Konzilsgedächtniskirche Lainz Speising

The Konzilsgedächtniskirche stands in the Hietzing district of Vienna, near the old Lainzer parish church on Lainzer Straße. Designed by Josef Lackner in 1966, it was built between 1967 and 1968 as a broad, low cube with four corner entrances. Its plain concrete façade, made of Leca blocks and smooth concrete, deliberately resembles a factory building. The Jesuits had approved demolition of their old chapel to make way for this modern structure. Lackner shared second place in a restricted competition with Ottokar Uhl, though no first prize was awarded. The church replaced a modest 19th-century neuroman church built in 1885–86 by J. Mick for the Jesuits. That earlier building served as a college church dedicated to the Holy Trinity before its 1965 demolition. The new church kept the same dedication, and the parish remains part of the City Deanery 13. From 2025, the parish will expand to include areas from two other churches and take a new name. Inside, the square central space centres on the altar beneath a flat concrete ceiling. The four corner entrances lead into a single volume lit by high, narrow windows. Outside, the church sits beside the old parish site on a quiet square named for Cardinal König. Nearby, the Hummelkapelle and the church of St Josef at the orthopaedic hospital belong to the same parish. The area remains a peaceful residential corner of Vienna, where modern architecture meets historic parish roots.