MARY THE VICTORIOUS - THE SECOND TALLEST DOME CONSTRUCTION OF VIENNA'S CHURCHES
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MARY THE VICTORIOUS THE SECOND TALLEST DOME CONSTRUCTION OF VIENNA’S CHURCHES
Origin of the church
The settlement of the “five houses”
(Fünf Häuser), once within the
space of the current Clementinen-
gasse, became a teeming suburb at
the end of the nineteenth century.
This suburb was part of the parish
of Reindorf, but due to the rising
population it was necessary to build
another church.
On the initiative of Emperor Ferdi-
nand I it was decided to construct
this church and a proper building
site was bought. However, this
project was delayed in the next
years. The secretary of education,
Count Thun-Hohenstein invited the Schmidt‘s blueprint of the nave
architect Friedrich Schmidt who for the parish church of Fünfhaus, 1858
was a renowned professor at the
academy of arts in Milan and who The architect Schmidt proved his
was at the beginning of his cele- artistic originality and created a
brated career to present a plan for completely new design according to
this church. In 1858 he sent his first the new building site. He created an
blueprint - a church with three octogonal central space with a
aisles and a western tower. circular walkway (Ambitus) but
However, due to the construction of keeping to the longitudinal axis at
the “Gürtel” (a main road around the same time. The monumental
old Vienna) in 1860, the building red-brick building in Neo-Gothic
site of the church was cut through style is crowned by a dome of 24
and therefore the concept by segments and a tall but fine turret.
Schmidt could not be realized.
In 1864 Cardinal Dr Joseph Othmar
Rauscher, archbishop of Vienna,
tried again to realize the construc-
tion of the church. After an ex-
change of building sites by Anton
and Jakob Lang, owners of a local
weaving mill, the construction could
begin at the site of today’s church in
The brothers Anton and Jakob Lang
1868.
2
The total height of the church 1875 by Cardinal Rauscher – a few
amounts to 68 m. weeks before his death - and was
After seven years of construction called “Maria vom Siege” (“Mary the
the new parish church of Fünfhaus Victorious”).
was consecrated on October 17th,
Cardinal Rauscher (1797 – 1875)
- building sponsor of our church
Joseph Othmar Rauscher, born in
Vienna in 1797, studied jurispru-
dence. His conversion during his
younger years was due to his
teacher and confessor Klemens
Maria Hofbauer, apostle of Vienna.
He was his guide to priesthood as
well. In 1823 he was ordained.
Rauscher soon became professor
for ecclesiastical history and eccle-
siastical law in Salzburg. In 1832 he
became head of the Oriental Acad-
emy in Vienna, in 1844 teacher of
philosophy for the later Emperor
Franz Joseph I.
In 1832 Rauscher was appointed
prince archbishop of Graz-Seckau,
and in 1853 he was appointed
prince archbishop of Vienna, cardi-
nal of Vienna in 1855.
He created and defended the con-
Rauscher was fighting for the free- cordat of 1855. In the years of
dom of the church to prevent the liberalism, Rauscher acted as a
state´s interference. Rauscher was brave and prudent defender of the
determined to fight for the renewal faith even in the position of the
of ecclesiastic policy. weaker one feeling the social head-
wind.
3
Friedrich von Schmidt (1825-1891)
- architect of our church
by the Gothic style, during all his
lifetime.
At the age of thirty-three he was
appointed professor at the academy
in Milan. Short time before that he
had converted to Roman Catholi-
cism. During the following years he
restored the Cathedral of Milan as
well as important churches in
Vicenza, Venice and Murano. At the
time when he was appointed pro-
fessor at the Academy in Vienna and
when he was head of the building
lodge of St Stephen´s Cathedral, he
rescued St Stephen´s cathedral from
impending decay by means of a
Friedrich Schmidt was born in large scale restoration.
Frickenhofen (Württemberg) in
1825. He was the son of a Protes-
tant parish priest. His great-
grandfather had been court archi-
tect in Hannover.
