A first-time visit to the Greek Orthodox cathedral in Vienna

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral is in the historic Greek neighbourhood in Vienna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

I was in Vienna for just a few hours on Thursday [7 November 2019], catching a bus from Bratislava with the intention of visiting the Jewish quarter and a number of Jewish centres, including the Jewish Museums at Dorotheergrasse the Judenplatz, the city’s last surviving synagogue on Seitenstettengrasse, the Holocaust Memorial in the Judenplatz, and the site of mediaeval ghetto.

I also wanted to use this opportunity to revisit the Stephansdom or Saint Stephen’s Cathedral after 14 years, as well as a number of churches and buildings, including Peterskirche and the Haas-Haus.

But for the first-time ever – and this was my fifth visit to Vienna – I also visited Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in the historic Greek neighbourhood in Vienna’s Innere Stadt or old town.

The area has also been known as the Fleischmarkt, for this was the city of the city’s first meat market from 1220. Greek merchants first settled around the Fleischmarkt in the early 18th century, and there have been Greek Orthodox churches on this site since 1787, following the Patent of Toleration issued by the Emperor Joseph II in 1781.

The Griechische Kirche or Greek Church was designed by the Danish-born architect Theophil Hansen in the Byzantine Revival style (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The neo-Byzantine style Griechische Kirche or Greek Church, with its rich, gilt structure, was designed by the Danish-born architect Theophil Hansen (1813-1891) in the Byzantine Revival style.

The cathedral was officially opened on 21 December 1858. The exterior features two-tone brickwork and gilded archways. The elaborately ornamented sanctuary shows a stylish allusion to Baroque church architecture that is typical of southern Germany and Austria.

A number of frescoes for the facade and vestibule were commissioned from the Austrian painter and art professor Carl Rahl, with other frescoes by Ludwig Thiersch.

Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen was born Theophilus Hansen in Copenhagen on 13 July 1813, and later became an Austrian citizen. He is known particularly for his buildings in Athens and Vienna and is an outstanding representative of neoclassicism.

After training with the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and studying in Vienna for some years, he moved to Athens in 1837, where he studied architecture and design, with particular interest in Byzantine architecture.

In Athens, Hansen designed his first building, the National Observatory of Athens, and two of the three neighbouring buildings forming the so-called ‘classical trilogy’: the Academy of Athens and the National Library of Greece, alongside the National and Cappodistrian University of Athens, designed by his brother Christian Hansen.

There have been Greek Orthodox churches on the site of the cathedral since 1787 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The Greek-Austrian financier Georgios Sinas called Hansen back to Vienna in 1846. There Hansen took up an apprenticeship with noted Austrian architect Ludwig Förster.

In his early works, such as the museum at the Arsenal in Vienna, Hansen still displayed a more romantic style. In later years, he became the most outstanding representative of Renaissance-inspired historicism or the Neo-Renaissance style, which also came to be known as Viennese-style. This style extended into the smallest details of the interior design and partially accepted the courses of a synthesis of the arts.

Hansen became one of the most influential architects of the Viennese Ringstrasse. His best-known work is the Austrian Parliament building, designed in the style of an ancient, neo-classic temple and a reference to the Greek beginnings of democracy.

Hansen was originally a staunch critic of the Classical style that was taught to him at the Copenhagen Academy. Over the years, however, he came to incorporate Classical elements into his forms.

Hansen’s Musikverein in Vienna is one of the most notable concert halls in the world. Its design and acoustics are often admired and copied in music houses.

Hansen worked with Austrian sculptor Vincenz Pilz and artist Carl Rahl, as well as the architect Otto Wagner. The Emperor Franz Joseph honoured Hansen in 1884 with a title in the Austrian nobility as Freiherr or Baron von Hansen. He died in Vienna on 17 February 1891.

The Greek-Austrian financier Georgios Sinas financed the building of the cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Hansen’s Greek cathedral in Vienna was financed by the Greek-Austrian diplomat and philanthropist Simon Sinas (1810-1876), and this was one of their many collaborations in Vienna and Athens.

Simon Sinas (Σίμων Σίνας), or Simon von Sina, was an Austrian banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat of Greek descent. He was born in Vienna on 15 August 1810, but his family were Greeks who came originally from Moscopole in what is south Albania today.

He was the Greek consul in Vienna, and later the Greek minister to Austria, Bavaria and Germany. His father, Georgios Sinas, was also a benefactor and diplomat, and Simon Sinas expanded his father’s business.

Simon Sinas made major donations to educational and scientific foundations in Austria, Hungary and Greece. While he was the Greek Ambassador in Vienna, he hosted the ‘Greek Ball’ in the Palais Sina for which Johann Strauss II composed the Hellenen-Polka (Hellenes Polka).

Sinas became director of Austria’s central bank, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, and established the Simon Georg Sina banking house in Vienna. After the Second Schleswig War or German-Danish War came to an end in 1864, Sinas funded the return of Austrian forces from Schleswig-Holstein. Sinas held a seat in the Herrenhaus or upper house in the of Austrian parliament from 1874.

