The Cock of Saint Stephen's Cathedral

At the end of the 15th century a brave and smart knight lived in Vienna. His name was Kaspar von Schlezer and he had a confidential position at the court of Emperor Maximilian I.. Kaspar was married to a very beautiful and warm hearted woman. The couple was well known for their extraordinary happiness.

One day Emperor Maximilian I. told his loyal knight to travel to Constantinople to bring the Sultan an important message.

Kaspar was worried that he was just chosen to make the dangerous travel that someone else could get his wife. Kaspar’s wife was afraid that she could lose her beloved husband on that long and dangerous travel.

But however – he had to go.

The day came when they had to say Goodbye to each other. The wife placed a silver crucifix around Kaspar’s neck. The consecrated cross should protect her beloved husband from need and danger.

After a long journey Kaspar arrived at the Sultan’s residence and handed over the important dispatch.

The brave knight was already on his way back home when he was attacked by bandits. He was captured and sold as a slave.

Many years of hard work followed for the nobleman. Only the silver crucifix which he could hide from the robbers gave him hope that he would regain his freedom one day.

Year after year went by. At home the wife mourned for the lost one. After five years she gave in the pressure of society, gave up her hope of the reunion and decided to become engaged to her husband’s friend.

When they began to prepare the wedding, Kaspar had a very strange dream: He saw his wife standing at the altar of St. Stephen’s where she just got married to his friend Knight von Merkenstein. At the end of his nightmare a soft voice whispered, “There is still time to prevent this marriage.”

Bathed in sweat Kaspar awoke. In his despair he cried out, “I must be in Vienna tomorrow. I would give my soul to the devil if this were the only way to make this possible.”

In that moment the devil himself stood in front of him. And - he had a cock with him. “This fowl will take us to Vienna, but I want your soul for that.”

The desperate man agreed under the condition that he wouldn’t awake during the entire flight; otherwise Satan shouldn’t get power over his soul. The devil nodded with a satanic grin.

Then both devil and knight sat on the back of the cock. Secretly the nobleman touched the silver crucifix on his chest and gave his life in God’s hands. Then he fell asleep.

The cock took off and raced with its heavy load to the west.

As morning dawned St. Stephen’s was already in sight. Full of joy the cock followed its nature and let out a loud “doodle-doo”. But – the crowing of the cock wakened Kaspar.

So the devil had lost Kaspar’s soul. Loudly cursing the bogey threw the knight and the cock into the Danube. Then the bad guy went furiously down to hell.

Fishermen pulled the two out of the river and so Kaspar von Schlezer could arrive at St. Stephen’s in time. Happily he hugged his wife.

In gratitude to the cock which freed him from slavery and brought him back to Vienna in time Kaspar von Schlezer let make an iron cock for the roof of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The cock is still there. Not only as a reminder of the devil ride in medieval times; it also serves as protection from the devil, who can carry out his misdeeds only till the cock’s crow at dawn.

Copyright © 2012 Ingrid Prohaska
_

The Devil's Sleigh Ride

On January 26th, 1667 it was proclaimed in Vienna that it was strictly forbidden to drive a sleigh after ten o’clock at night. This should keep the town safety and should assure that the inhabitants weren’t disturbed in their sleeping hours.

But still - there moved a sleigh with loud ringing and rattling through the streets between eleven and twelve o’clock every night. That sleigh made as much noise as a hundred sleighs would have made. And soon people knew – the coachman of that sleigh was the devil himself.

Winter in Vienna, Rudolf von Alt

People who had seen it reported that the devil in his bodily shape had a big head of a boar and that he spit out fire as if he had twelve storm lamps inside.

They also told that he had a woman at his side. On her head she wore a diadem which glowed red and was covered with golden lice and fleas. Instead of curly hair, ribbons and feather ornaments snakes and lizards crawled on the head of the devil’s companion. An ugly toad sat on her chest where a medallion is usually placed. And two big snakes gnawed at the upper part of her body.

Once a dutiful night-watchman dared to stop that sleigh and asked the devil to obey the law.

The satanic figure answered with a devilish laughter. Then the bogey blew at the poor man till the one dropped dead.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including this curiosity in their 'FlashCast47 - Spielbergian Whimsy' !

_

The Flying Ship

a story known as a curiosity of Vienna

* * *

      Vienna, June 24th, 1709 - It was very big tumult yesterday morning approximately at nine o'clock. Everyone was alerted, the streets were full of people and the ones who were not in the streets stood at their windows. Everyone was asking what to do but noone knew an answer. Some people ran around crying the last day would be near, others felt a big earthquake to come, and some supposed that a large army of enemy besiegers stood before the gates of Vienna.