He completed his studies at the
Berlin academy of Building and
Construction and he was also
trained a stonemason. At the age of
eighteen he participated in the
construction of the Cathedral of
Cologne, and thus he acquired a
deep insight into the constructions
of the Middle-Ages, into the variety
of Gothic architecture as well as
fundamental craftsmanship.
This period had a large influence on
him because he was fascinated by
medieval architecture, particularly St Stephen´s (south-west)
4
The Vienna City Hall is said to be his
most important secular construc-
tion. In addition, Vienna owes him
the construction of the Akademi-
sches Gymnasium as well as the
Imperial Foundation House at the
Schottenring (damaged in war, not
preserved).
House with arcades near the City Hall
When he died in 1891, he got a
grave of honour at the Vienna
Central Cemetery. At the base of the
southern tower of St Stephen´s
Cathedral there is a monument for
View of the City Hall from Heldenplatz Schmidt. Among the many honours
Schmidt´s arcade houses surround- Schmidt had got, he liked the title
ing the City Hall have given a long- master builder most.
lasting mark on the townscape of
Vienna. These houses are prototypes
of Viennese residential area of the
Gründerzeit (Age of Promoterism).
Already during his lifetime great
honours were bestowed on Schmidt.
He was in charge of the Austrian
Association of Engineers and of the
Künstlerhaus as well. From 1866-
1870 he joined the council of Vien-
na. Since 1860 he was permanent
member of the Central-Commission
for the Protection of historic
Monuments, equivalent to today’s
Federal Office (Bundesdenkmal-
amt). He was raised to the peerage
in 1886. Monument of F. Schmidt at the base of
the main tower of St Stephen´s Cathedral
5
The project of our church “Mary the Victorious”
F. Schmidt unites different styles in The basis of the church is an
this construction and blends them octogon, symbol for the heavenly
into a creative synthesis. Though Jerusalem. The 34 m tall dome rests
this syncretism of styles is character- on eight massive but slender pillars.
istic of late historism, the artist con- Adjacent to the central space, there
vinces with his particular artistic is a circular walkway of 8 rectangu-
independence and originality. This lar and 8 triangular parts sur-
unique centrally planned building in rounded by six chapels and niches of
the shape of the Modern Gothic altars. Polygonal rooms are added to
period, combines architectural ele- the choir like a radiating circle serv-
ments of the late Roman imperial ing as vestries sometimes. The main
basilica (still apparent in the Constan- entrance is accompanied by two
tine´s Basilica in Trier), of Byzantine towers, which are joined to the
Churches, of the French Gothic pe- central space by pointed arches.
riod, as well as centrally planned
buildings with domes of the Renais-
sance and baroque period. All of that
has been moulded into an overall
harmony. Apart from the St Gereon in
Cologne –which he mentions himself
– the ideas are derived from the
Aachen Minster, St Charles in Prague,
the Cathedral of Florence, and even
the baroque construction of Sta.
Maria della Salute in Venice.
Schmidt´s final blueprint, 1869
(lateral view from the north)
They were built in that particular
way to keep an open view towards
the huge dome. For the visitor these
arches appear to be turning outside.
Ground plan of Mary the Victorious
Due to the choir and the towers the
church appears to have a longitudi-
6
nal axis; the ground plan of this built of stonework. Between the
church, although a central space, interior and the exterior dome there
appears to be a Latin cross. is a wide space where one can walk
and climb over ladders and through
The construction of the dome is a
skylights into the lantern of the
monumental example of architec-
ridge turret.
ture of the 19th century: The iron
construction of the exterior dome From there visitors have a magnifi-
that supports the slatted frame, cent view of Vienna as far as to the
covered with coloured tiles, is Vienna Woods.
spanning over the interior dome,
View from the lantern towards west: The parish church of Rudolfsheim,
the church of Steinhof with its golden dome and the Vienna Woods
7
The Interior of the Church –
looking into the “Open Heaven”
Above the triumphal arch there is
the coronation of Mary. The tall
compound pillars attract the view of
the visitor upwards to the words on
the frieze: “Estis domestici Dei su-
peraedificati super fundamentum
apostolorum et prophetarum ipso
summo angulari lapide Christo Jesu.“
(St Paul, Ephesians 2, 19-20) – “You
are fellow citizens with the saints
The interior – view of the high altar
and members of the household of
The many paintings contribute God, built upon the foundation of the
largely to the monumental and apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus
magnificent character of this himself being the cornerstone.”
church. Mural paintings (by the
three brothers Schönbrunner, Karl
Madjera and Ludwig Mayer) show
important stages in the life of Jesus.
