Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/476

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VIENNA


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VIENNA


the supremacy of this king for the five years 1485- 90, caused the prosperity of the city to decay. The growth of the power of the Habsburg dynasty during the reign of Maximilian was no benefit to the city of Vienna itself. After the discovery of the sea-route to the East Indies and the discovery of .'America, international commerce followed another course; this led to a great decUne in the importance of Vienna for trade with Italy and the East. When, after the death of Maximilian, Vienna revolted against his grandson Ferdinand, a new municipal Constitution wa-s intro- duced, which annulled the former autonomy and a large part of the ancient rights and privileges of the city and strengthened the power of the sovereign. To the internal confusion was added the danger of the Turks, who advanced farther and farther up the Danube and on 19 September, 1.525, appeared before Vienna. The heroism of the besieged, who aban- doned aU the suburbs of Vienna in order to concen- trate for the protection of the inner city, forced Sultan Suleiman to abandon the siege in the middle of Octo- ber and to withdraw after murdering 2000 prisoners. As, however, the Turks ruled a large part of Hungary and constantly renewed the war from this base, Vienna was now constantly in danger of conquest by them. The effects of the Reformation were fully as destructive for Vienna as the danger from the Turks. The new doctrine fotmd entrance first among the nobility and then spread through a large part of the population, as at first the Government did not take strong measures against the innovations. The work of the Counter-Reformation was not zealously pro- moted until the Jesuits were called to Vienna in 1.551, and until, in particular, the reigns of the emperors Ferdinand II and III. UnUke Rudolph II, these rulers preferred to live at Vienna, to which they invited numerous artists, poets, musicians, and schol- ars. The citizens were obliged to take an oath to conform to the Catholic religion; large numbers of monasteries and brotherhoods laboured to revive the Catholic religion, partly by preaching and partly by education and training. Besides the disastrous effects of the danger from the Turks and the Reformation, the prosperity of Vienna was also kept in check by the fact that on account of the danger of its position it had to be turned into a strong fortress, a condition very unfavourable to the health of the city. Terrible devastation was caused bv the plague during the years 1541, 1570, 1586, and 1679.

Vienna had to suffer another siege by the mortal foe of Christendom during the reign of Emperor Leopold I. Influenced by Louis XIV of France, the sultan sent directly against Vienna an army of 200,000 men under the command of the Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha; this army appeared before the citj- before the gathering of the imperial army had been com- pleted. The defenders of Vienna were led by Count Rudiger von Starrhemberg, Bishop Leopold Kollonitz, who laboured unweariedly for the wounded and for the obtaining of provisions, and the burgomaster, Johann Andreas von Liebenberg. The Turks began the attack 13 July, 1683, and made violent assaults almost daily; the number of defenders sank from day to day, hunger and misery appeared, and the hospitals were full of sick and wounded. It was not until early in Sci)tember that the relieving army, which had collected at ^Tulln, set out for Vienna; the commander- in-chief was the King of Poland, John Sobieski; among his generals were Charles of Lorraine, Maxi- milian Emmanuel of Bavaria, Margrave Louis of Bavaria, and others. The memorable battle began on 12 September; the Christian army descended from the Kahlenbcrg in three charges and won a brilliant victory over the Turks. Thenceforth .-XustriaandGer- nuiny were permanently relieved of the danger of in- vasion by theTurks, and Vienna wa.s released from its difficult position of being the outpost of Christendom.


The eighteenth century brought a new internal organization of the empire for the provinces of ."Austria. The erection of large ecclesiastical and secular build- ings made it a capital worthy of the emperor and his empire. Thus the ties uniting Vienna and its rulers were constantly drawn closer. Consequently the Viennese welcomed the Pragmatic Sanction, by which Charles VI secured the unity and indivisibility of the monarchy: they hailed with joy the entry of the Empress Maria Theresa and the birth of her son Joseph II. Vienna also tolerated in some degree the reforms that Joseph II wished to introduce in eccle- siastical and secular affairs, odious though they were in themselves because by his friendliness towards the citizens he had done much for the beauti- fying and improvement of the city. When, after the death of Francis I, Ferdinand I came into power and none of the much-needed reforms were imdertaken, although such were urged by the estates, discontent constantly increased and the conviction that absolu- tism could not be maintained became almost universal. The Liberals and Democrats of all countries violently attacked the Austrian Government as the chief enemy of all political and intellectual advance. This dis- content found expression in 1848, when the revolu- tionary wave from France spread over almost the whole of Europe. Vienna took the lead in the move- ment in Austria which aimed to overthrow the ex- isting system of ab.solutism. On 16 March, 1848, Emperor Ferdinand proclaimed a Constitution, granted the freedom of the jjress, and the right of the people to bear arms, but the Radical leaders kept up the discontent of the people, notwithstanding the con- cessions, and succeeded in having the Constitution rejected as insufficient. On 2 December, 1848, Francis Joseph became emperor in succession to his uncle Ferdinand, who abdicated voluntarily. Vienna now developed rapidly as the capital and residence of the ruler. Its prosperity was only temporarily interrupted by economic crises and wars, as in 1859 and 1866. In 1895 the supremacy of the Liberal party in the city council was broken by the Christian Socialists. Under the guidance of the great burgo- master, Karl Lliger (1897-1910). Vienna became not only one of the best administered cities economically, but there also sprang up such an abundance of insti- tutions for pubhc and social benefit as no other large city of the world can show. ReUgious life has also enjoyed a great revival under the supremacy of the Christian Socialists.

(2) Statistics.— On 31 December, 1910, the city of Vienna numbered, including the garrison, 2,004,493 inhabitants; of these 1,767,223 were Catholics (includ- ing 3723 adherents of the Greek Rite and 125 adher- ents of the Armenian Rite), about (lO.OOO Protestants, and about 150,000 Jews. The city is divided into 21 administration districts; of these 20 lie on the right bank of the Danube proper, 9 constitute Old Vienna which up to 1891 was separated from the adjacent districts by a circle of fortifications. Ecclesia-stically there are 4 city deaneries, 76 parishes with the same number of parish churches, 77 monastery churches, chapels of ease, and public chapels, and about 100 private chapels. In 1912 there were in the city 308 secular priests of the diocese, 103 regulars, and 45 priests from other dioceses, 44 houses of 25 male orders, and 121 houses of 27 female orders. Besides the chief officials of the archdiocese, Vienna is also the see of the Apostolic field vicariate of the imperi.al and royal army and navy, which is imminliately imder thedirection of the pope. Only tliemost important of the churches can here be mentioned: the cathedral of St. Stephen, a Gothic bviilding of tliree naves of equal height, with a south tower 449'2 feel high. The cathedral is the most important (lothie building of the .\ustrian territories; it was dedicated in 1147 as a email Romanesque church, after the fire of 1293 was