Virgilkapelle
The Virgilkapelle is an underground stone chamber. It is located next to the St. Stephen’s Cathedral (
Stephansdom in the German language) in Vienna, Austria. The crypt takes the shape of a rectangle measuring roughly 6 meters by 10 and comes with 6 slots (niches). At present, the Virgilkapelle lies just about 12 meters beneath the
Stephansplatz; a civic center located at Vienna’s geographical centre.
The actual historical account of Virgilkapelle is not clearly accounted. The architecture is traced back to designs during the early 13th century, when Frederick the Warlike, the last Duke of the House of Babenberg was the ruler of Vienna. It was assumed that Duke Frederick the Warlike had Virgilkapelle built in honor of St. Coloman of Stockerau, who is being considered as the patron saint of the diocese.
There were some brief accounts related to Virgilkapelle that were recounted and was theorized as part of the unclear history of this underground crypt. The following are some pieces of information believed to have relevance to its history:
A Viennese family identified as Chrannest has a burial chapel as mentioned during the year 1307. It was believed that among the multiple altars of the chapel, one was purposely and ultimately consecrated to St. Vergilius of Salzburg.
During the Middle Ages, St. Stephen’s Cathedral (referred to as Stephansdom in the German language) used to be bounded by a large cemetery. A solitary small chapel was present as a place for consecrations and requiem masses. The same chapel was believed to be dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. Positioned directly underneath this small chapel is Virgilkapelle with a vertical shaft set to connect the two structures.
The cemetery encircling Stephansdom was closed in 1732 followed by the burning out of the small chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene (Magdalenskapelle) in 1781. In the belief that funeral chapel would turn out to be useless without cemetery, the Magdalenskapelle was decided upon not to be rebuilt again after the burning incident. From then on ruins and remnants of the wreckage caused the insignificance and gloomy days of Virgilkapelle.
During the construction of Vienna U-Bahn, a rapid transit system in the year 1973, the chapel was rediscovered. The chapel itself managed to retain its structure with no prominent traces of damage. Those who want to see evident structures that have existed during the Middle Ages continue to pay a visit to this chapel..
