Strudelhof Steps - Vienna, Austria - Literary Sites on Waymarking.com

On the Strudelhof Steps in Vienna
by Heimito von Doderer

When leaves upon the steps are deeply lying
from the old stairs is heard autumnal sighing
of all that has passed over them at length.
A moon in which a couple close, with strength
embraces, lighweight shoes and heavy tread,
the mossy urn that sits there at the head
survives the years between wars and dying.

Much has sunk away, to our great pain
and beauty shows the least power to remain.

Strudlhofstiege, the famous staircase in the 9th district, connects Strudlhofgasse and Liechtensteinstraße. Based on a design by Johann Theodor Jäger the flight of steps was built from limestone won in Mannersdorf. On 29 November 1910, Strudlhofstiege was first opened to the public, renovation works were carried out in 1984.

The structure is adorned with a fountain divided into a lower and an upper basin. The lower basin is set into the wall featuring a water jet in form of a head mask while the upper basin on the first landing consists of a tessellated niche with a fish mouth serving as water jet.

Strudlhofstiege commemorates Peter von Strudel, a 17th century court and chamber painter. Von Strudel was born around 1660 in Cles (Trentino, Italy) and died in Vienna on 4 October 1714. In 1690 he built the Strudelhof and was later appointed to direct the Academy of Arts. In Austria his work as sculptor and painter marks the change to the high baroque.

Heimito von Doderer’s novel "Die Strudlhofstiege oder Melzer und die Tiefe der Jahre" (The Strudlhof Steps or Melzer and the Depth of the Years), published in 1951, established the staircase’s fame first in Austria and later all over the world.

(Text from the City of Vienna website Vienna Webservice)

Wikipedia about Heimito von Doderer: English | Deutsch

The first part of the Doderer's novel, translated by Vincent Kling, can be downloaded from the website of the Doderer's Society