Augustunerstrasse 3
Tel. 01- 533 7099
Open: daily
Augustinian Church is a small medieval church that dated back to the 14th century. It contains one of the best preserved interiors in the city dating to the time period. Today it houses concerts of classical European music including Bach, Schubert, Haydn and many others. Additionally Loreto Chapel contains several silver urns with hearts of members of Habsburg dynasty that once ruled from here.
In 1327, the Habsburg Duke Frederick the Beautiful
donated the Augustinian Hermitage Order (since 1963: Augustinian) an
Augustinian Church with a monastery. The nave was built under
architect Dietrich Landtner von Pirn from 1330 to 1339, but only
consecrated on 1 November 1349. At first the imposing gothic
building stood alone, but when the Hofburg was built and the
Albertinatrakt (Augustinian tract) was built, the church was
integrated into the building complex.
In 1634, the
Augustinian Church was appointed imperial court parish church (see
also k.u.k. Hof- und Burgpfarre), in which the throne celebrations
of the imperial family and the court wedding took place. The most
significant weddings were those of Archduchess Maria Theresa with
Francis of Lorraine in 1736, the Deputy Wedding of her daughter
Archduchess Maria Antonia on April 19, 1770 with the future King of
France Louis XVI, the Deputy Wedding of Archduchess Maria Ludovika
with Napoleon Bonaparte on 11 March 1810 and the wedding of Emperor
Franz Joseph I with Princess Elisabeth (Sisi) in Bavaria on April
24, 1854. From the emergence of the Archdiocese of Vienna in 1729,
the newly appointed archbishops used to dress in the Augustinian
church.