Liesing parish church

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Liesing parish church

The parish church of Liesing is a Roman Catholic round church in the 23rd district of Liesing in Vienna and is located at Färbermühlgasse 6. It is the largest church in the 23rd  municipal dean's office . The building, built from 1953 to 1955 according to plans by Robert Kramreiter, is dedicated to Mary, mother of divine grace and the patron saint of the old church, St. Servatius . The ringing of the parish church consists of four bells, which are located in the 38-meter-high tower that is separated from the church.

history

Servatius Church around 1800 by Laurenz Janscha
Servatius Church around 1930
Interior of the old Servatiuskirche
The destroyed Servatius Church

The old Servatius Church in Liesing was located in Unterliesing am Liesingbach (today corner of Rudolf-Waisenhorn-Gasse / Seybelgasse).

The foundation of the first house of worship goes to Duke Albrecht V back. His donation enabled the construction of the Servati Chapel in 1432, which was consecrated in 1446 by Bishop Sigmund von Salona and placed under the parish of Atzgersdorf . During the Turkish sieges of the city of Vienna in 1529 and 1683, the church was destroyed and then rebuilt. In 1784 the Liesing parish was established and the Servati chapel was elevated to a parish church. Several renovations took place in the 19th century (around 1818 and around 1888). On January 24th, 1849, a devastating storm covered the church roof and caused the wooden church tower to collapse. During the reconstruction in 1850, the church was enlarged for the last time and received its final size. The 24.7 meter high stone tower was also built at that time. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I , the community committee in Liesing founded a church building fund on June 17, 1898. The aim was to build a new church in Liesing. The existing church had long since become too small for the rapidly growing population. Since the space of the church was too small for an enlarged new building and was too far from the city center of Liesing , a new building site was sought. But it remained only for renovations (1900 to 1902 and 1933). At the beginning of 1937 an agreement was reached with the city of Liesing and a new building site was dedicated at Breitenfurter Strasse 358; instead, the place of the old church should become the property of the community after it was demolished. However, after the incorporation of Liesing , the city of Vienna revoked the commitment and they looked for a building site again.

On May 29, 1944, the Servatius Church was completely destroyed by a bomb hit, only the then only bell and the image of Mary survived the destruction unscathed. You are in today's parish church. In 1988 the Viennese city archaeologist Ortolf Harl looked for hobby archaeologists in the newspaper to uncover the foundation walls. During the week, soldiers from Telecommunications Battalion 1 from the Maria Theresa barracks helped him with the excavations. After the excavations have been completed, rose bushes mark the course of the old church walls and a sign points to the old village church.

The last Servatius Church was a simple village church. The high altar picture represented the birth of Christ, left and right of it were two windows, one with the medallion Christ , the other with Saint Mary . The sanctuary was closed with an iron dining grate. In the nave there were further windows with medallions on the subjects of the Sacrifice of Mary , Saint Anthony of Padua , Saint Joseph and Saint Francis de Sales . The side altars were dedicated to Saint Anne and Saint Jude Thaddäus. On the outside there was a small Johanneskapelle in the east.

Shortly after the destruction, the services were celebrated in the chapel of the geriatric center and in the Protestant church . From 1946, the former dance hall of the Gasthaus Zott (Josefinensaal) , then the Gusenbauer (corner of Breitenfurter Straße / Dirmhirngasse / Schartlgasse) served as an emergency service.

After the war, various projects were discussed with the district council, but none were implemented. "In this hopeless emergency, the Christian population of Liesing took refuge in Mary and vowed: to consecrate the new house of God to her as ' Mary, Mediator of Grace ', if she would help with her intercession". On November 9, 1951, the archdiocese of Vienna bought the building site for the later parish church. On September 22, 1952, Archbishop Coadjutor Franz Jachym approved the building. The planning and construction management was entrusted to the architect Robert Kramreiter . After long negotiations, the groundbreaking ceremony for the building was carried out on March 25, 1953. On September 12th of the same year the foundation stone was blessed by Archbishop-Coadjutor Franz Jachym, on December 11th was the day of the topping-out ceremony .

