The Church of St. Leopold - better known under
Kirche am Steinhof (Church at Steinhof)
or "Otto Wagner Church" was built at the request of Emperor Franz Joseph on the grounds of the mental hospital for the nervous and mentally ill at Steinhof (14th district) for the patients there. The church is dedicated to St. Leopold. It was built between 1904 and 1907 according to plans by Otto Wagner.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who solemnly opened the church, was actually an opponent of Art Nouveau and would have preferred to keep the church in a baroque style.
Located on a slope of the Vienna Woods (Gallitzinberg), the church at Steinhof is a landmark of Vienna that can be seen from afar and a major work of Viennese Art Nouveau.
Otto Wagner contributed much to the design of the interior: Altars, tabernacles, a hygienic dripping holy water dispenser, lighting fixtures, confessionals and even the mass vestments were made according to his designs.
The glass mosaic windows by Koloman Moser (1868-1918) create a special atmosphere inside the church. Moser's giant windows are
regarded as the highlight of stained glass art in the Art Nouveau era.
Detailed view of the angels:
The façade is covered with white Carrera Mamor stone slabs. On the front there are four bronze angels made by Othmar Schimkowitz.
On the two low bell towers there are bronze figures of St. Leopold and St. Severin. These were made by Richard Luksch.
For the hundredth anniversary in October 2007 the newly renovated church at Steinhof received three new bells made by the Tyrolean bell foundry Grassmayr. The original bells were melted down during the First World War for weapons production.
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