St. Elisabeth-Kirche

The Elisabethkirche stands on St Elisabeth’s Square in Vienna’s fourth district, Wieden. It is a free-standing Roman Catholic parish church dedicated to Saint Elisabeth of Hungary. The church was consecrated in 1866 and fully completed two years later. Hermann von Bergmann designed the building, though construction took longer than planned. After the Second World War the vault and altars were restored. Since 2017 it has belonged to the new parish of the Good News alongside three other churches. The church is built in the neo-Gothic style with a central nave, transepts and a polygonal apse. Its 74-metre tower faces Argentinier Street, aligning with the rising slope of the street. The main portal displays three stone reliefs by Rudolf Zafouk showing the seven corporal works of mercy. The seventh work, feeding the hungry, is represented by Saint Elisabeth holding both roses and a loaf of bread. Johann Feßler carved the stone crucifix and the figure of the Sorrowful Mother beneath it. Inside, the nine-metre high high altar of carved and gilded oak was designed by Josef Erwin von Lippert. The altarpiece by Franz Josef Dobiaschofsky shows the miracle of the roses. The side altars feature images by Josef Kessler, one of the Virgin Mary and the other of the Sacred Heart. The 1867 font chapel, now a weekday chapel, is decorated with frescoes by Ludwig Mayer. The modern tabernacle and cross in the weekday chapel were made by Ernst Grandegger in 1984. The church’s third organ, built by Gerhard Hradetzky in 1985, has 38 registers across three manuals and pedal.