Finally more and more arms showed towards the sky and one saw an indescribable amount of bigger and smaller birds flying around a very big bird and it looked like as if the flock had a fight with this very big bird.

Then this odd flock moved further down and closer to earth. It turned out that the alerged big bird was an object in the form of a ship with expanded sails. The people could figure out a man on the ship dressed like a monk who announced his arrival with several gun shots.

The air ship moved in circles several times. It was now obviously that the air rider was looking for a suitable place to land.

Passarola (Big Bird) from: Wienerische Diarium, 1709

Unfortunately an unexpected wind arose and prevented the man from his undertaking. It came even worse. The wind led him to the spire of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral; the sails got tangled up at the tower top, so that the machine got stuck in it.
This incident caused a recent uproar among the common people, who all ran to St. Stephen’s square now. It is reported that twenty people were crushed to death in the huge crowd.
The man arrested in the air wasn’t helped by the staring people, he cried for helping hands. But the air ship was so unluckily entangeled that it wasn’t reachable.
After a couple of hours the man in the ship lost his patience. He took a hammer and some other tools he had with him and started to demolate the tip of the spire. He worked till the uppermost part of the tip fell to the ground. Thus he came back into flight and after some panning around he skilfully brought his airship to a halt at a place near the Imperial Palace.
Protected by a company of soldiers – otherwise he possibly would have been scrunched by the crowd of people – the pilot was brought to the tavern “The black Eagle”. There he rested for a couple of hours.
Then he told his story. On June 22nd at six o’clock in the morning he left Lisbon in his newly-invented air machine in order to bring some letters to the here resident Portuguese ambassador.

His travel was a big challenge and he had many fights with eagles, storks, paradise birds and many other unknown birds. He said if he hadn’t had his two double hooks and the four shotguns with him he would have lost his life without any doubt.

* * *

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including this curiosity in their 'FlashCast45 - Just the Tip' !

The Devil and the Bowyer's Wife

In the 16th century there lived a bowyer in Vienna. His name was Kaspar Pergauer. His business went well and he was very satisfied with his daily doing. He could have been the happiest man on earth if there hadn’t been his wife Ursula.

Kaspar had married her because of her beauty and her money but his friends had warned him – she was well known for her sharp tongue. Well, after some years the beauty was gone, her money was spent and it turned out that she preferred to use her evil tongue to attack her husband.

She ranted and raved the whole day long; Kaspar had indeed a very hard life.

To escape his wife Kaspar went to the pub every evening. When he arrived home late at night Ursula awaited him with a shower of curses and at least with her rolling pin.

One evening after a big quarrel he left home and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Vienna. Finally he found himself at St. Peter's cemetery, exhausted he sat down on an old grave stone.

“Ah,” he sighed, “I can’t live with this wife anymore. May the devil take her!”

“Whom shall I take?" suddenly an eerie, sinister figure had appeared in front of the bowyer. "I'm there when you call me! What can I do for you?"

“Well,” Kaspar gave in, “you don’t have to take her necessarily. But maybe you can scare her a bit or teach her a better behaviour.” then he added depressed, “But I suppose even for you this shrew is a hard nut to crack.”

"That would be ridiculous if I weren’t be able to do this," boasted the devil. "But you know I don’t work for free."

For a moment the devil considered then Kaspar heard his conditions, "If I manage to change your wife to a tame lamb within the next three days, you may still enjoy your beautiful life here on earth for many years - but then when you die I get your soul. - If I can’t make it, which is all but impossible, then I don’t take your soul, no matter how you've lived your life, because then you have already paid the penalty of all your sins on earth at the side of your wife."

The bowyer agreed.

“And keep away from your house for the next three days!” the devil added before he disappeared. The good man nodded – he smiled relieved.

*****

"Am Graben,Vienna 1609" - Jacob Hoefnagel
(St.Peter's Church on the right side)

The next morning the devil appeared in the person of Kaspar Pergauer in whose house.
He had decided to try it first of all in kindness.

Softly he leaned over the still sleeping Ursula in order to kiss her awake. She opened her eyes saw her alleged husband and started her rant immediately. She called him a vicious troublemaker who would spoil her life already at dawn. And in this way she continued to chatter the whole day long. The mouth of the gruff woman worked like a mill wheel; the puzzled devil couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
When her anger reached a particular level she had no shy to slap the stunned devil.
At the end of the day the devil had a black eye but not the bit of success in taming the bowyer’s wife.

