Am Schöpfwerk Church (german: Kirche Am Schöpfwerk) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church, dedicated to

Saint Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...

, and is the most recently built church in Meidling, the 12th district of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Description

The church is situated on the edge of the large-scale Viennese city housing development Am Schöpfwerk, which was constructed 1976–80 on the south slope of the Wienerberg in Altmannsdorf, part of the district of Meidling (Lichtensterngasse 4). The architect of the housing development, Viktor Hufnagl, also designed the church, which was built 1979–81. The Am Schöpfwerk parish was established in 1982. Because of the nature of the terrain the church is built on two levels: the lower storey accommodates the parish rooms and offices, while the church itself is located in the upper one. The building is composed of cubic elements piled up symmetrically in the form of a stepped pyramid. The load-bearing elements are plastered, and consist of a reinforced concrete skeleton filled in with exposed brickwork. A seven-storey bell tower stands next to the low entrance hall. A stairway leads from the rooms on the ground floor to a central vestibule through which the church proper is accessible. This consists of a central space, with room for 220 people seated and 400 standing, in the shape of a Greek cross surrounded by an ambulatory delineated by concrete pillars. The cubic elements, which draw together in this space, terminate at the apex of the pyramid in a lantern of glass windows. The white interior, highlighted by green and golden ceramic tiles, is strongly reminiscent of the '' Jugendstil''. The main fitting is the central altar, of ceramic, raised up on two steps. Behind it is a 19th-century crucifix. There is also a

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

painted by

Carry Hauser Carry Hauser, born Carl Maria Hauser (16 February 1895 – 28 October 1985), was an Austrian painter, stage set designer and poet. Life Carry Hauser was born in Vienna as Carl Maria Hauser into the family of a civil servant. He was educate ...

. Michael Fuchs, son of the painter Ernst Fuchs, painted the picture of Saint Francis of Assisi. The ceramic

Way of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

and holy water stoup are by

Franz Josef Altenburg Franz Josef Georg Clemens Maria Leopold Salvator, Prince of Altenburg (15 March 1941 – 18 August 2021) was an Austrian ceramicist and sculptor. He was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ( Austria-Tuscany branch). He was regarded as a l ...

, the remaining decorations by Traude Windbrechtinger. In the northwest corner is the square Chapel of St. Clare.

Sources

* Felix Czeike: ''Historisches Lexikon Wien Bd. 1''. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1992 * ''Dehio-Handbuch Wien. X. bis XIX. und XXI. bis XXIII. Bezirk''. Verlag Anton Schroll, Vienna 1996

External links

Website of Am Schöpfwerk Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Am Schopfwerk Church Roman Catholic churches in Vienna Buildings and structures in Meidling Roman Catholic churches completed in 1982 1982 establishments in Austria 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria