Cleaning, Karlskirche, Concert
A Concert at Karlskirche Following a Cleaning of the Stones of Remembrance
This morning my group and I met with Matthias Beier, Daliah's husband and the man in charge of maintaining the Stones of Remembrance around Vienna.
While more of the interview can be found in our film, Matthias shared a lot of insights with us into the day to day operations of the Stones of Remembrance organization. If someone wants a Stone placed, they contact the organization with their story and provide some funding for further research as well as the materials to make the plaques. The plaque is then placed in the fall so more people are able to attend the inauguration of new memorials without having to worry about summer heat or travel. Over time, these plaques get worn out and dirty, meaning someone has to clean them in order to preserve the important memorial they represent. While Matthias does most of them himself, he relies on volunteers to ensure the Stones are properly maintained year round.
After a brief interview with him, Matthias showed us how to clean the stones properly and then joined us on a walk through the First District. At each stone we passed, we would stop, read the names, and get to work scrubbing it down until it shone a beautiful brassy gold again. This was a deeply rewarding experience but, what struck me most about it, was the joy in the air. While speaking with Dahlia, we were immersed in the horrors of the Holocaust and the sadness of mourning those who were brutally murdered during it. With Matthias, there was a feeling of happiness in getting to honor these people whose stories would otherwise go untold. We were laughing, joking, and enjoying getting to maintain such an important piece of Viennese history while grappling with the weight of what happened to the people these Stones memorialize.
We were joined by Nas Ferns, a PhD student who did the UC Davis Vienna Study Abroad Program in 2019 and is currently studying to receive their doctorate in Jewish Studies with a focus on Holocaust memorials. They were a fascinating person to get to speak to and their insight was greatly appreciated as they could provide historical context Matthias didn't have as well as ask him questions the group of us hadn't thought to ask.
Cleaning these stones was a deeply rewarding experience and I'm so thankful I was able to do it. If you are ever in Vienna and want to do something to help, simply get a bottle of Cif Cleaner, some water, and a sponge. Squirt the Cif onto the Stone, pour some water onto it, and scrub hard with the rough side of the sponge until the Stone shines. Wipe away excess dirt and water with a paper towel or rag and the Stone should look good as new. If you're going to do this, though, try to do more than one stone so you can really get the feeling that you're making an impact and helping to keep the memory of this community alive.
After an afternoon of working on my blog, I joined back together with my friends to head to an Australian restaurant before we attended a Vivaldi concert at Karlskirche.
Karlskirche, built by Charles VI in the early 18th century, is named for St. Charles. Of course, the fact that the Emperor was also named Charles is no coincidence and the church's beauty is meant as a testament to Charles's strength and the perseverance of the Austrian people during the plagues which ravaged much of the population in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The large columns outside the church are plague columns like the Pestsäule which is ironic as that is where we met Matthias mere hours ago.
Inside the church, almost completely covering the ornate painted ceiling, is a horribly ugly modern art light fixture that looks like a massive scribble. I do not know why it is there nor what purpose it serves other than hiding the paintings but I was thankful it was fully turned off for the entire concert so I didn't have to look at it. The concert was a beautiful, all strings rendition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Typically, as a percussionist, I tend to appreciate music that incorporates more than just string instruments but I was quite fond of this particular group and was very grateful that I got to experience some live classical music in this, the city of music.