On May 19 and 20, 1955, the church was consecrated by Coadjutor Franz Jachym in the name of Mary, Mother of Divine Grace , and St. Servatius became the second church patron. A few months earlier, on November 5th, 1954, the first electronic organ on Austrian soil was blessed in Liesing . On June 16, 1957, the Way of the Cross was ceremoniously handed over. In 1958, three bells for the church were cast by the St. Florian bell foundry , the old martyr bell was added. On March 22, 1959, the bells were consecrated by the cathedral pastor canon Karl Raphael Dorr and raised in the tower.

  • Foundation stone blessing on September 12, 1953

  • Topping-out ceremony on December 11, 1953

  • Church consecration on May 19-20, 1955

  • Bell consecration on March 22, 1959

The outer

In front of the church is the larger than life statue of St. Servatius, carved from artificial stone. It is the work of Adolf Treberer-Treberspurg .

A large portal wall has the task of structuring the round body of the church space somewhat and of covering the two stairways to the “ lay gallery ”, under which a confessional and a discussion room are housed. The wall also creates space for the anteroom.

The sculptor Josef Pillhofer designed the figures. Mary is shown with the child in front of the sun disk, plus six stones with symbols from the “ Lauretanian Litany ”: You seat of wisdom (moon), you ivory tower , you precious chalice, you morning star, you mysterious rose, you gate of heaven . The middle gate of the church is a work by Paul Peschke made of larch wood and depicts the archangels Michael (with sword) and Gabriel (with the snake) - embossed in copper . Both have a special relationship to the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ and thus to Mary. On the other hand, the rite of church consecration designates the angels as guardians of the house of God. The gable sign of the church shows four angels wearing a crown. This work comes from Hans Knesl .

The tower of the parish church has moved away from the church like an Italian campanile , it is 38 meters high and has a very high bell chamber . There are four bells in the tower: the 1,175 kg trinity or heroic bell (tone: es), the 714 kg mother of God or family bell (tone: ges), the martyr's bell, 293 kg (tone: b) and the guardian angel or Kinger bell weighing 208 kg (tone: des). The martyr's bell still comes from the destroyed Servatius Church, the destruction of which it survived undamaged. In 2009 the church tower was renovated and made earthquake-proof inside with the help of steel strips .

The inner

Tour with pillar
Church ceiling
Way of the Cross by Toni Schneider-Manzell . Station XI "Jesus is nailed to the cross"

The church service room is slightly oval and has a size of approximately 24.5 × 26.5 meters. A clear view of the altar opens up from every visual axis. The church has a broken main axis, which made better use of the building site. If the main axis had been straight, the attached lower church would have broken up the available building site into useless small edge parts.

A wreath of pillars and arches on two floors surrounds the room at a distance of 2.30 meters from the outer wall. The pillars are connected to the outer wall by arches, which often results in surprising perspectives. The tour created between the outer wall and the pillar wreath is used for processions in the church or for standing room. The roughly plastered pillars and arches are colored chamois and stand out against the white outer wall. The Liesing room painter Karl Eder was responsible for the color design of the church. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary in 2005, the interior was renovated according to the specifications of the Federal Monuments Office .

The west gallery above the lower church is intended for the organ console and for singers and musicians. A rose window designed by Franz Deéd on the outer wall brings a lot of daylight into the church. The slightly smaller east gallery above the entrance is intended as an additional space for believers.

The ceiling of the church symbolizes a stone thrown into the water that circles. From the altar the mystery of Christ's redeeming sacrifice is to be broadcast to the believers during worship. There is an inner dome above the altar , through whose roof the light falls on the altar table. The anointing places of the church, the twelve apostle crosses, are attached to the outer wall. They are square marble stones, each with a cross in gold and the sign of an apostle in red. The attributes also indicate the occupations of the apostles and their manner of death.

The Way of the Cross is part of the tour and consists of 14 bronze plates (36 × 50 cm) designed by Toni Schneider-Manzell .

Sanctuary

When the church was built, a double altar made of Salzburg conglomerate stone was initially designed. The front part was executed in the form customary at the time, with the priest celebrating with his back to the people. The rear part, which was three steps higher, was already intended for celebrating with the priest's face to the people, but was not allowed to be consecrated. It had a recess into which the tabernacle was set. The altar contains the relics of Klemens Maria Hofbauer , Jean-Marie Vianney , Christina von Bolsena and Maria Goretti .

On September 9, 1962 (shortly before the Second Vatican Council ) the second altar was consecrated by Auxiliary Bishop Jakob Weinbacher , which was initially only intended for higher celebrations.

