St. Stephen’s Cathedral Treasury

The treasury of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is a cultural- and art-historical conglomerate of unique masterpieces that are immensely significant not only because of their obviously fascinating characteristics but also for their historical and sociocultural context and our understanding of the founding ruler.
 
The most famous item in the Cathedral treasury is without doubt the Portrait of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria. The ambitious young Habsburg ruler is an important figure in European history. It was he who laid the groundwork for his dynasty to help shape the fate of Europe for centuries to come. The treasures of St. Stephen’s Cathedral reveal how Rudolph IV gradually expanded Vienna to become a city of global repute and worked steadily on elevating Vienna’s status to a bishopric.
 
In his lifetime, Rudolf IV pushed through the establishment of St. Stephen’s Cathedral’s own college, which he furnished accordingly with altars, liturgical objects, and relics. Even his burial shroud, an elaborate Syrian textile, provides insight into the cultural situation of the time and simultaneously raises questions whose answers add a great deal to our understanding of the period. The broad spectrum of materials—from textiles and ivory to glass and gold—and the high quality of its artistry give the Cathedral treasury a special status within Europe’s art and cultural history and represent yet another highlight in the holdings of Dom Museum Wien.