Wotruba Church
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Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, better known as the Wotruba Church, is located on the Sankt Georgenberg in Mauer
Mauer, Vienna
Mauer is a former village of Lower Austria that since 1938 has been part of Vienna. Today it is part of the 23rd District of Vienna, Liesing. Its name literally means "wall".- History :...
(corner of Rysergasse and Georgengasse) in Liesing
Liesing
Liesing is the 23rd district of Vienna . It is on the southwest edge of Vienna, Austria.It was formed after Austria's Anschluss with Germany, when Vienna expanded from 21 districts to 26...
, the 23rd District of Vienna
Districts of Vienna
The districts of Vienna are 23 named city sections of Vienna, Austria, which are also numbered for easy reference. For centuries, district boundaries have changed...
. It was built between August 1974 and October 1976 on the basis of a model by Fritz Wotruba
Fritz Wotruba
Fritz Wotruba was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho-Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable Austrian 20th century sculptors...
.
Wotruba died before the completion of the church, which was inspired by a visit to Chartres Cathedral. To Wotruba, Chartres represented the essence of Europe, and Wotruba subsequently held up Chartres as a yardstick to his own work. Wotruba was first and foremost a sculptor, and the church was a collaboration with Fritz G. Mayr, who continued the work after Wotruba's death.
The church startles at first glance, resembling more an enlarged piece of abstract sculpture. It provides visitors with the unique opportunity to enter into an art form more often viewed on a much smaller scale.
The building consists of 152 asymmetrically arranged concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
blocks of a size between 0.84 m3 to 64 m3, weighing from 1.8 to 141 tons; the highest block measures 13.10m. The church, which borders the Wienerwald
Wienerwald
The Vienna Woods are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The long and wide hill range is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese....
, is 30 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 15.5 meters high. The unusual design created some local resistance.
During the Third Reich, the site where the church is located housed German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
barracks. However, today the Kirche zur Heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit auf dem Georgenberg looks down on Vienna and far into the Marchfeld through a profusion of trees and shrubbery, a fitting blend of nature's beauty and one man's vision of a temple to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
in today's modern world.