The actual redesign took place in 1980 when the people's altar replaced the double altar . For this purpose, two steps of the rear chancel were removed. The tabernacle was given its own place in front of a former staircase, parts of the demolished communion bench were used for the base . This altar was consecrated on February 17, 1980 by Auxiliary Bishop Helmut Krätzl .

The tabernacle (45 × 56 cm) is designed as a safe and comes from the Schnitzler company. The outer shape was made by the Viennese goldsmith Karl Peschta with rose quartz and amazonites . The coral embroidery on the inside of the doors depicts adoring angels. It is a work by the sisters Hedwig and Luise Krizek from Vienna.

Above the altar hangs the cross carved by Alexander Silveri on two steel cables , probably the most striking work of art in the church. The fortification was carried out by the Liesing-based locksmith Waldegg. The suspension is designed for multiple loads and is periodically checked for safety by the authorities. The cross represents the radiant youthful Christ, whose hands are not nailed to the cross as usual, but want to embrace the people in a blessing. The gilded bars (gold = eternity) shine around the dark-colored body. The feet rest on the globe, on which, next to a deep crack, graves and a snake have been cut. Christ is thus presented to the viewer as the victor over misery, death, devil and sin.

The back of the cross was designed by Franz Deéd as a gem cross (gemstone cross ), which symbolizes radiant victory and radiant joy. The semi-precious stones are not arranged regularly, but grouped together in small groups. The center is the Greek Chi-Rho, the symbol for Christ .

Originally, the sanctuary was surrounded by a semicircular communion bench made of artificial stone, which had a wide opening in front of the altar. This bank was demolished in 1980. Left and right are the two ambes made from the same stone as the altar. Toni Schneider-Manzell created the bas-reliefs ; on the Gospel page they depict the biblical authors Lukas (bull), Matthew (human), Johannes (eagle) and Markus (lion); on the epistle page the four great prophets Daniel (lions' den), Ezekiel (gate), Isaiah (saw) and Jeremiah (grain sheaf).

For the two free walls to the left and right of the cross, mosaic pictures were planned that Rudolf Szyszkowitz designed on the themes of the Annunciation and the Assumption of Mary . However, they were never carried out for lack of money.

  • Former double altar in a photo from around 1956 with a view of the baptistery (left) and the lower church (behind the altar)

  • Chancel after the 1980 redesign

  • Gem cross by Franz Deéd

Pietà

Pietà

The Pietà , the work of the East Tyrolean sculptor Josef Troyer from Prägraten , in a somewhat unusual depiction made of pine wood is located in a niche near the staircase to the singing gallery . Mary stands and supports the body of Jesus.

Church window

At the top, a wreath of 32 artificial windows breaks through the outer walls, the theme of which is saints and saintly people from Austria . The windows are surrounded by richly structured tracery made of artificial stone . The window of the Ehrentrudis was designed by Franz Deéd, the others were designed by Martin Häusle from Feldkirch. The bright window painting lets a lot of daylight shine into the church.

The 18 north-facing window pictures show:

Florian , Severin , Ehrentrudis , Modestus , Gerold , Gebhard , Bruno von Kärnten , Adalbero , Thiemo , Otto von Freising , Wilbirg , Petrus Canisius , Klemens Maria Hofbauer , Father W. Janauschek , Father J. Freinademetz , Augustina Mahlendorf , Karl I. von Austria , Maria Lichtenegger

The 14 south-facing window images show:

Maximilian , Rupert , Vitalis , Virgilius , Wolfgang , Koloman , Hemma von Gurk , Altmann von Passau , Duke Leopold III. , Eberhard von Salzburg , Notburga , Stanislaus Kostka , Anton Maria Schwartz , Aloisia Gruber.

  • The church window and the gem cross

  • Josef Freinademetz

  • Saint Gerold

  • Blessed Emperor Karl I.

  • Saint Peter Canisius

Baptistery

Baptistery, designed by Margret Bilger
excellent median

The baptistery with its nine rows of windows is oriented almost exactly to the south, so the sunlight at noon is best for viewing.

The room is shaped like an apse and closed at the top with a rosette-like plaster ceiling. In the center is the baptismal font made of gray-green artificial stone in the shape of a grape by Gertrud Herb from Passau . The individual pearls symbolize the Christians who belong to Jesus. The basin is covered with a domed copper lid manufactured by the Ocsenasek company.