On the second day the devil tried to talk sense with the woman.
He explained her what she did wrong that she shouldn’t curse and how a good wife should behave. She just listened – quietly. The devil thought already that this methode seemed to bring success.

But then at midday she flared up and shouted angrily, “Who do you think you are! You dare to teach me how to behave! I work hard for you every day and you just nag and criticize!” A load of reproaches hailed upon the allerged husband and in her fury she snatched the pot of hot soup from the stove and poured the boiling broth over the devil’s head. He screamed out loud; then he ran as fast as he could.

Having his breath back he said, “You scathing woman – tomorrow you will get know me!”

On the third day he came back to Ursula in his original form.
Ursula seemed truly astonished.

"I've tried in goodness and rigor to bring you to reason," he growled. "Now my patience has an end. From now on you are as gentle as a lamb, otherwise you get a nasty surprise!"

“Now my patience has an end,” imitated Ursula the devil’s words after she had picked up her courage again, “You threaten me? Now my patience has an end!”

Surprised by her reaction the devil flinched.

Now she grabbed him by his horns and tore them so strongly that one of the horns broke. The devil was completely/quite taken aback. Meanwhile Ursula had grabbed her rolling pin and hit the devil until he took leave of his senses.

That was even for the devil too much. Under hellish stench of sulfur he disappeared through the chimney.

*****

Poor Kaspar Pergauer lived a long time; and with his wife at his side he paid for all his sins already on earth. When he died he got straight into heaven.

You can imagine that Ursula didn’t get into heaven after her death but she didn’t get into hell as well.
The devil strictly denied her entrance. So her restless soul is still wandering around in various forms; and from time to time you hear someone telling that he has met her.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including this curiosity in their 'FlashCast46 - Inappropriate Exposure' !

_

The Thirteenth Chime

It was in the middle of the 16th century in a tavern in Vienna when a hand full of young musicians had an enjoyable evening. Among these musicians was a well known conductor named Arnold de Bruck.

It was already nearly midnight when an old gypsy woman entered the tavern and offered her service as palm reader. She went from table to table, but nobody seemed to be interested.

Arnold De Bruck was in an excellent mood that evening and ready for some fooling. So he beckoned the gypsy over to his table.

“Tell me about my future”, he asked her and stretched out his hand for her to take.
The woman followed his offer eagerly.

“You have an interesting palm,” she said, “I see an eventful life; a lot of success in a circle of high personalities. I even see the Emperor in your life.”

Proudly de Bruck looked around to make sure that everyone around could hear the gypsy’s words.

”Your heart line is strong and uninterrupted,” she continued, “and your life line is telling me that …”

Abruptly she broke up her sentence and intended to leave.

“Hey, hey, stop!” de Bruck exclaimed and grabbed her sleeve, “You haven’t predicted my future yet! What has my life line told you?”

“I’ve seen the hour of your death,” she replied softly.

“And this is when?” he insisted.

“It is better you don’t know it.”

It had become silent in the tavern and everyone’s eyes were directed to de Bruck and the gypsy.

“But I do want to know,” the conductor urged.

"Well," the fortune teller looked again at the lines of de Bruck's palm.

"You will die not far from this tavern - soon - when the clock of St. Stephen strikes thirteen times."

For a moment it was so quiet that one could have heard the fall of a needle.
Then a thunderous laughter broke out.
"Ha-ha, when the clock strikes thirteen," snorted de Bruck. "This clock has to be invented! You’ve just proclaimed me immortality!"

Still laughing, he opened his wallet and gave the woman a gold coin.
The old looked sadly at the conductor, then she left the tavern and disappeared in the dark.

*****

St.Stephen's Square, 1609

A couple of weeks later – Arnold de Bruck had already forgotten that boozy evening and the prediction of the gypsy – he visited the bell ringer of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
It was a beautiful day and because Arnold de Bruck loved the view over the roofs of Vienna they climbed up the tower up to the room where the bells hung.

At that moment the church clock began to strike to tell the Viennese that it’s twelve and time for lunch.

The conductor put his hands over his ears to protect his sensitive hearing. When the twelfth chime had faded away, he thought his friend had shouted something at him, and so turned around quickly.
Thereby his sword hit violently against the bell. – A thirteenth chime echoed through Vienna.

Suddenly he remembered the gypsy and her prophecy.
Full of panic he tried to silence the booming bell.
But he stumbled, lost his balance and fell into the depths. - Arnold de Bruck was dead.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including the legend in their 'FlashCast 42 - Old Timey' !

