St. Rupert's Cathedral
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St. Rupert's Cathedral is a 17th Century Baroque cathedral named in honor of the eighth-century Saint Rupert of Salzburg. It is located in the city of Salzburg, Austria.
The cathedral rises over the remains of a church edifice originally built by St. Virgil in 774. This original church had experienced at least three extensive building and rebuilding campaigns during the early middle ages the final result of which was a somewhat ad hoc Romanesque basilica. In 1598 the basilica was severely damaged, and after several failed attempts at restoration and reconstruction, the building was finally ordered to be demolished by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich (Archbishop from 1587-1612). (Wolf Dietrich was a patron and supporter of modern Italian baroque architecture, having seen it from its origins in Italy and particularly Rome: indeed, it was Wolf Dietrich who was also responsible for the building of the nearby Altes Residenz, which is today connected to the cathedral).
Wolf Dietrich hired the Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi to prepare a plan for a comprehensive new Baroque building. Construction did not begin however until Wolf Dietrich's successor, Markus Sittikus (Archbishop from 1612-19), in 1614 laid the cornerstone of the new cathedral. The present cathedral, designed by Santino Solari, who fundamentally changed the original Scamozzi plan was completed remarkably in less than 15 years, being finished by 1628. Additionally, the present cathedral is built partially upon the foundations of the old basilica. Indeed, the foundation stones of the preceding church building may be seen in the Domgrabungen, an excavation site under the cathedral that also features mosaics and other artifacts found here when this location was the forum of the Roman city, Juvavum. One other surviving relic that predates the baroque edifice is the 14th Century Gothic baptismal font. The relics of Saint Rupert were transferred here when the cathedral was completed. Butler's Lives of the Saints, ed. Paul Burns, Collegeville, MN 2003, p. 139.
The finished church is 466 feet long and 109 feet high at the crossing/dome. Baedeker's Handbook for Travellers in Southern Germany (1914) p.182 The baroque style of St. Rupert's can be seen in the [choir] and the [nave].
The church was partially damaged during World War Two when a single bomb crashed through the central dome over the crossing. Repairs were somewhat slow to take place, but restoration was complete by 1959.
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