Augustinian Church

From monastery church to parish church of the imperial court

In 1327 Duke Frederick the Fair of the House of Hapsburg founded a church and cloister for the Augustinian Hermits close to the Hofburg. Consecrated in 1349, the imposing Gothic monastery church was at first detached. It was not until the Hofburg was extended that the Augustinian Church was integrated, little by little, into the building complex.

In 1634 the Augustinian Church was elevated to parish church of the imperial court, in 1783 to city parish church. Many Hapsburg weddings took place here, such as that of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth of Bavaria in 1854. Around 1784 the church was regothicised by court architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg (1733-1816) under Emperor Joseph II and numerous side altars which had been erected between 1630 and 1780 were removed.

The tomb of Archduchess Maria Christina can still be found at the church. She was Joseph II’s sister and the wife of Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, who accommodated the collection of drawings named after him, the Albertina, in the neighbouring palace.