_

The Heckthaler

Jörg von Rauhenstein was a drunkard and a gambler; he lived so long in the lap of luxury until the fortune he had inherited from his father was gone.

Without a coin in his pocket he moved to Vienna together with his wife and their child.

Ruefully he gave up his slovenly life; he found a job as armourer and soon the little family lived in modest prosperity.

But after a couple of years he succumbed to the temptation to drink and to roll the dices again.

Finally he lost his job and when his child got sick he even wasn’t able to pay a doctor.
The kid died; and soon after the child’s death his wife passed away due broken heart. – Both found their too early graves at St.Stephen’s cemetery.

But even their death couldn’t keep him away from his vice.

As beggar Jörg strolled through Vienna and asked for food and some coins.

One day he met the maid servant Burgl. She felt mercy with the poor guy and so she asked,
“Have you ever tried to find a Heckthaler?”

“What is a Heckthaler?” Jörg replied interested.

“It’s a very special coin,” the maid explained, “the one who owns a Heckthaler is never in financial need. This magical coin comes back to you every time you spend it.”

“What do I have to do to find such a coin?” Jörg inquired.

Burgl nodded to make clear she would give him the details,
“In a night to a Sunday at midnight you have to run around St. Stephen’s church three times. You have to start your run exactly with the first strike of the tower clock and the run has to be finished with the last, the twelfth strike. Then you’ll find a brand-new coin in your pocket – a Heckthaler.”

This sounded very inviting to Jörg and so he decided to try his luck.

*****

Saint Stephen's Cathedral and the graveyard, c.1720

Long before midnight Jörg arrived at the cemetery which surrounded St. Stephen’s church.

It was an eerie night. The wind purred around the spire and the pale moon light drew strange shadows on the ground.
But despite the scary situation the fellow remained at the grave yard.

When the clock struck a quarter to midnight he made himself ready for his run; he didn’t even want to miss a second of the time.

At twelve the wheels of the clock creaked and the first stroke of the clock echoed through the night.

At that moment Jörg started into his fateful run.

Frantically he ran between the graves and tried to find the shortest way.

Suddenly - the first round was almost completed - he saw the figure of his dead father with a sorrowful and even alerting expression on his face. But although he was scared he continued his running.

At the end of the second round he noticed his deceased wife beckoning him to stop.
But Jörg ignored her warning and started into the third round.

He still had the two visions on his mind when he stumbled upon a little grave. He fell.

At this moment two little arms reached out of the grave, grabbed him by his clothes and held him so tightly that he couldn’t move anymore.

He tried hard to break away – but all in vain.

As the clock struck the twelfth time the unregenerate lost his life on the grave of his child.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including the legend in their 'FlashCast 41 - My Arm Wound' !

_

The Ninth Pin or The Skittle Player of St.Stephen's Tower

In ancient times Vienna had a tower guard. He was located at the highest point of the town. This was that times St. Stephen’s Cathedral. He lived in a small apartment in the Tower of St. Stephen’s and watched over the houses of the town. His duty was to alert the citizens when a fire broke out.

But in quiet times when nothing happened it was quite a boring job.

So it came that the Viennese built a skittle alley for the amusement of the tower guard in a small room beside the guard’s parlour.
It was a small and low-ceilinged room and so the skittle alley was short; therefore the players stood with their back to the alley, bowed their head and had to roll the bowling ball between their legs.

But this didn’t matter; the young fellows from the neighbourhood loved to play with the tower guard on this extraordinary bowling alley.

Once there was a tower guard called Franz; he was a dissolute fellow, he loved to drink and his passion was the nine pin bowling. He was a master of this game; no matter where or when he was playing, he always hit all nine pins with one single throw. He won every time. But soon no one wanted to play with Franz anymore.

One evening in fall Franz played the skittles again alone till midnight.

Suddenly he heard a hollow voice out of the dark, “Still playing at such a time?”

A tall thin man with a grey cloak, the hood lowly pulled over his face, occurred in the light of the candles.

Cold shivers ran over Franz’s back, but soon he was the fearless guy again and answered boldly,
“Do you dare to play with me? I win every time!”

The Grey replied with a cheerful voice, “Me too. I never lose a game.”

Franz took the skittle ball and with a full swing he hurled it between his legs.

The skittles were blasted out and cheerfully he shouted, "All Nine! Match that if you can!"

But when he realigned the pins he hid one under his jacket and seemingly unnoticed he threw the pin out of the tower window.

“Not that way, my friend!” the Grey roared in a sinister voice.

Then the hooded man straightened up, he grew and grew, and spread his cloak.

Shuddering Franz saw the bare bones.

