Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary and St. Rupert, Wiener Neustadt

Wiener Neustadt Cathedral stands in the centre of Wiener Neustadt, a town in Lower Austria. It is a Catholic church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and Saint Rupert. Once the seat of a diocese, it became a parish church in the 18th century. The building began as a Romanesque church in 1207 and was consecrated in 1279. Its nave points north-west to catch the sunrise on Pentecost 1192, when Duke Leopold V received his investiture. The cathedral holds layers of history built by different eras. Melchior Klesl, later Cardinal Klesl, commissioned the first Baroque pulpit in 1588. In 1776 Giandomenico Cignaroli painted the Assumption altarpiece for the Baroque altar. After earthquake damage in 1886, the westwork and towers were rebuilt between 1892 and 1899. Emperor Franz Josef attended the reopening ceremony. Inside, visitors find a Romanesque nave with later Baroque furnishings. The altarpiece by Cignaroli shows the Assumption of Mary in rich colours. The pulpit installed by Klesl is a fine example of early Baroque craftsmanship. The reconstructed west towers give the exterior its present form. Despite a fire in 2012, the cathedral reopened after careful restoration.