(Clockwise) Annunciation of Mary,
birth of Jesus Christ, the twelve-year
old Jesus in the temple, baptism in
the Jordan River, Sermon on the
Mount, Entry into Jerusalem, Last
Supper, Crucifixion, Resurrection
and Ascension into heaven, Pente-
cost and Christ the Judge. Interior dome painted with frescoes
These words are the leitmotif of the
paintings of the dome: sixteen
sections show sixteen prophets and
sixteen saints, symbolizing the Old
and New Testament. 16 is the num-
ber of the prophet Elias in the bibli-
cal mysticism of numbers. The eight
radiating sections show the four
Evangelists and the four Fathers of
the Church (Jerome, Ambrose,
Jesus is baptized by John (fresco) Augustine, and Gregory). In the
centre of the dome (height 34 m,
8
diameter 18 m) there is Christ central room a large, colourful and
Blessing as apocalyptical ruler who triumphant appearance. This con-
will return to complete everything. cept reminds of the early Christian-
He is the alpha and the omega byzantine churches and this idea is
(beginning and end of all times), the supported by the murals and com-
real keystone of His Church, which pound pillars in crimson and yellow
has been built from living stones colours. It was common to imperial
and which is completed in Himself. audience halls of the late antiquity.
The sixteen windows together with It supports the idea of the Kingdom
the large lancet windows behind the of Christ and his victory at the end
minor altars and the organ give the of the times.
Touring the church
Touring the church (clockwise), the
visitor first arrives at the altar of St
Anthony with the statues of St
Theresa of Avila and St Barbara.
In the next niche there is a Neo-
Gothic confessional box. In order
to meet modern demands it was
moved away from the wall to allow
a private space for confession and
personal concerns.
Opposite there is the pulpit, de-
signed by the architect F. Schmidt
and carried out by Franz Schön-
thaler. Resting on a triangular base
and crowned by a pinnacle it excels
by its elegant originality. The fan-
shaped staircase leads the way up
to the basket of the pulpit which
rests on a short column and shows
The pulpit
the reliefs of the four Early Fathers
of the Church. The pulpit is flanked The stone font in Neo-Gothic style
by a statue of the Good Shepherd (F. Schönthaler) is situated in the
standing on a slender column. chapel of St. Joseph. It sits on six
columns. The bronze cover has a
relief in Gothic letters reading
9
“In nomine patris et filii et spiritus
sancti. Amen.” On top of the bronze
cover there is a pine cone made of
bronze which has been the symbol
of grace and spiritual fruitfulness
ever since.
St Mary with the Infant Jesus (high altar)
The font
Passing the rood altar that shows the
Crucified Saviour with St Mary and
the apostle John, the visitor arrives at
the choir.
The high altar (Franz Erler) re-
sembling a Gothic monstrance,
shows St Mary, Queen of Heaven, on
the throne, tender and mild with the
Infant Jesus on her lap, both flanked
by angels and St Peter and St Paul.
The tour guides the visitor on to the
altar of Our Lady (St Mary as
crowned queen with the insignia
and her child, blessing Jesus, on her
arm, between her parents, St Anne
and St Joaquim.) At this altar there
is the picture “Mary the Victorious”. The altar of Our Lady
10Passing the Chapel of the Sacred
Heart and the second confessional
box the visitor finally arrives at the
altar of St Michael at last with the
statues of St Henry and St Leopold.
The Neo-Gothic stations of the
cross (polychrome reliefs in stone)
were designed by F. Schmidt
himself and made by F. Erler.