"I am the Death," it echoed through the little room, "and I always win - even when there are only eight pins, I make all nine. I just have to hit eight – plus one!"

The skeletal hand reached for the ball and threw it into the pins, so that they fell with heavy clatter. And instead of the ninth pin – Franz fell to the ground.

The next morning, the tower guard was found dead between the pins.

Since then, the tower guard Franz appears as a ghost at the bowling alley every night; he whimpers and whines, and still tries to find the ninth pin, because otherwise he can’t find salvation.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for including the legend in their 'FlashCast 40 - The Strange Love of Dr. Monstrous' !

_

The Three Little Devils

In ancient times three little devils played their mischievous tricks on the Viennese in and around St. Stephen’s church.

They were called Luziferl, Spirifankerl and Springinkerl.
They teased the prayers, frightened the penitents, extinguished the candles and hid the craftsmen hammer and chisel.

Luziferl was the meanest and most dangerous among them. He was the one who was responsible for the death of the architect who worked at the Northtower of St. Stephen’s.

People were pursuing the evil Luziferl till they get hold of the demon.
Soon Spirifankerl and Springinkerl were caught too.

The Three Little Devils

The three evil spirits were put into a cage on the church wall from which they couldn’t escape any more.

For a long time they raged in the cage then they turned slowly into stone.

Today you can still see relics of the three little devils but with every day they vanish more and more.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their 'FlashCast 28 - Death of the Weebinax' !

_

The Basilisk

What a big turmoil it was in the house of baker Garhibl in Schönlaterngasse 7 in the early morning of June 12th, 1212.

Kathrin the maid was sent to bring water from the well.
Now she stood there and babbled something about a monster at the base of the well with bestial stench; and she also mentioned very strange sounds.

Baker Garhibl was furious about the alleged imaginations of the girl. But even he couldn’t deny that there was an unpleasant smell in the air.

“I’ll have a look,” said journeyman Heinrich. He took a torch; let him tie at a rope on which he could be hold by the baker and the other journeyman Hans.
Then he climbed down into the well.

Suddenly he screamed that it set someone’s tooth on edge.
The light from the torch was extinguished in the well. Baker Garhibl and Hans pulled him up quickly.

Heinrich was unconscious.
They opened his shirt and fanned fresh air to his face. Finally he awakened.

"A monster," he babbled. "Disgusting! ... The head of the cock ... the body of the toad ... a tail soooo long and scaly ... and it wears a crown of bright red stones ... and it stinks!"

Then he fainted again.

“In this case we must call the town magistrate,” baker Garhibl said to his folks and so he sent the maid Kathrin for the town magistrate Jakob von der Hülden.

It took about an hour, until the honourable Jakob von der Hülben, escorted by guards and a crowd of bystanders arrived at the baker’s house.

Gratefully and relieved the baker Garhible told him what had happened.

The town magistrate considered but he had no idea. There stepped a man out of the crowd – his name was Doctor Pollitzer, and it was known that he was well versed in all natural phenomena.

“I suppose it’s a basilik.” he said.

“A basilisk? What’s that?” Kathrin asked.

"When a rooster lays an egg," explained the man, "and the egg is hatched by a toad, and the offspring is reared by a snake, then the result is such a monster. Its breath stinks of decay and its vision is profoundly ugly. Who sees it, is doomed to death. No spear, no sword, not even fire can harm the basilisk."

The astonished crowd of people were horrified.

"Is there nothing which can destroy the monster?" Garhibl asked, already afraid that he had to give up his house.

"Hmm, yes, there is a possibility," replied the doctor. "One must dare to climb down with a mirror. When the beast is confronted with its own ugliness it will explode."

There was dead silence. Finally journeyman Hans said, “Let me try it,” he turned to the baker and continued, “and if I can make it would you allow me to marry your daughter Anna?”

Well, Garhibl knew that they both were in love but he couldn’t give his agreement so far because a journeyman wasn’t an adequate marriage for his daughter. But under these circumstances - so he nodded.

Quickly the wall mirror was brought out of the baker’s house. Hans was tied to a rope, Anna put a little wax in her fiancé’s ears; then the brave climbed down into the dark well, like a shield he held the mirror in front of him.

Suddenly the folks heard a horrible heartrending scream let out by the basilisk. And then a deafening bang.

“It’s dead!” Hans’ voice echoed out of the well.

Safely although a bit hard of hearing in spite of the earplugs Hans to the cheers of the crowd climbed out of the well.

Unfortunately Heinrich the journeyman who had seen the basilisk died the same day.

Garhibl and his folks filled the well with stones and earth.

