Photo: Heiden Towers Stephansdom Cathedral Vienna Austria

The two Heiden Towers stand out tall and proud as part of the Stephansdom Cathedral in downtown Vienna in Austria. This is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and tourists flock here to see this famous work of architecture.

The Heiden Towers in Stephansdom Cathedral, also known as St. Stephen's Cathedral in downtown Vienna, Austria, are Roman towers, both standing at 215 feet tall. They are called Roman towers because both of them were built out of the rubble of numerous old structures and buildings built during the time of the Romans when they occupied what is now modern-day Vienna. As the structures were torn down that the Romans built, in the 12th century, the builders decided to recycle the stone and use it to build these now famous towers.

When they were first built, these two towers had bells in them that would ring out across the city, but now there is only one bell still operating in the north tower. The bell in the south tower was lost during World War II, but the funny thing is that no one knows what happened to it, or even how you could lose a great big bell. ... continue below the picture...

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... It is just one of those casualties of war.

These two towers are part of the oldest part of the cathedral and they stand as a testament to the workmanship that went into building this structure and the detail that was required to allow something to last for centuries, through two great world wars, numerous civil battles and even the modern day Vienna building up around it.

Heiden Towers, Stephansdom Cathedral, downtown Vienna, Austria, Europe