The Holy Sepulchre on Easter Saturday
Jesus meets the weeping daughters of
Jerusalem.
The organ is a work by the Bavar-
ian Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer
(Ötting, 1875). In 1927 the organ
gallery was extended to the
columns.
At Easter time the Holy Sepulchre
is set up. It is one of the largest in The Crib (1927)
Vienna. The Christmas Crib was
made in 1927 by Michael Six who Although the furniture of the church
portrayed himself as an old shep- -nearly completely Neo-Gothic- is
herd. simple, the church conveys warmth,
harmony and grandeur.
11The holy image of “Mary the Victorious”
Before the Battle of the White
Mountain (Prague, Nov. 8, 1620)
Fr. Dominicus showed the image
to the general staff of troops loyal
to the Emperor and he encouraged
them to have confidence in the
Lord´s help particularly on that
day which was octave day of the
feast of All Saints. Father
Dominicus, who was said to be a
saint and a charismatic person,
encouraged the generals to begin
the battle although the military
conditions were not favourable.
Our image of grace shows the
Adoration of the Child, which is a
late copy of a picture that was found
by the Carmelite Father
Dominicus of Jesus Maria
Ruzzola during the Thirty Years’
War (October 11, 1620) in the
ruins of Stenovitz Castle (Bohe-
mia). Calvinist soldiers1 had poked
out the eyes of all depicted per-
sons except Jesus. Father
Dominicus prayed with affection
in front of the image for a long
time to make up for this act of
contempt for the saints and their
Fr. Dominicus Ruzzola (1559 – 1630)
images. 2 with the image “Mary the Victorious”
Fr. Dominicus blessed the troops
with his cross and prayed in front
1 The Calvinists rejected images of saints. of the picture during the battle.
2 His request to atone for this contempt The battle came to an end after
corresponds to Jesus’ request in Fatima
(1917) people might atone for the con- two hours with the rebels fleeing
tempt for his Mother Mary in her images.
12in panic. Later Soldiers and gener-
als testified the intervention of the
Lord, which had led to their final
victory in a supernatural way. For
that reason Pope Gregory XV
bestowed the title “Mary the Victo-
rious” on the image.
The defeat of the Bohemian rebels
and its consequences have
remained a sore point in Czech Chaplain Leopold Kastner (1881-1942)
historiography ever since. The painter of this picture is prob-
Fr. Dominicus took the image to ably to be found among the circle
Rome, since it had been distin- of artist Josef Kastner Jr. whose
guished by divine interference. In relatives had been artistically
1622 it was brought to the Church active in numerous churches of
of the Carmelites on the Quirinal in Vienna in the late 19th century (e.g.
a solemn ceremony by the Pope Meidling, Fünfhaus, Döbling). It
himself (Piazza Sta. Susanna/Via cannot be ruled out that the donor
XX Settembre) and it was set up of the image, Chaplain DDr. Leo-
there as an image of veneration by pold Kastner (who is certainly not
the believers. At the same time this a relative of the artist’s family) had
church was awarded the title Sta. worked on the image himself. St
Maria della Vittoria. Joseph`s face shows his features.
Since 1858 it was the titular
church of Cardinal Rauscher, the
Permission:
initiator of the church of Fünfhaus, Cover: © Falkmar Ameringer;
and this inspired him to choose p.2 up: © Wienmuseum Inv.Nr.HM 157
the saint´s patronage for this 001/354;down: Festschrift der De La Salle-
Schule der Schulbrüder, Vienna 2007;
church “Mary the Victorious”. p. 3: http://upload.wikimedia.org
Today´s picture of the Adoration of /wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/;
the Child was dedicated to our Joseph_Othmar_Rauscher.jpg/220px-
Joseph_Othmar_Rauscher.jpg;
parish as a copy of the Roman p. 4 up: http://upload.wikimedia.org/
original by Chaplain DDr. Leopold wikipedia/commons/2/22/
Friedrich_Freiherr_von_Schmidt.jpg;
Kastner in 1910. It has become a p. 6 right: © Wienmuseum Inv.Nr.HM 157
focal point of our church. 001/339;
In 1995 it was enthroned by the p. 12 right: Convento delle Carmel., Rome;
p. 13: †Dir. Mag. Günther Puchinger,
papal nuncio archbishop Donato Traiskirchen;
Squicciarini after its restoration. All the others: Pfarre Fünfhaus-Maria v. Siege.
