmitt airplane factory was located there. I asked whether the Dom (cathedral) had been destroyed, and it wasn't! Miraculous.

So, I headed there next, and took some pictures.

Friedrich III's insignia on the ceiling

The organist was practicing a piece that was SO familiar from my French Romantic organ music loving days, but I couldn't put my finger on it- so maddening! But afterwards it came to me: Grand Choeur Dialogue by Eugene Gigout! Which will now be linked to my memorable day in Wiener Neustadt in perpetuity!!

Here it is on YouTube if you're curious (or just want to hear it again.) :-)