The Augustinian Church (german: link=no, Augustinerkirche) in

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

is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the

Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...

, the winter palace of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

dynasty in

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

. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the

s, the harmonious

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

interior was added in the 18th century. The official name of church and parish is St. Augustin, but it is locally called ''Augustinerkirche''.

History

In 1327, Duke Frederick ''the Handsome'' (''Friedrich der Schöne'') founded this church with a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

for the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

. In 1634, the Augustinerkirche became the parish church of the imperial church. As imperial church, many

weddings took place there, including the wedding of Archduchess (and future Empress) Maria Theresa in 1736 to Duke

Francis of Lorraine Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

, the wedding of Archduchess

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

in 1810 to Emperor

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

of France,

Maria Leopoldina Dona Maria Leopoldina of Austria (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was the first Empress of Brazil as the wife of Emperor Dom Pedro I from 12 October 1822 until her death. She was also Queen of Portugal during her husband's bri ...

in 1817 to Dom Pedro of Portugal, and the wedding of Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

in 1854 to Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. A functioning monastery of six black-robed Augustinian monks remains, serving the needs of the parish.

Exterior

The

church is 85 m (278.9 ft) long and 20 m (65.6 ft) wide. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is 11 m (36.1 ft) wide.Estimated specifications from satellite images provided by

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

Interior

The

was built under architect Dietrich Landtner from 1330 to 1339, but not consecrated until 1 November 1349. As the nearby Hofburg expanded, the Augustinerkirche gradually became engulfed by it and today is a part of the complex. Although inconspicuous from the outside, the inside is more ornate. During the reign of Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

, 18 side altars were removed in 1784 when the church was restored in the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style. A new side altar was added in 2004, dedicated to Emperor

Karl I of Austria Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

(1887–1922) who is on the path to being recognized as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

by the Roman Catholic Church. The pulpit was designed by Hofarchitekt

Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

in 1784/85 when the church was returned to its original Gothic style.

Felix Czeike Felix Czeike (21 August 1926 – 23 April 2006) was an Austrian historian and popular educator. He was an author and partly also editor of numerous publications on the history of Vienna and was the director of the . His main work is the six-volume ...

: Wien. Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte der Donaumetropole, DuMont Reiseverlag, 1999, It is an early example of Gothic Revivalism in Central Europe. The white and gold wooden structure is placed on a column with a foliated Gothic capital. The balustrade and the rear wall is decorated with simple blind tracery. The abat-voix forms a canopy with the usual symbol of the dove and a statue of Saint Paul (?) on the top. A painting of the interior by

Martin van Meytens Martin van Meytens (24 June 1695 – 23 March 1770) was a Swedish-Austrian painter who painted members of the Royal Court of Austria such as Marie Antoinette, Maria Theresa of Austria, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, the Emperor's family and me ...

from 1760 shows another simple, rectangular pulpit with the statue of the Madonna on the top.

Chapels

The Loreto Chapel, to the right of the main altar, holds the silver urns containing the hearts of

rulers, while their bodies are kept in the Imperial Crypt.

Herzgruft The Herzgruft () is a burial chamber that protects 54 urns containing the hearts of members of the House of Habsburg. The crypt is located behind the Loreto Chapel in the Augustinian Church within the Hofburg Palace complex in Vienna, Austria. ...

contains the hearts of 54 members of the imperial family.

Cenotaph of Maria Christina

Notable among the church's monuments is the memorial to

Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

sculpted by Antonio Canova, in 1805.

Sacred music

Composer

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

conducted his Mass in F major there, and

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

Mass in F minor ''Mass in F Minor'' is the third studio album by American rock band The Electric Prunes, released in 1968. It consists of a musical setting of the mass sung in Latin and Greek and arranged in the psychedelic style of the band, and was written ...

was written for the church and was first performed there. In the 21st century, the church is known to host high quality sacred music concerts, particularly for its weekly Sunday High mass with full orchestra and choir. The church has two organs.

Gallery

File:Interior of Augustinian Church, Vienna.jpg, Interior File:Interior of Augustinian Church, Vienna 3.jpg, Altar File:Augustinerkirche Orgel.JPG, Rieger Organ File:Bach-Orgel Augustinerkirche (Wien).jpg, Bach Organ File:Wien Hofburg Augustinerkirche ed 2009 PD 20091007 005.jpg, Chandeliers File:Wien Augustinerkirche Altar Karl I.jpg, Side altar with painting of Emperor Karl I File:Augustiner pulpit.jpg, The pulpit

Cenotaph for Archduchess Maria Christina

File:Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen 9.jpg File:Antonio Canova Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina Augustinerkirche (Wien) panoramic sculpture Austria 2014 photo Paolo Villa August FOTO8412 - FOTO8425auto.jpg File:Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen.jpg File:Wien Hofburg Augustinerkirche ed 2009 PD 20091007 007.jpg File:Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen 5.jpg File:Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen 2.jpg File:Wien Augustinerkirche Kenotaph Maria Christina 5.jpg

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * *

External links

* *
Official website
{{Authority control Churches completed in 1349 Roman Catholic church buildings in the Vicariate of Vienna City 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria Augustinian monasteries in Austria Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Gothic architecture in Austria Augustinian churches