13The architectural jewel of Fünfhaus needs your support
Even today you can still see on our We are very concerned about the
church the traces of bomb attacks decay of the sandstone ornaments
during the last weeks of the war in which decorate the outside of the
1945. Water and snow have pene- church. There are various reasons
trated into the building; broken why they crumble away and are on
windows were only roughly re- the verge of falling onto the
paired for many years. These ground. Some of them had to be
makeshift repairs however had taken down due to safety reasons.
consequences in the long run:
Painting und plaster crumbling down
Stonework and plaster broke
down, so that a protective grid had The protective grid above the central room
to be installed some years ago. The
paintings on the inner side of the For some time the church has been
dome are in bad shape and they surrounded by a scaffolding, to
are covered with dust and soot. protect passers-by from falling
stones.
There are only a few lamps which
hardly light the interior, many
parts of the church have got no
electricity and are in darkness. The
electric lines are outdated and do
not comply with today´s safety
regulations. Since the church is
completely in the open, it quickly
cools down and it is very frosty in
the cold season; with regard to
elderly people and parents with
young children holy services are A broken turret
hardly possible in winter.
14In 2009 a fundraising committee Maintaining our architectural
was formed for rescue of this jewel for the next generations, we
unique architectural monument of need the support of many people.
Vienna, Mary the Victorious. The We need your help, by buying
committee’s objective is raising modules or by taking sponsor-
public awareness of the urgent ships.
need for donations. Everybody is More details on the home page
welcome to participate in this www.mariavomsiege.at
fundraising committee.
We are very grateful for your donation!
We are thankful to the honorary committee who has been supporting
our request to maintain and restore the Church “Mary the Victorious”:
Kardinal Dr. Christoph SCHÖNBORN, Erzbischof v. Wien;
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johannes-W. BANDION, Kulturhistoriker; DDr. Bernhard GÖRG,
Vizebürgermeister v. Wien i. R.; Dr. Michael HÄUPL, Bürgermeister v. Wien;
Friedrich HÖRCSÖKY, Direktor d. Wr. Kongresszentrums Hofburg i. R;
Karl MERKATZ, Schauspieler; Dr. Ursula PROKOP, Architekturzentrum Wien;
Wolfgang ROSAM, Change Communicator und Verleger;
Dr. Wolfgang SCHÜSSEL, Bundeskanzler a. D.; Dr. Karl Heinz SETINEK,
Vorstands-Vors.-Stv. d. Österr. Beamtenversicherung; Elisabeth WALDHEIM,
Bundespräsidenten-Witwe; Gerhard ZATLOKAL, Bezirksvorsteher d. 15. Bez.
Former members of the honorary committee:
Dr. Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen;
Dr. Hubert Jurasek, Vizepräsident d. Verwaltungsgerichtshofs i. R. u. Opfer des NS-
Regimes; Dr. Kurt Reichel, Senatspräsident des Verwaltungsgerichtshofs i. R.;
em. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rudolf Scholz, Musikwissenschaftler
Imprint:
Published by: Pfarre Fünfhaus-Maria We would like to thank
vom Siege, 1150 Wien, for kindly being supported by
pfarre@mariavomsiege.at
Responsible for the contents:
Pfarrer Mag. P. Bruno Meusburger COp
and Mag. Gertrud Tichy
Translated by Dr. Peter Pelischek
Printed by City Copy Service, Vienna
All rights reserved.
Any form of reproduction, even in
parts, is not permitted.
Vienna, December 2012
15Oh Mary,
Immaculate Bride of the Holy Spirit,
Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces
you are our Advocate,
Invoke upon us
The fullness of the Divine Mercy!You can also read