And pretty soon the brave Hans married Anna.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their 'FlashCast 27 - Exploding Basilisk' !

_

The Mystery of Wind and Rain around St. Stephen’s Cathedral

You can imagine that the devil wasn’t pleased to see how the skilled and busy craftsmen constructed St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

So he made an alliance with the wind and the rain and asked them to hunt around the building. In that way he thought he could keep the workers away from their eagerly doing.

But cheerfully and with devout prayers the builders continued their work.

Angrily and without achieving his goal the devil moved back to hell.
But he forgot to take the wind and the rain with him.

St.Stephen's Square,1794

So since that time the both roar loudly lamenting around St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

Soon the Viennese had a little rhyme on their lips:

“Even when in the entire country the weather is fair

you can be sure that it’s windy or rainy at St. Stephen’s square.”

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska


Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their 'FlashCast 26 - Illegal Fireworks' !

_

Facts & History #2: Christ with a Toothache

Just a few facts as a late addition to the legend "Christ with a Toothache"


The legend is about a figure of Christ, a "Man of Sorrow" which is represented twice today.
In 1960 the original moved inside the Cathedral. On the outside you find a copy today.

wikipedia says about this Fixture on the outside walls,
"A figure of Christ ... affectionately known to the Viennese as "Christ with a Toothache", from the agonized expression of his face, various memorials from the time the area outside the cathedral was a cemetery and a recently-restored 15^th century sundial, on a flying buttress at the southwest corner ... can be seen."

In the middle age it was a daily tradition to adorn such figures with fresh flowers. And it is fact that people used a piece of cloth to secure these flowers because it was and still is always windy around St.Stephens.

sources:
wikipedia
Unser Stephansdom

_

Godfather Death

Once upon a time a very poor weaver named Paul Urssenbeck searched for a godfather for his twelfth child.
He asked every relative and every acquaintance but no one was wealthy enough to take the responsibility for the sponsorship.

On his way back home he had to walk through a piece of forest. His sorrows let him breathe heavily and with a sigh he spoke out loud, “Oh, I wish I could die.”

That moment he felt an ice-cold hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a tall spindly figure, “I am Death; you called me, what can I do for you?”

Suddenly the weaver was more interested in staying alive than in dying but respectfully he told the grim reaper about his trouble.

“Let me be godfather for your child. My christening present is neither gold nor silver, but I will confide you a secret that you can use for you.”

The weaver thought, “Better a godfather without gift than no godfather,” and so he agreed.

After the ceremony the black suited sponsor took the weaver aside, “The secret I’m telling you now is a chance for you to become famous and rich. Whenever a person is critically ill I am there. Of course no one can see me. When I stand at the foot the person will recover, but when I stand at the head the person must die. Now you have the gift to see me; and with this ability you can predict if a patient will live or die. Use this gift thoughtfully.”

This was in fact a precious secret, and soon the poor man had the chance to use it.

By and by the poor weaver became a well known and wealthy doctor. But the richer he was, the greedier he became.

One day he was called to the emperor’s treasurer Wilhelm Graf Auersperg. He saw Death standing at the ill man’s head; and so he said, “I’m so sorry. His Excellency will die.”

A fortune was offered to him for the try to heal this man. The temptation was too big and so the doctor couldn’t resist. For a moment he thought what he could do. Then he ordered four strong men and told them to turn the bed around.

Now Death stood at the foot, and so Graf Auersperg survived.

Urssenbeck looked at Death and he saw fury in his eyes.

With a very bad feeling the doctor took the money and hurried home.

Suddenly Death stood beside him. “What have you done? Instead of the man’s life you’ve just saved I have to take yours now.”

The doctor fell on his knees, “Have mercy…,” but Death had no mercy.

The next morning Urssenbeck’s dead body was found. He left an immense fortune and was buried at the cemetery of St. Stephen.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their 'FlashCast 21 - Positive Feedback' !
_

Interlude #2: Exterior and interior scenes of St. Stephen's Cathedral

I just found these pictures of St. Stephen's Cathedral and thought I share them with you ...

_

Facts & History #1: Around St. Stephen's Northtower

After the reading of  "The Legend around St.Stephen's Missing Tower" on 'FlashCast 020 - Flashers' JRD Skinner asked me about the story behind the stop.

I thought you might wonder too what actually happened ...

