08.08.12

08.08.12

This morning Audrey and I went down to the Schottentor Universität stop to look for any remaining signs of Karl Lueger. We could not find any, but took some pictures of street signs for ‘Universitätsring’ and admired the university. Each statue lining the top was named for some important person of intellectual history, mostly ancient Greeks and Romans. The inside had its own courtyard where students hung out under trees and the walls were lined with heads of famous dead guys, but I did not recognize any of the names. 

After our search failed, Audrey took off to explore some other parts of the city and I returned to Kandlgasse in order to practice with AJ and Morgan for our Karl Marx-Hof mini-lecture. I felt bad as Morgan had the most to say by far, although her part of the demonstration was about the architecture and function, which applies directly to her major. Kathy pointed out what we had missed, such as that Red Vienna earned its name not just because Vienna was communist after the end of World War I, but because the rest of the country was decidedly more conservative and catholic, making Vienna stick out to them like a sore thumb. Red Vienna did however begin a series of communal projects, and the Karl Marx-Hof was the most successful. Rent was only 4 percent of total income, preference was given to disabled persons for housing, and they were afforded not just swimming pools and playgrounds, but actual effective sewage/plumbing, one of the first low-income projects to provide such services. It was a huge success, and still exists today when many other projects have failed. After our little speech, the bus showed up to take the class off to Stift Klosterneuburg.

Klosterneuburg, opened in 1114 under the reign of Babenberger Leopold III, is a priory or monastery of Augustinian Canons. The legend behind the founding of this monastery is that Leopold III’s second wife Agnes lost her favorite marriage veil, which she wore with her everywhere, while on a walk through the forest. After a great search, the veil came up missing for years, until Leopold III found it himself in the woods some years later. The veil had a shimmering quality to it and struck Leopold III as a holy relic, and thus he decided a monastery should be built on that very spot. As the resident priest Ambrose would point out during our tour, the fact that the location happens to be on a hill, next to a river, easily defended and at a good vantage point to return word to Vienna of any invaders had absolutely nothing to do with its founding. 

At the monastery, our tour guide Father Ambrose– an obviously devout man with the curious habit of poking fun at some of the rituals, history, and artifacts, and possessing the propensity to use the phrase ‘God dammit’– skipped all of the tourist traps in the entrance to the Stift, and took us instead on a tour of the art and relics further in. The one to stand out the most was, obviously to those who have been, the Verdun Altar. Gilded to shimmer within its simple room, the Verdun showcased three tales of the Bible, formed in three rows across three panels, demonstrating the likenesses in tale and trial between Adam, Abraham, and Jesus. 

The conclusion of our tour took longer than I believe Ambrose anticipated. As we had split into two groups, the other group took considerably longer, leaving Ambrose to talk for a bit over any questions we had, and ultimately wound up soap boxing about Christianity and American culture, for lack of any better option to deal with us. I did, however, truly enjoy his explanation of what led him to the Church. It is interesting to me how a man can delve into science, or history, or philosophy, and take out of it completely different results. For many, they pursue atheism or a pantheistic vague notion of the connectivity in all things, as many astrophysicists are deeply humble and spiritual people without any set religion, while at the same time others can somehow find Jesus, or Buddha, or anybody. All different lenses to view the same thing. At last the other group arrived, and it was time to leave.

The night to come was baffling to me, as Ambrose and another priest, Father Clemmens out drank most present. Delicious food once again at the heurige, and my first attempt at cow’s tongue (delicious!). The history of Stift Klosterneuburg inspired very heated discussions at each table, about politics, morality and religion. At my own table I was enjoying playing devil’s advocate between atheist and Christian points of view.

I love the concept of a fraternity of monks, or of priests in this case, dedicated to a deeper understanding of religion. The concept of relics, of objects that transcend the physical world, is something I am very unfamiliar with, but the act of ritual, meditation, or fasting with a goal of seeking Truth, are all acts that a non-religious, secular world should still accept and pursue from time to time, and I wish there were more institutions to allow that. Instead I have to try for years to obtain a PhD in order to have access to better libraries and more knowledgable persons.