St. Anne's Church () is located in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and has been administered by the
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales since 1906. A relic of
Saint Anne
According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...
—her right hand—is kept in a rich
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
setting and exhibited every year on July 26.
History
St. Anne's chapel has existed since 1320. In 1518, the Gothic church was consecrated on the occasion of Saint Anne's Day (26 July).
The church was administered first by the
Poor Clare Sisters, then by the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. Between 1629 and 1634, the Jesuits started the Baroquisation of the Gothic church. After a fire in 1747,
Pozzo's pupil Christoph Tausch transformed it into late baroque using trompe l'oeil techniques. On 25 June 1747 lightning struck the tower of the church, burning down the roof framing but leaving intact the frescos. In 1751,
Daniel Gran began the renovation of the interior, blackened by candle smoke. In 1773, the Jesuit order was dissolved. After starting to work in the church in 1897, the
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales received the church in 1906.
Gran's frescos were renovated in the 19th century and again in 1969–1970. The
1976 Friuli earthquake, which killed 1,000 people in Northeastern Italy, damaged the church. From 2003 to 2005, the Annakirche was renovated under the auspices of the Federal Monuments Office Vienna.
[http://www.wien.gv.at/vtx/vtx-rk-xlink?SEITE=020040218007 (in German)]
Architecture
Daniel Gran created the three ceiling frescos, the high altar painting, and the frescos in the Franz Xaver chapel. The wood-carved statue representing Saint Anne with Virgin Mary and the Christ Child dates back to 1510 and is attributed to
Veit Stoss
Veit Stoss (, also spelled Stoß and Stuoss; ; ; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German language, German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic art, Gothic and the North ...
. The side altarpieces were executed by
Kremser Schmidt. Christoph Tausch has responsibility for the spatial arrangement.
The organ was made by the Austrian organ builder Johann Hencke (3 December 1697
Geseke
Geseke () is a town in the administrative district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Geseke is situated approximately 12 km south-east of Lippstadt and 20 km south-west of Paderborn. The city is located at the H ...
– 24 September 1766
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
).
[O. Biba. ''Zur Lebensgeschichte des Wiener Orgelbauers Lohann Hencke'', Geseker Heimatblätter, no.140 (1968), 2–6.]
St. Anne's Church is famous for its
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
s by
Daniel Gran. The topics of the frescoes are:
* The Glory of St. Anne
* The Glory of the Virgin Mary
* The Glory of the new born Christ Child
Gallery
Glory of St Anna - Daniel Gran - Annakirche Vienna.jpg, Ceiling fresco depicting St. Anne, by Daniel Gran
Wien - Annakirche, Hochaltar.JPG, High altar based on a design by Christoph Tausch
Wien - Annakirche, Orgel.JPG, Organ by Johann Hencke
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have be ...
Notes
External links
{{commons category-inline, St. Anne's Church, Vienna
Homepage of the Church of St. AnneVienna
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...
Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt
1518 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy
16th-century establishments in Austria
Establishments in the Archduchy of Austria