A Feast of Frescoes

The 13th century paintings on plaster on Tuchlauben still recall the tales of minnesinger Neidhart von Reuenthal - Photo: Hertha Hurnaus

In one part of the grove of trees, a dozen people still sober enough to stand are dancing wildly around in a circle. Nearby, some other folks are gnashing on a Stelze from a spit. In the bushes, a man is trying to make a move on his female companion. Scenes from the annual Donauinselfest? No, but in a sense they might have been: These are little-known frescoes of a medieval Bacchanal from a Vienna of an earlier time, tucked away in the heart of the city’s 1st District.

Walking by the arched doorway at Tuchlauben 19, a passer-by could easily miss the small white sign to the “Wien Museum: Neidhart Fresken.” After a quick ring of the bell, details reveal that the structure is far older than the Baroque facade. A few Gothic niches in the carriage entrance, a stone spiral-staircase leading up to the first floor, and suddenly, there is a fragment of a medieval fresco, protected behind a pane of plexi-glass. A surge of pleasure, of surprised delight wells up unexpected.

This probably pales next to the amazement at the initial discovery in 1979 of what are the best preserved medieval frescoes in Vienna. After such an extraordinary find, stumbled on in the course of an ordinary renovation, the city decided to purchase the building and open it to the public.

Once inside, the frescoes take over the modest room, scenes from a private life of ceremonial feasts at the home of a certain wealthy cloth merchant named Michel Menschein. (The street name Tuchlauben recalls the merchants’ stalls for tailors and salesmen that once lined the street.) In c.1400, Menschein’s banquet hall was decorated with a cycle of scenes representing the seasons. In the first, two knights are wrestling in front of a fortified castle, in a second scene of summer, men and boys are avidly playing some game with a ball. (Obsessed with football already? In the 15th century?) Then, in a third, there is a curious scene of a man and woman, the approach familiar to all times in all cultures. The mirror she holds is being stolen by a third figure, her innocence being taken away.

Walking further, Winter sets in; there is a toboggan ride and a snowball fight. Rounding to the opposite wall, the spring scenes unfold: another castle in lush foliage, a dance en ronde, and then Spring’s re-awakening represented by women picking violets.

The scenes are all from the tales of one of the most prolific minnesingers of the German language, Neidhart von Reuenthal (1180-1250). A “troubadour” known for his sarcasm and comedy performed in the Babenberg court of Leopold VI. Also a knight, he accompanied the Duke in the fifth crusade in Egypt in 1217. His popularity extended into the Renaissance era, which explains why Menschein chose these ballads as subjects for the frescoes. Anywhere from 50 to 130 songs that have survived to this day are attributed to Reuenthal, whose recumbent figure bedecks his supposed tomb just around the right corner of the Stephansdom’s west façade.

These decorated walls on three sides of the room seem to cause modernity to disappear. The images take over, of a time of hearty repasts on a long table in a spacious room, with colorful decoration to fuel the spirit of the occasion.

The Neidhardt Frescoes are part of a network of outposts of the Wien Museum – mini-museums at key sites in the history of the city, open on Sundays free of charge. So, while traipsing down Tuchlauben on a Sunday afternoon, ice cream in hand, pop in for a free glance into the past. Might have to finish one feast, though, before starting the other.

Neidhart Fresken
1., Tuchlauben 19
Tue. 10:00–13:00, 14:00–18:00
Fri.–Sun. 14:00–18:00
(01) 535 90 65
www.wienmuseum.at