The window peeper

Anton Pilgram, a Moravian-Austrian master builder and sculptor, takes over the St. Stephen’s workshop between 1511 and 1515. Pilgram is top in his field and has no qualms about supplanting master builder Jörg Öchsl on the strength of his modern organ stand, despite his not being Viennese. The pulpit is often attributed to Pilgram, although we cannot be sure he deserves all of the credit. Admittedly his mason’s mark appears on the pulpit and we can assume he played a part in its creation. On the lower part of the stairs we find the window peeper, a bust of an anonymous master - possibly Pilgram himself, although we have no evidence to support this. However we can be certain that the vestibule to the nave, which comes into being at approximately the same time as the organ stand, is the work of Anton Pilgram.