Virgilkapelle

In the center of Vienna, accessible via the Stephansplatz subway station, a spiral staircase leads to an extraordinary place: the Virgilkapelle. It was built over 800 years ago and is one of Vienna’s best preserved Gothic structures.

The beginnings of the Virgilkapelle date back to the 13th century. The underground building served as the fortification of the Maria Magdalena Chapel in the cemetery of St. Stephan.The structure directly next to St. Stephen's Cathedral was demolished in the late 18th century, and so the Virgilkapelle, which was filled in in the process, was forgotten for almost 200 years.

It was only rediscovered in 1973 in the course of the construction of the subway.

An adjacent exhibition is dedicated to medieval Vienna and uses select objects and six multimedia stations to elucidate the city’s political and social organization as well as the everyday life of its inhabitants.

For medieval Vienna, see also the Neidhart Festsaal.

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