Stephansdom in Wien, Austria — Central Europe (Eastern Alps)

Adalbert Stifter and the Solar Eclipse

Adalbert Stifter Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 15, 2017

1. Adalbert Stifter Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Von hier aus beobachtete
Adalbert Stifter
am 8. Juli 1842
die einzige im Wien der Neuzeit
eingetretene totale

Sonnenfinsternis

Errichtet 1994 auf Initiative des Jugendclubs
"Dingi-Vindemiatrix"
mit Förderung durch die MA7

[English translation:]
On July 8, 1842, Adalbert Stifter observed the only total solar eclipse seen in Vienna in modern times from here.

Installed in 1994 on the initiative of the Dingi-Vindiemiatrix youth group, with the support of the MA7.

Erected 1994 by Dingi-Vindemiatrix.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical date for this entry is July 8, 1842.

Location. 48° 12.706′ N, 16° 22.45′ E. Marker is in Wien. It is in Stephansdom. Marker is at the intersection of Seitenstettengasse and Judengasse, on the right when traveling east on Seitenstettengasse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Seitenstettengasse 2, Wien 1010, Austria. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance

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of this marker. 1981 Vienna Synagogue Attack (within shouting distance of this marker); Belvedere Film Productions (within shouting distance of this marker); Alter Berghof II / Old Berghof II (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Die Ankeruhr / The Anchor Clock (about 120 meters away); Alter Berghof I / Old Berghof I (about 150 meters away); The Security Committee of 1848 (about 210 meters away); Moritz von Schwind (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Mozart Lived Here (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wien.

Regarding Adalbert Stifter and the Solar Eclipse. Without more context, the marker can be a bit puzzling. Obviously, he was not the only person in Vienna at the time to have observed the eclipse. What is missing is that he was a noted author and wrote a long personal essay about the experience of watching the eclipse, and the essay is well-regarded. Hence the marker. Although the essay might seem a bit overwrought in this day and age, it must be remembered his observation was pre-internet, pre-mass media, and (essentialy) pre-photograph - describing the experience solely in written terms was the only means of doing so.

Also see . . .
1. Adalbert Stifter (Wikipedia). "Adalbert

Adalbert Stifter and the Solar Eclipse Marker - Wide View image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 15, 2017

2. Adalbert Stifter and the Solar Eclipse Marker - Wide View

Above the eclipse marker is a related marker indicating that Adalbert Stifter lived in this house from 1842 to 1848.

Stifter (23 October 1805 – 28 January 1868) was an Austrian writer, poet, painter, and pedagogue. He was especially notable for the vivid natural landscapes depicted in his writing and has long been popular in the German-speaking world, while remaining almost entirely unknown to English readers." (Submitted on August 18, 2017.)

2. The Solar Eclipse on July 8th, 1842 (Project Muse, Adalbert Stifter, trans. Joyce Holland). An English-language excerpt of Stifter's essay. (Submitted on August 18, 2017.)

Additional keywords. Astronomy

Adalbert Stifter Marker- Wider View image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 15, 2017

3. Adalbert Stifter Marker- Wider View

Adalbert Stifter image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Postcard based on an watercolor painting, publisher unknown, circa 1840

4. Adalbert Stifter

The Solar Eclipse of 1842 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Adalbert Stifter, circa 1842

5. The Solar Eclipse of 1842

"...once I stood on a lookout point high above the entire town and regarded the phenomenon with my own eyes, there naturally occurred entirely other things, which I had never thought of either waking or dreaming, and about which no one thinks who has not seen this miracle.— Never, ever in my entire life was I so shaken, from terror and sublimity so shaken, as in these two minutes—it was nothing other than if God had all at once spoken a clear word and I had understood it...."

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 17, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 487 times since then and 74 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 17, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on August 18, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 3. submitted on August 17, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 4, 5. submitted on August 18, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.