Architecture | Fotoeins Fotografie

Posts from the ‘Architecture’ category

Vienna: Armenian Mekhitarist Community (since 1810)

From outside, the buildings don’t look particularly special. But they tell a tale of extraordinary migration: beginning in Armenia and ending here in Vienna’s 7th district, by way of present-day Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

At the corner of Neustiftgasse and Mechitaristengasse is a set of buildings for the Armenian Mekhitarist Congregation.

If I’m in the city for a month, my curiosity demands to learn more. Through e-mail and by phone, I inquire with the monastery’s contact person about a visit, and I’m instructed to join a group of Americans for a guided tour.

Armenian Mekhitarists

The Mekhitarists are an order of Benedictine monks of the Armenian Catholic Church founded by Mekhitar Petrosean from Sebaste (now Sivas). Since 1810, the Mekhitarists established (a second) headquarters in Vienna, whose modern presence includes monastery, church, museum, and a library containing the world’s third largest collection of Armenian manuscripts.

Understanding the sustaining power of the printed word to a fragile culture, Mekhitar and the order’s monks created a complete dictionary of the Armenian language. The first volume of the “Dictionary of Classical Armenian Language” (ԲԱՌԳԻՐՔ ՀԱՅԿԱԶԵԱՆ ԼԵԶՈՒԻ) was published after his death in 1749, and the second volume appeared in 1769. In 1837, the New Dictionary of Classical Armenian Language was published, whose contents have now been digitized.

With my love of books since childhood, I’m regularly on the look for (sources of) old manuscripts, which is obvious in the images below.

By tour’s end, I have a few quiet minutes for a couple of questions.

Q1. How many Armenians are there in Austria?
A1. With a total population of almost 9 million, Austria is home to about 8000 Armenians, of which about 5000 live in Vienna.

Q2. Who was Deodat/Diodato?
A2. Diodato was an Armenian merchant whose birth name was Owanes Astouatzatur. He is credited with opening Vienna’s first licensed coffee house in 1685. Today, that location happens to be occupied by another café with a memorial plaque inside.

Mekhitarist Timeline

• 1701: Mekhitar of Sebaste (1676–1749) establishes congregation in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
• 1706: Move to Greece’s Methon; new monastery established.
• 1717: Move to San Lazzaro, one of Venice’s islands.
• 1773: 2nd group breaks away from Venice, establishing monastery in Trieste in the Habsburg empire.
• 1775: Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa’s “Privilege” guarantees Armenian colony with permanent status.
• 1805: Napoleon seizes Trieste as French territory; Trieste’s Mekhitarists flee to Vienna.
• 1810: Habsburg Emperor Franz I grants Triestine Mekhitarists permission to settle in Vienna.
• 1811: Mekhitarists establish presence in Vienna’s St. Ulrich.
• 1811–1873, 1889–1898: Book printing press by the Mekhitarists in Vienna.
• 1837: after 1835 fire, new construction designed by Josef Kornhäusel begins in Neubau.
• 1874: Site expansion includes new church, also by Kornhäusel.
• 2000: The Venice and Vienna chapters reunite into single Mekhitarist order.

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Vienna’s districts 1 to 23: my highlights

Above/featured: Aspern lake at the Aspern Seestadt housing development in the 22nd district. At right in the background to the north are the Danube Tower and northern hills. Photo, 7 Jun 2022.

From early-2002 to mid-2003, I lived and worked in Heidelberg, and I travelled to Vienna at least six times across all seasons for collaboration work between MPIA and the University of Vienna. Unfortunately, I didn’t own a camera, and I have zero images from that time. “Oiiida.”

After a 15-year pause, I returned to Vienna for one week in May 2018 for the 100-year anniversary of Vienna Modernism. I brought 2 cameras, and I made a few photographs here and there. I’ve always needed more, and four years later in May 2022, I stayed in Vienna for four weeks.

The historic bread- and pastry-making company, Anker, once had a motto known among the Viennese:

Worauf freut sich der Wiener, wenn er vom Urlaub kommt? Auf Hochquellwasser und Ankerbrot.
To what do the Viennese look forward after returning from vacation? Spring water and Ankerbrot.

For all of us who’re visitors to Vienna, I put forward the modified question:

Worauf freut sich ein(e) Besucher(in), wenn man nach Wien kommt?
To what does a visitor look forward in Vienna?

There are many answers for many people. There’s art, coffee, Jugendstil, music, wine; these are only five in a lengthy list. Vienna is more than a desirable visitor location; the city reclaimed the top spot in the The Economist’s EIU Global Liveability Index for 2022.

I got to explore at least one point of interest in each of the city’s 23 Bezirke or districts. Not only did I spend a lot of time in the inner city or 1st district, but I also made my fair share in the 6th, 9th, 18th, and 19th districts. Below I provide from each of the city’s 23 districts a couple of personal highlights which may be of interest to both resident and visitor. There are more interesting locations, about which I’ll describe separately.

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Salzburg city views from Mönchsberg

In Salzburg, I’m motivated by a search for Mozart and for signs of modernity. I’ve already examined part of the city through its art: what more can Salzburg offer?

Excellent views of the city and surroundings.

The Mönchberg hill on which the Hohensalzburg fortress sits provides many viewpoints over the city. You can walk along the entire length of Mönchberg for varying perspectives, or you can approach a number of the viewpoints separately.

I ascended and traversed the hill on foot from southeast to northeast, beginning from Kapitelplatz to the viewpoints just north of the Museum der Moderne. I returned to the Old Town below with the MönchsbergAufzug elevator which is a part of Salzburg’s public transport.

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Palacio de Cibeles, Fuente de Cibeles, Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain, España, fotoeins.com

Madrid: Paseo del Prado, new UNESCO WHS

Congratulations to Madrid and Spain!

In the Spanish capital city, the Paseo del Prado and the adjacent Parque del Retiro were inscribed together as a new UNESCO World Heritage Site on 25 July 2021. The Paseo del Prado is a wide tree-lined boulevard populated with big fountains, beautiful architecture, and buildings dedicated to scientific research and to collections of world-class art. As prototype to the Hispanic “alameda” found throughout Latin America towns and cities, Paseo del Prado is an display of vision and desire for an idyllic society within the (former) Spanish Empire.

Plaza de Cibeles: Palacio de Cibeles (palace 1919); Fuente de Cibeles (fountain 1780, moved 1895).

Banco de España, Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain, España, fotoeins.com

Plaza de Cibeles: Banco de España (1891).

Palacio de Linares, Casa América, Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain, España, fotoeins.com

Plaza de Cibeles: Palacio de Linares (1877), host to Casa América.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Diego de Velázquez, Aniceto Marinas, Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain, España, fotoeins.com

Diego de Velázquez statue (1899) by sculptor Aniceto Marinas, in front of the Prado Museum (1819).

I made all images above on 9 May 2009 with a Canon EOS450D (Rebel XSi). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-lhx.

Seattle: 10 S-spots, free of charge

In thinking about things to do for free in Seattle, I thought about some of the city’s sights labelled with the letter ‘S’. There’s plenty of alliteration to follow.

I could have listed two obvious choices with the Space Needle and the Smith Tower. They are free to admire from the ground, but both require an admission charge to enter and reach the top of each respective structure for sweeping views of the city.

Here below are other arts and culture spots in Seattle that don’t cost a penny to visit or see; all locations are easily accessible with public transport.

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