Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-10-04
Grand Building.

The grandest building in Vienna is
st. Stephens church, situated in the
center of the old city. 1t does not i'm
press the common traveller as strongly
as it ought to, partly because it lies
cramped In among other buildings, so
that it is impossible from any point to
get a Gle and full view of its outlines,
partly because it does not occupy
commanding position in the general
plan of the city. The church of Notre
Dame in Paris, when seen from Mont
martre, is at once discovered as the
church of the city; and when strolling
about in the streets of Paris, it bursts
upon one every now and then, towering
high in the air and commanding respect
and reverence. But st. Stephens
church, when seen from the Kahlen-
berg, is only one among the many
churches, and the traveller in wandering
the streets of Vienna will not discover
it until he almost falls over it. But to
the architect it tells whole chapter of
the history of his art and to every. one
whose mind is not altogether without
asthetical education, it soon becomes
an object of exceeding interest. 1t is
mighty pile, 345 feet long, $50 feet
broad, and lifting it's steeple IA feet
high. 1t was built in the middle of the
thirteenth century, and it is tOlerably
we'll kept. That however, which makes
it one Of the most interesting specimens
of Gothic church architecture, is the
wonderful hormony between its exterior
and interior. We are nowadays quite
familiar with the forms and ornaments
of Gothic style. A century ago, when
Goethe wrote his famous paper on the
cathedral of Strasburg, people began to
look at these forms, and by looking at
them they became interested in them.
Half a century passed by. The forms
were explained, and when people began
to understand them the interest grew
into enthusiasm. Again half century
passed. The forms were introduced
into actual life, and when people began
to use them the enthusiasm settled down
into q fashion. This is a common
course to be born as An enthusiasm and
to end as fashion. Indeed, fashion is
nothing more than the sediment of a
great enthusiasm, and nowadays Gothic
forms are so fashionable that stylish
people even go To- bed in them. But IN
sbite of their popularity, l do not think
that they are as expressive OF the spirit
of the nineteenth century as they we're
of the spirit of the thirteenth. At least
our efforts in the Gothic style are some
what apt to show discrepancy between
interior and exterior. 1t happens some
times that a modern church presents,
behind a screen of pompous Gothic
forms, a roomy, airy, we'll heated, well
ventilated, and comfortable hall, but
nothing more, so that the visitor cannot
help feeling that the church shows a
mask to the street. The hands are
Jacobs, but the voice is Esau's. In st.
Stephens church, on the contrary, the
interior beams through the exterior as a
strong soul through happy face. You
feel that a living spirit has lifted these
vaults and raised these walls and many
time, when reading a ballad, tale OF
even a matter-of-fact narrative from the
middle ages, st. Stephens church will
loom up in your remembrance, explana-
tory of ideas, passions, and characters
from those times.-The GALAXY.