Jesuit Church (Vienna)

Jesuit Church in Vienna

Interior view towards the high altar

Noon bells of the Jesuit church, 1:10 min

The Jesuit church is a baroque Roman Catholic church in the first Viennese district , Inner City . It is located on Dr.-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz next to the Old University , which is why it is also known as the University Church.

history

After King Ferdinand I brought the Jesuits to Vienna in the middle of the 16th century, he gave them the Carmelite monastery at the court , as this order gradually died out due to the Reformation . In 1623 the Jesuits were given the chairs of philosophy and theology at the University of Vienna and they built a church on the site of a chapel dedicated to St. Benedict . This was built by an unknown master builder - between 1623 and 1631 - with simple furnishings, according to the conditions in the war period at that time . The church was consecrated to the Jesuit saints Ignatius von Loyola and Franz Xaver , it was founded by Emperor Ferdinand II. To distinguish it from the Jesuit church at court , the "Upper Jesuit Church", the new church was named "Among the lower Jesuits".

In 1703 Emperor Leopold I brought the painter and sculptor Andrea Pozzo, already famous in Rome, to Vienna to redesign the church. The Jesuit Pozzo added the two towers and brought the facade into its current form. The interior was also lavishly furnished. Pozzo drew galleries above the eight side chapels , which are interconnected and supported by straight and curved columns covered with stucco marble . The organ was integrated into a two-storey gallery above the entrance. The high altar dedicated to the Assumption of Mary also comes from Pozzo .

Pozzo, best known for his perspective illusionist painting, also decorated the ceiling of the church. The trompe l' oeil light dome in particular is able to deceive the eye and give the viewer a spatially realistic impression of the dome . A stone is highlighted in color in the floor of the nave , from which the false dome looks best on the viewer. Pozzo even incorporated an effect above the Mary's crown, which is hung with fabrics. So it seems that the cross on the crown is clasped by hands protruding from the ceiling fresco .

After the Jesuit order was abolished , the church became the property of the state. After the re-admission, Jesuits have again been active in the church since 1856.

Under the church there is a crypt in which the deceased confreres of the Jesuit monastery are still buried. a. the long-time rector of the church P. Leo Wallner SJ, who died in 2013, and the philosopher Johannes Schasching, who died in 2013 . The crypt is open to the public at certain times.

Interior

High altar

This forms a distinctive space border. The altarpiece “ Assumption of Mary ” was painted by Andrea Pozzo, giving the apostle Andreas his own features on the lower left.

Left side altars

The altarpiece in the chapel of the Philosophical Faculty (Catherine Altar, to the left of the entrance) depicts the “mystical wedding of St. Catherine of Alexandria ”, that of the Stanislaus Chapel“ Franz Borja receives Stanislaus Kostka in Rome ”, that of the Guardian Angel Chapel“ Guardian Angel ”and that of the Ignatius Chapel“ The sending of St. Franz Xaver ".

Right side altars

The altarpiece of the chapel of the theological faculty (cross altar; right at the entrance) shows a “crucifixion”, that of the Annenkapelle “Anna, Maria und ein Engel”, that of the Leopoldkapelle “Apotheosis of St. Leopold ”and that of the Josefskapelle“ Tod Josefs ”. All eight altarpieces in the side chapels come from the workshop of Andrea Pozzo.

Pulpit of the Jesuit Church

pulpit

The walnut pulpit is a work from the beginning of the 18th century. The four evangelists are depicted on the pulpit, the allegorical figures of faith, hope and love on the sound cover . The crowning piece is the statue of St. Francis Xavier baptizing a pagan. The inlay is made of mother-of-pearl .

Frescoes in the vault

In the center of the second and third yoke is the dummy dome with the representation of God the Father. The frescoes in the first yoke show the "battle of the angels", in the fourth the "angel choirs", above the gallery the "adoration of the shepherds" and below "faith, hope, love". In the presbytery there is the theme “Rest of the Holy Family on the run” and above the high altar the “ Trinity ”. The frescoes in the nave vault are copies after Andrea Pozzo by Johann Peter Krafft from 1827, they were revised in 1899.

organ

The organ was built from 2003 to 2004 by the Freiburg organ builder Hartwig Späth . The instrument has 41 registers (2745 pipes) on three manuals and a pedal . The disposition is based on French romantic organs in the style of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll , in particular on the organ from 1880 in St. François-de-Sales in Lyon. The game actions are mechanical, the gaming table is based on a Cavaillé-Coll gaming table.

The organ case , which extends over two galleries with a height of over 12 meters, has also been rebuilt, with elements of the historical case being used in large parts.

I Grand Orgue C-g ³
1.	Montre	16 ′
2.	Montre	8th'
3.	Flûte harmonique	8th'
4th	Bourdon	8th'
5.	Violoncello	8th'
6th	Prestant	4 ′
7th	Duplicate	2 ′
8th.	Cornet V (from g ⁰ )	8th'
9.	Fittings V.	2 ′
10.	Bombard	16 ′
11.	Trumpets	8th'

II positive C-g ³
12.	diapason	8th'
13.	Cor de nuit	8th'
14th	Salicional	8th'
15th	Unda maris (from c ⁰ )	8th'
16.	Prestant	4 ′
17th	Flûte douce	4 ′
18th	Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
19th	Quarte de Nazard	2 ′
20th	Tierce	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
21st	Plein Jeu IV	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
22nd	Clarinet	8th'

III Recit expressif C – g ³
23.	Bourdon doux	16 ′
24.	Flûte traversière	8th'
25th	Bourdon	8th'
26th	Viole de Gambe	8th'
27.	Voix céleste (from c ⁰ )	8th'
28.	Flûte octaviante	4 ′
29	Voix humaine	8th'
30th	Basson et Hautbois	8th'
31.	Octavine	2 ′
32.	Carillon III	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
33.	Trompette harmonique	8th'
34.	Clairon harmonique	4 ′