The glass windows were created by Margret Bilger . For the three median strips, which form a unit, the artist received a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Christian Art in Vienna in 1954 . The images on the lead-framed glass surfaces were created by partially scraping off the initially applied black paint. They come from the Schlierbach glass painting, are bright red in the center and fade into deep blue towards the side pieces. Each of the nine strips consists of four fields. The theme of the sacrament of baptism, "You who are baptized into Christ, are baptized into his death," was unfolded in the windows. Christ crucified on the tree of life is depicted above the skull with Mary and John in the median. The skull makes the reference to Adam, who according to legend is buried on Golgotha . Above you can see the Redeemer boy in the chalice, carried by angels. The bird pictured is a pelican that tears its chest open to use its blood to bring its slain young to life. It symbolizes the sacrifice of God for man. A baptismal scene is depicted below the cross.

The miracle of Pentecost is depicted to the right and left of the center, above are angels with the baptismal mandate on tapes and pouring out water - a symbol of God's grace. The decapitation of the martyrs is shown in the lower fields. In the stripes II, III, VII and VIII the artist put the thoughts: “Who in the desert, when you were asked, gave you a sweet taste”, “who lured you out of the rock to refresh the thirsty people”, “who gave you leaping out of sources of paradise ”and“ who commanded you, in four rivers ”.

Lower church

Behind the high altar is the lower church or weekday chapel. It is separated from the upper church by a glass wall that was installed a few years after it was built. This created a space that makes it possible to celebrate evening, early and weekday services in winter with little attendance at comfortable temperatures. On the wall opposite the entrance is the old picture of the Virgin Mary, which was rescued intact from the bombed Servatius Church. The left, openwork wall was created by the sculptor Erwin Hauer , a student of Hans Knesl .

Originally there was a white artificial stone altar with a tabernacle on the back wall of the lower church . After the Second Vatican Council, the altar was moved away from the wall and the center plinth and tabernacle were removed. On the front the saying “proclaim the Lord's death until he comes” is engraved. The image of the Virgin was given a gilded beam frame and indirect lighting.

In 1992 the stone altar was completely removed and replaced by a simple wooden one.

  • The lower church in 1954

  • The lower church with stone altar until 1992. (Drainage work in the background)

  • The lower church with a simple wooden altar

  • Image of Mary from the destroyed Servatius Church

Others

The church consecration was filmed in 1955 by Franz Hubalek for the federal headquarters for photography and educational film. The film is recommended by the Archbishop's Office for Teaching and Education for use in Catholic religious education.

The church was originally consecrated to Mary, mediator of all graces , but was shortly thereafter renamed Mary, mother of divine grace , since according to ( 1 Tim 2,5-6  EU ) only Jesus is the mediator of all graces .

literature

  • Ferdinand Opll : Liesing: History of the 23rd Viennese district and its old places. Jugend und Volk, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-7141-6217-8 .
  • Erwin Hauer : Erwin Hauer - Continua: Architectural Screens and Walls. princeton architectural press, New York 2004, ISBN 1-56898-455-3 .
  • Norbert Rodt: Church buildings in Vienna 1945–1975 Wiener Domverlag, Vienna 1976, ISBN 3-8535-1082-5
  • Alexander Auer: Continuum. On the art of Austria in the middle of the 20th century. Verlag Rosenbaum Brothers, Vienna 1957.
  • Festschrift 100 Years of the Church Building Association Liesing - 1898–1998 . Church building association Liesing, Vienna 1998.
  • Pius Parsch and Robert Kramreiter : New Church Art in the Spirit of the Liturgy. Volksliturgischer Verlag, Klosterneuburg 1939

Web links

Commons : Pfarrkirche Liesing  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Neue Kronen Zeitung of August 18, 1988
  2. ^ Certificate of laying the foundation stone of the parish church in Liesing, Vienna, 1953
  3. ↑ The promise of the birth of Jesus ( Lk 1.26  EU )
  4. ↑ The last revelations to Daniel ( Dan 12,1  EU )
  5. ↑ Test report from the Upper Austrian bell and metal foundry St. Florian , 1958
  6. ^ Letters from the artist Martin Häusle
  7. ↑ The mission of the risen One ( Mt 28.19  EU )
  8. ↑ Filmarchiv Austria
  9. ↑ Certificate in the foundation stone

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 1 ″  N , 16 ° 16 ′ 57 ″  E