If you are into murals, this one is for you!
As we have told you in the past, there is no shortage of churches in Vienna. Some are better and some lesser known. Some are easy to see. Others are not hiding but you won’t notice them immediately. The Lazaristenkirche on Kaiserstraße 7 is not hiding. But if you are not in the area, it is likely you don’t know it.
The Lazarists are a catholic congregation. Their origins date back to the 17thcentury in Paris. They came to Vienna in 1855. In 1860-1862 their church was designed by the famous architect Friedrich Schmidt, who was also the architect of the Rathaus.
Adjacent to the church there is a monastery. Here members of the congregation live, and it also hosts private flats. In the monastery there is a chapel the congregation uses. It is not open to the public. There you will find a mural, which was painted by the artist Anton Lehmden in 1970. It depicts the salvation of Christ. It is likely that the artist’s name does not ring a bell. But if you have been at the Volkstheater metro station, you have most likely seen some of his work. “Das Werden der Natur” (“The becoming of nature”). It is located on the way to the U3 and because of its size it is hard to miss it.
The Lazaristenkirche has a tower which sometimes appears to lead to confusion. Apparently some visitors that arrive to Vienna via the train station Westbahnhof think the tower they see is the Stephansdom! (Cr).
There is the opportunity to see the mural during the upcoming Tag des Denkmals on September 25th. There will be two tours and if you are there you may want to visit the church. The Tag des Denkmals is put together by the Austrian Federal Monuments Authority. The aim of the event is to make the public aware of the importance of cultural heritage and to raise awareness about heritage protection and monument preservation.
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