The south tower
The steeple room
the best outlook
The, for the time, gigantic height of the south tower is advantageous, not only for the army commander Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg during the Turkish siege of 1683; as early as 1534 a Viennese fireman is stationed in a small steeple room to keep a round-the-clock watch for blazes from a height of 72m. In the event of a fire, a hand written note is sent down a tube to the tower master, who, in turn, notifies the fire brigade. In fact this duty is performed until December 31, 1955.