Along with Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Vienna, Sinas was the donor or financed many public buildings, including the Hungarian Academy of Budapest, the Athens Orthodox Cathedral and the Athens Academy, and others. He died in Vienna on 15 April 1876.

The parishioners of the Greek Cathedral in Vienna have included the family of the conductor Herbert von Karajan (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

In the past, the parishioners of the Greek Cathedral in Vienna have included the family of the conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989). They were descended from Georg Karajan (Geórgios Karajánnis, Γεώργιος Καραγιάννης), was born in Kozani, in the Ottoman province of Rumelia, now in Greece.

The cathedral has been the seat of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria since 1963, and is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Beside the cathedral, the Griechenbeisl is one of other landmarks associated with the Greek community in Vienna. It was once frequented by Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert. A passage links the Griechenbeisl to Griechengasse or ‘Greek Street,’ with its own Greek restaurant, Artemis.

Greek merchants first settled around the Fleischmarkt in Vienna in the early 18th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Sculptures and statues bring a light touch to the heart of Bratislava

Čumil ‘the watcher’ or the ‘Man at Work’ is climbing out of a hole at a street corner in the Old Town of Bratislava (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

If Bratislava’s castle and cathedral are its most visited buildings, then its most photographed treasures are the sculptures and statues scattered throughout the Old Town.

It is impossible to walk the cobbled streets without noticing the small, embedded crowns that mark the route used to re-enact the royal procession, recalling the coronation of Habsburg emperors at Kings of Hungary in Saint Martin’s Cathedral for over 2½ centuries.

Royal crowns in the cobblestones mark the route of the royal procession (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

But the most popular sculptures in Bratislava are the statues of people who pop up on street corners or behind park benches throughout the old town. They bring a modern touch and a sense of humour to the old town centre, adding to its attractions.

Čumil ‘the watcher’ or the ‘Man at Work’ is the work of Viktor Hulik and seems to be climbing out of a hole at the corner of Rybárska Street and Panská Street.

One rumour says that he is a typical communist-era worker who is hardly bothered about the work he is supposed to be engaged in. A second story says he is looking up women’s skirts. Either way, he has been loitering at this street corner since 1997.

‘The Paparazzi’ was a statue of man about to shoot a photograph of people around the corner. For many years, he stood on the corner of Radničná Street and Laurinská Street, outside a restaurant called Paparazzi. However, when the restaurant closed down the owners took the statue with them, and he is now in the UFO restaurant.

Which explains why I never got to photograph him this week, although the city is negotiating to get him back as a popular tourist attraction.

‘Schone Naci’ or ‘Handsome Ignatius’ in his top hat and tails (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

‘Schone Naci’ or ‘Handsome Ignatius’ greets people on the corner of Sedlárska Street. Unlike the other statues, which are cast in bronze, this statue by Juraj Melis is the only one in the old town that is in silver.

The statue is named after Ignác Lamár, who lived in Pressburg, the former name of Bratislava, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although he appears handsome and jolly, one story says his fiancée was deported to a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust and never returned. He never recovered psychologically from the trauma and spent his remaining days wandering along the Korzo in a top hat and tails, smiling at everyone.

Another story says he was in love with a woman who sadly did not return his love. He was so disappointed that he went mad and you could often see him giving flowers to random women he met in the streets.

I failed to find Napoleon’s Soldier on the Main Square, near the Old Town Hall, leaning on a bench you can sit on.

Napoleon and his army marched through Bratislava in 1805. This soldier is supposed to be Hubert, who was going through Bratislava when he fell in love with a local girl. He stayed in the city, became a producer of sparkling wine, and gave his name to Slovakia’s most popular brand of sparkling wine.

But close-by is a statue of a guardsman who has been in his wooden sentry box by the Town Guardhouse since 2006.

Hans Christian Andersen, the children’s storyteller, visited Bratislava in 1846 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Hviezdoslav Square has a large, imposing statue of the Slovak poet who gives his name to the square. But a few meters behind him is the more inviting statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the children’s storyteller, who once visited Bratislava in 1846.

In this statue by Tibor Bártfy, he looks tall, thin and a little bashful, with a giant snail looking up at him in awe.

The couple on a balcony are watching people going in and out of the Franciscan Church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Other statues include two girls leaning on a post box, taking a break from skateboarding, four peeing boys in the courtyard of the Primate’s Palace, and the children playing with fish who replaced them in the fountain in front of the Opera House to save the blushes of opera-goers.

The peeing boys in the courtyard of the Primate’s Palace (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The statues of Bratislava can catch you unawares and surprise you … from the unexpected couple on a balcony who seem to be watching people going in and out of the Franciscan Church to the statue of Christ on the façade of a former pharmacist’s shop, supported by two small angels and who seems to be blessing people on their way to the cathedral.

The statue of Christ on a former pharmacist’s shop near the cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)