St. Steven's Cathedral in Passau is the namesake of the eponymous cathedral in Vienna. It is located on the highest place of the peninsula and is visible from afar. In size, the cathedral is somewhat smaller than that of Vienna. However, it surpasses its congener by having the largest organ in Europe.
In fact, the cathedral organ is like five organs, which can work independently of each other. For a long time the instrument was the biggest in the world, today it is the third largest. Anyone can listen to organ concert here.
Construction of the Cathedral started in the V century. It survived fires, floods and change of architectural styles. The pre-last church, which stood on this site, was burnt down in a great fire of 1662 that ravaged almost the entire city. The current cathedral in Baroque with Gothic elements was built in the late XVII century in its place. Besides the organ, it has six bells. The largest one weighs seven and a half tons.
Adjacent to the Cathedral is the so-called Residence (Residenz), a complex of considerable dimensions, which includes the old and the new episcopal palaces. The Cathedral’s treasury is open to the public in the new palace. Here you can see valuable relics belonging to this temple.