Facts:

Hans Puchsbaum was one of the architects of St. Stephen’s. He was born before 1390 and he died in 1454. (source: wikipedia )
"He probably became the leader of the lodge of Stephanskirche in 1439, but written sources mention him only in 1446." (source: Pannonian Renaissance )

“The workshop was directed by Hans Puchspaum probably between 1439 and 1454. … In 1444 the plans for the northern tower were made, but the foundations were laid only in 1450. After another break, the construction was resumed in 1467 by Laurenz Spenyng, Puchspaum's successor. The church then became a bishopric cathedral. The building of the tower ceased in 1511.” (source: Pannonian Renaissance )

“The foundation for a north tower was laid in 1450, and construction began under master Lorenz Spenning, but its construction was abandoned when major work on the cathedral ceased in 1511.” (source: wikipedia )

St. Stephen's in 1502

The reasons for the stop:

Economic troubles at the end of the middle age, the approaching danger of the Turks (which finally led to the Siege of Vienna in 1529) and religious developments ( The Reformation ) were the very unspectacular reasons for the stop.

And of course with the end of the middle age the architectural style changed from Gothic to Renaissance.
"In 1578 the tower-stump was augmented with a renaissance cap, nicknamed the "water tower top" by the Viennese. The tower now stands at 68 meters tall (223 ft), roughly half the height of the south tower." (source: wikipedia )

Addition:

During the research I stumbled upon these little videos. I thought you might find them interesting.

Western façade 
North tower

Closure:

I close the post with a preview: The next legend will be posted on Friday, June 24th.

Many thanks for your interest!

_

The Legend around St. Stephen's Missing Tower

Once upon a time there lived a young man in Vienna, his name was Hans Puchsbaum. He was a very talented architect; he was very ambitious but not yet famous.
Hans was in love with a beautiful young woman; her name was Mary and she was the daughter of an honored and rich citizen.

That time St. Stephen’s was still under construction. The nave and the South tower were already completed. Only the North Tower which should mirror the one on the south side was not built yet.

The city council had given a contest to transfer the work to the ablest architect, who would complete the tower in the shortest time and at the cheapest cost.

So it came that Hans Puchsbaum applied for the job to build that tower. He thought when he could get fame and honor; he could acquire the hand of his beloved Mary.

Hans promised to build the tower within half the time of his competitors; and so – he got the job.

In the beginning everything worked well, but soon some troubles appeared; the materials were delivered too late, the calculations of the construction were not exactly enough, and too many days the builders had to stop their work in cause of bad weather.

Hans Puchsbaum recognized that he couldn’t finish the tower in the time he had promised.

One evening he stood lost in his thoughts in front of the church and looked up to the unfinished tower. Suddenly a little strange-looking man in a green suit stood on his side.
”Oh, what a pity,” the little man said, “things don’t look good for you, eh?”
Hans Puchsbaum told him about his sorrow.
”Ah, don’t worry; I can help you. And with my help you can still complete the tower in time. There is just one little thing I ask you to do.”

“What is it?” Hans Puchsbaum sounded very interested.

“You are not allowed to mention the name of God, Mother Mary’s name or any other name of a Saint. This is all I want.”

“Ha, of course, that’s a deal!” Hans said although he had noticed that he had just made a pact with the devil.

Since that day the North tower grew faster than ever before.
Hans Puchsbaum was happy; he saw his goal near; he could finish the tower in time and finally marry his beloved bride.

One beautiful day he stood high above on the scaffolding, he looked down on the square and watched the people moving. He smiled, “Just a few more days …”

In that moment he discovered his bride in the crowd. Full of joy he called her name, “Mary!”

Suddenly a hollow mocking laughter echoed through Vienna, the scaffolding started to sway and with an incredible noisiness the whole construction broke down and drew Hans Puchsbaum into the depths.

For a few moments a gigantic green figure with a grinning face was seen.

Then the people dared to remove the debris. But the dead body of Hans Puchsbaum couldn’t be found and remained disappeared.

The plan to build the North tower of St. Stephen’s was given up that day and was never taken up again.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their 'FlashCast 020 - Flashers' !

_

The Linden Tree at St.Stephen's

 

It was in 1144 when it was planned to build a new rectory for the priests of St. Stephen’s church.

Reverend Eberhard and architect Falkner stood together and talked about the plans.

“We must remove the linden tree, I think that’s the best place for the building,” the architect said.

“Oh, please, there must be another way. I love that tree. This tree is like a dear friend of mine. The linden is as old as I am; and I don’t like to see the tree dying before me.”

So they changed the plans in a way that the linden tree could remain standing. And for the priests pleasure it even came better than it was already, because now he could see his beloved tree when he looked out of his window.

With the years the linden tree grew larger and more beautiful. The priest however was getting older, his hair was already white and he was getting tired.

