Donaufeld parish church

Catholic parish church of St. Leopold in Vienna-Donaufeld

Southeast view of the parish church

The Donaufeld parish church is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Donaufeld district of the 21st Viennese district of Floridsdorf . The parish is located in the city Deanery 21 of the Vienna Archdiocese belonging city Vicariate Vienna . It is consecrated to St. Leopold . The building is a listed building .

history

The Donaufelder parish church was originally planned as the episcopal church of a new Lower Austrian diocese . This also explains the enormous size of this parish church (approx. 7,000 Catholics live in the parish ). But higher politics wanted it differently and the new diocese was never founded. So Donaufeld came to his imposing parish church. The neo-Gothic brick building with Art Nouveau interiors, built according to the plans of building officer Franz Ritter von Neumann , stands in the middle of a small park on Kinzerplatz.

A number of important personalities took part in the laying of the foundation stone on June 6, 1905, headed by Emperor Franz Joseph I with the then Mayor of Vienna Karl Lueger . Furthermore, were Archduke Friedrich , Archduke Leopold Salvator and the provost of Klosterneuburg Abbey Bernhard Johannes Peitl present. The foundation stone is now walled in in the apse to the left of the high altar.

The building officer Franz Ritter von Neumann was originally commissioned to build the church . When he died before the foundation stone was laid, the architects Karl Troll and Johann Stoppel managed the construction strictly according to Neumann's plans.

The solemn consecration was carried out on June 8, 1914 by Prince Archbishop Friedrich Cardinal Piffl . Archduke Peter Ferdinand took part on the part of the imperial family . The keystone was walled in opposite the foundation stone and provided with a decorative plate.

When the church was already completed, two emergency exits had to be built, as it was subsequently determined that there were too few exits with a capacity of 5,000 people.

The sacred altar of the church comes from the academic high school and was only erected in 1940. But since it was of the opinion that it disrupted the overall Art Nouveau image of the church, they wanted to have it removed again. After the costs of 30,000 schillings at that time became known , a deduction was refrained from. The sacrament altar is still in the church today.

architecture

View from the Danube Tower to the Donaufelder Church

description

The neo-Gothic hall church made of brick has a nave with transversely placed gable roofs over the side aisles and a slightly lower recessed choir, which is divided by buttresses and two- to four-lane pointed arched windows. To the side of the choir there are two-storey extensions and domed stair turrets. The north-western gable front is flanked by domed stair turrets; in front is the mighty tower with an open vestibule and octagonal pointed helmet.

Dimensions

The church is 35 m wide and 80 m long; the clear height of the vault is 18 m. The church tower is 96 m high, making it the third highest tower in Vienna and Austria's highest church tower on the left bank of the Danube . It is also the third largest church and has the largest wooden roof in Vienna. According to official protocols, it offers space for 5,000 people.

Furnishing

Interior view towards the altar of the Donaufelder Church

Special emphasis was placed on the interior design. The imposing high altar made in metalwork based on a design by Edmund Klotz rests on a marble plinth and shows the group “St. Leopold and his wife Agnes, kneeling in front of the Mother of God with the baby Jesus ”. The Pietà on the left side altar was created by Arthur Kaan . The chandeliers “Herz Jesu” and “Herz Mariä” also come from him. The right side altar comes from the Viennese artist Alexander Illitsch and shows "The Holy Family on the Flight into Egypt ".

From an art historical point of view, the interior of the church is a unique Art Nouveau overall work of art .

organ

The Franz Josef Swoboda organ

The organ of the Donaufelder parish church was built in 1910 by the Viennese organ building company Franz Josef Swoboda and is the largest still playable Swoboda organ that has been left in its original condition. It has a total of 1,940 pipes , the smallest measuring 10 cm, the largest 5.5 m. The sound of the organ has never been changed and is regarded as a sound monument.

The prospectus of the organ adorn relief sculptures and show the sculptural group "The hl. Cecilia and two kneeling angels ”.

literature

Martina Griesser-Stermscheg: Completing the history of art: non-ferrous metal and electric light bulbs. The church furnishings of the Donaufelder Church under the sign of Viennese secessionism . Böhlau, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-205-78155-4 , pp. 95-97 .