St. Stevens Church- Thank goodness for this church. Because of the high spires that protrude from the roof, I was able to use the location of the church as a way to get around Vienna. St. Steven’s Church is a beautiful building with many wonderful artifacts. One problem with the church is over the entrance. I couldn’t get a good picture of it, but one of the images over the entrance of the door depicts a Jew among other devils and evil symbols. St. Stevens is in the middle of an important shopping district of the city.
St. Steven's Church on PhotoPeach
Judenplatz- This square contains the Jewish Museum that I spent an entire afternoon wandering around reading and learning. First, even though Judenplatz was clearly marked on the map, if you are ever in Vienna and you are trying to go there, you will have tremendous difficulty finding it. After asking several locals were it was and how to get to it, I was finally able to find it. Once I found it, not only was the museum there, but so the memorial that I wrote about earlier.
Did you know that there are Spanish speaking Jews? This is a product of the Jews being kicked out of Spain in 1492 and being spread throughout Europe. The dialect of Spanish they speak is called Ladino and the Jews that originate from Spain are called Sephardim. It was interesting to read about what happened to the Jews once they left Spain and entered Europe. Each room in one of the exhibit halls focused on how countries welcomed Jews at one point, only to turn around and place restrictive covenants on their actions and religious practices.
The highlight of the museum was Schaudepot. This is the museum’s viewable storage area. In Auschwitz, there are several exhibits in which entire rooms are filled with the glasses, hair, shoes, brushes, and other items taken from people before they were killed. When I saw the roomful of artifacts that were in Jewish homes and places of worship before 1938, it had the same effect on me. It was overwhelming and I was by myself in the gallery. I snapped a quick picture (even though I wasn’t allowed) and left.
The guidebook that I purchased from the museum is also really helpful. It is like a dictionary of the Jewish faith. It will be a tremendous resource to use when I teach Night in the future.
Strauss and Mozart Concert- I went to a beautiful hall and had the opportunity to not only hear some wonderful classical music performed, but there was also cultural dancing as well. It was very entertaining. I had to go to a concert in Vienna; it is a must in a city known for such a rich musical history.
Everything you have seen and done is overwhelming. You will be glad to have this blog when you are home. I have read about the exhibits like the ones you saw in Auschwitz, I can't imagine being there. These will be great stories for you to share with your students.
ReplyDeleteBrandon -
ReplyDeleteJohn and I got lost going to the Jewish memorial, too. It is not easy to find, but I loved that platz. I thought the memorial was perfect. It was described to us an inside out library with all the books on the outside depicting all that would and could have been had the Austrian Jews not been killed. It was to show how much was lost with creativity, arts, thinking, knowledge, inventions, etc. that could have been. Kids were running all around it and it is the center of the platz. We did not make it to the museum and am sorry we didn't. Vienna was great! St. Stevens church was amazing and huge. Glad you enjoyed Vienna.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@ Erin- I am ready to start the school year with all of the information I have. Too bad I have to wait until 3rd quarter.
ReplyDelete@ Dana- I really did enjoy Vienna. It is a beautiful city at night. I would go back. It is almost as pretty as Budapest at night. The memorial of the Jew scrubbing the ground made me angry, and I am not Jewish. I think the one in the platz was perfectly designed. We've got to coordinate our dates next time. It would have been nice to have explored together a day or two. I'm off to Munich tomorrow. I plan on going to their Jewish district tomorrow.