| The Stephansdom - St. Stephen's Basilica dates back to the 12th Century. An extended piece of land outside of the city, in the 12th Century, was given by the Bishop of Passau Reginmar in 1137, to the Margrave Leopold IV who signed the Treaty of Mautern.
Under the Treaty, Margrave Leopold IV also received from the Bishop extended stretches of land beyond the city walls, with the notable exception of the territory allocated for the new parish church which would eventually become St. Stephen's Cathedral. Although previously believed to have been built in an open field outside the city walls, the new parish church was in actuality likely built on an ancient cemetery dating back to Ancient Roman times; excavations for a heating system in 2000 revealed graves, 2.5 meters below the surface, which were carbon-dated to the 4th century.[citation needed] This discovery suggests that an even older religious building predated the Ruprechtskirche, which is considered today to be the oldest church in Vienna.
Founded in 1137 following the Treaty of Mautern, the partially-constructed Romanesque church was solemnly dedicated in 1147 to St. Stephen in the presence of Conrad III of Germany, Bishop Otto of Freising, and other German nobles who were about to embark on the Second Crusade. [5] Although the first structure was completed in 1160 [4], major reconstruction and expansion lasted until 1511, and repair and restoration projects continue to the present day. From 1230 to 1245, the initial Romanesque structure was extended westward; the present-day west wall and Roman towers date from this period. In 1258, however, a great fire destroyed much of the original building, and a larger replacement structure, also Romanesque in style and reusing the Roman towers, was constructed over the ruins of the old church and consecrated on 23 April 1263. The anniversary of this second consecration is commemorated each year by a rare ringing of the Pummerin bell for three minutes in the evening.
In 1304, Albert I ordered a Gothic three-nave choir to be constructed east of the church, wide enough to meet the tips of the old transepts. Under his son Albert II, work continued on the Albertine choir, which was consecrated in 1340 on the 77th anniversary of the previous consecration. The middle nave is largely dedicated to St. Stephen and All Saints, while St. Mary and the Apostles provide motifs for the north and south nave, respectively. The choir was again expanded under the reign of Albert II's son, Rudolf IV, the Founder, to increase the religious clout of Vienna. On 7 April 1359, Rudolf IV laid in the vicinity of the present south tower the cornerstone for a westward Gothic extension of the Albertine choir. This expansion would eventually encapsulate the entirety of the old church, and in 1430, the edifice of the old church was removed from within as work progressed on the new cathedral. The south tower was completed in 1433, and the vaulting of the nave—begun in 1446—was complete in 1474. The foundation for a north tower was laid in 1450, and construction began under master Lorenz Spenning, but its construction was abandoned when major work on the cathedral ceased in 1511.
In 1365, just six years after beginning the Gothic extension of the Albertine choir, Rudolf IV disregarded St. Stephen's status as a mere parish church and presumptuously established a chapter of canons befitting a large cathedral. This move was only the first step in fulfilling Vienna's long-held desire to obtain its own diocese; in 1469, Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor prevailed upon Pope Paul II to grant Vienna its own bishop, to be appointed by the emperor. Despite long-standing resistance by the Bishops of Passau, who did not wish to lose control of the area, the Diocese of Vienna was canonically established on 18 January 1469, with St. Stephen's Cathedral as it's the mother church. In 1722 during the reign of Karl VI, the see was elevated to an archbishopric by Pope Innocent XIII.[4]
 
(Left) Saint Peter am Grabe; (Right) inside view
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