Melk, Austria Throughout the Middle Ages in the west, monastaries, more than any other institution, were the great repositories of knowledge and learning. Across Christian Europe, monks devoted their lives to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge, creating the forerunners of universities and maintaining great libraries. Few were greater, or more famous, than the … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF ST. STEPHEN
Vienna, Austria St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the great church of the city of Vienna. For many centuries it was also the home church of the Hapsburg dynasty, which ruled over much of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, making its clergy among the most influential in the world. Many of the city’s bishops are buried within, as are a few members of the Hapsburg royal family, … [Read more...]
ANCIENT CHURCHES OF SALZBURG
Salzburg, Austria The city of Salzburg was probably the first place north of the Alps to receive Christianity, and was a major early gateway for the spread of faith into Germanic Europe. The city boasts a phenomenal collection of Christian sites, both ancient and famous, which collectively make for a worthy pilgrimage destination. St. Peter’s Church was founded in … [Read more...]
SALZBURG HIGH FORTRESS
Salzburg, Austria The city of Salzburg in western Austria has been an important military, commercial and religious center since the early Middle Ages. Salzburg was the closest city to Venice north of the Alps, and was consequently a major hub for spreading trade and the Church from Italy into Central Europe. To guard the area and the traffic passing through, the local … [Read more...]
CHILLON CASTLE
Montreaux, Switzerland The Chateau de Chillon in Switzerland is the unlikely ancestral home of the royal house that ultimately united Italy. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Chillon is geographically, architecturally and culturally worlds away from Italy. And yet the rulers of this ancient Burgundian stronghold, in defiance of the vast … [Read more...]
SNOW GLOBE MUSEUM
Vienna, Austria Snow Globes have been around since the 19th century, and have long been associated with two traditions: the holidays, and tacky tourist souvenirs. However, thanks to the efforts of serious artists, as well as prominent appearances in the movies Elf and The Santa Clause, the snowglobe is once again becoming a favorite Christmas collectible. There are few … [Read more...]
SILENT NIGHT CHAPEL
Oberndorf, Austria The city of Salzburg and its environs has three great musical traditions. The first is that of home town composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the second is the Von Trapp family of Sound of Music fame; the third is the tradition of the Christmas Carol Silent Night, the most popular carol of the Romantic period and arguably the greatest carol ever composed in … [Read more...]
CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA CONCERT
Vienna, Austria Christmas is a holiday of spectacular music, and no place is this more true than in Vienna, the epymonious city of music. Vienna shines during the holidays, when its many great musical institutions, from the small ensembles that perform in cafes and streetcorners to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, pull out all the stops. But the hottest ticket in town … [Read more...]
ST. PIERRE’S CATHEDRAL
Geneva, Switzerland While Wittenberg is honored as the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation, it was Geneva that served as the unofficial headquarters of Reformation activity throughout the better part of the 16th century. Although he was not a Lutheran, John Calvin took up the banner of the Reformation in the years following Martin Luther’s death as the next great … [Read more...]
GROSSMUNSTER OF ZURICH
Zurich, Switzerland Uldrich Zwingli is the oft-forgotten third leg of the Protestant Reformation, almost lost in the shadows of giants Luther and Calvin. The most prominent Reformer independent of Luther, he established Protestantism throughout much of Switzerland a few decades before John Calvin showed up. Until Calvin established himself in Geneva, Zurich was the … [Read more...]