One sunny day in fall Reverend Eberhard sat under his beloved linden tree as he did so many times before in his life. He was already seventy; he was plagued by a bad cough and he couldn’t sleep well anymore.
When he saw the leaves falling he saddened, “The falling leaves are like the remaining days of my life,” he looked at the tree, “Just one more time I want to see your blooming. Then I will agree to die.”

The winter came and the priest’s state of health became worse. Vienna was covered with snow; the linden tree was bare; and spring still far away.

One morning the priest knew that his death was near.
He could hardly breathe, and so he asked his servant to open the window.

”Reverend, it is very cold outside,” the servant said.

“Don’t care about that, I have to see … if the linden …”

The servant nodded and fulfilled the priest’s wish. Then he helped the ancient to the open window.

The both couldn’t believe what they saw – the linden tree was full of blossoms.

Reverend Eberhard smiled, then he lost his last power and he fell to the ground.

Suddenly a wind gust blew through the tree and drove the fragrant blossoms through the open window till the dead man was completely covered.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their FlashCast 019 - Monster Lessons !
_

Revenge of the Dead

Once there was a grave yard around Saint Stephen’s church; and there were some bone houses to keep the bones of the exhumed dead.

In the biggest of those bone houses burned an oil lamp day and night.

Once upon a time the sacristan of Saint Stephen’s visited a friend. They spent joyful hours together, they chatted and drank wine and so they forgot about the time.

So it came that it was already dark when the sacristan thought about to go home. His friend decided to go with him, because, well, the sacristan actually had drunk too much.

On their way they had to walk across the grave yard; and unfortunately a sudden gust blew out the candle of their lamp.

”Let’s go into the bone house to light up the candle again,” the sacristan suggested in his jolly mood.

”No, no, don’t do this. You know it’s a sin. You will disturb the dead,” his friend answered.

”Huh, what a coward you are!” the sacristan laughed, “Go home; go to bed where cowards belong to at such a time!”

The friend shrugged his shoulders and left in a huff.

The sacristan still laughing went into the bone house. It was deadly silent there. He lit his lamp, but careless as he was in his drunken state he extinguished the oil lamp of the bone house.

“You don’t need a light anyway,” he laughed, “you’re already dead!” and he started to move to the door.

Suddenly he heard a rumbling behind his back; and in the moment he turned around a big bone hit him on the chest. At the same time another bone smashed his lamp into pieces. Then a true shower of bones beat down on the sacristan.

The spook lasted till the clock stroke one. With his last power the man could leave the bone house, but as soon as he was outside he collapsed.

More dead than alive he was found in the next morning; and the same people also saw that the bones were scattered on the floor of the charnel house.

The sacristan couldn’t recover from that incident anymore; he got high fever and a few days later he deceased.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their FlashCast 018 - Happy Trails !
_

The Requiem at St. Stephen's

The Christmas Eve of 1363 was a cold and stormy night.

Reverend Graf Albrecht von Hohenberg sat in his warm and comfortable room. It was almost midnight and the candles still gave the man enough light to read the chronicles of Saint Stephen's church.

His mind was fully captured; he didn't even hear the noises of the storm.

There was one striking sentence. He read it again and again. "Those who are seen wearing a burial gown in the church, on Christmas Eve, will die within the next year."

The old man shook his head. He couldn't believe what he'd read, "Incredible. This must have been written by someone with too much imagination."

At that moment he heard the sound of the church's organ and the singing of a chorus.

He stood and went to the window. There was light in the church.

"Strange," he thought, "a mass at such a time?"

But he wanted to know what was going on, so he put on his coat and walked though the alleys of graves. On his way he prayed to God, "Whatever I see there, I won't be afraid. I know you are with me."

The brave man opened the door and walked into the church. He was very surprised to see the nave full of people; and he knew them. Everyone wore a burial gown.

He looked towards the altar wondering who was celebrating the mass. The priest there turned around to bless the praying people.
A cold shiver ran over his back - he saw himself.

In that moment the clock stroke one and the old priest found himself in an empty and dark church.

He hurried back to his warm room and wrote down what he had just experienced. Then he created a list with all of the names of the people he had seen there, not forgetting to put his own name at the end.

A year went by. It was Christmas again - but this time it wasn't a merry one.

An epidemic plague had afflicted Vienna and every single person on the priest's list, himself included, had passed away.

Copyright © 2011 Ingrid Prohaska

Special thanks to JRD Skinner and the Flash Pulp Crew for putting the legend on their FlashCast 016 - The Requiem at St. Stephen's !

_